The Smiths Bassist Andy Rourke Dies at 59 After Battle With Cancer

Andy Rourke, the bassist for the Smiths, has died aged 59. The band’s guitarist Johnny Marr confirmed the news on Twitter this morning.

“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andy Rourke after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer,” Marr wrote. “Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans. We request privacy at this sad time.”

The Smiths formed in Manchester in 1982, led by Marr and singer Morrissey. Rourke joined the band a few months later, replacing Dale Hibbert, who played the Smiths’ first gig. Rourke, born January 17, 1964, was an old school friend of Marr and the pair started jamming together at age 13. Rourke played on many of the band’s iconic recordings, including hits like “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out.”

Later, Rourke played in Freebass alongside fellow Mancunian bass guitarists, New Order’s Peter Hook and the Stone Roses’ Mani, as well as Gary Briggs. The group formed in 2006, but their debut EP, Two Worlds Collide, didn’t arrive until 2010. Rourke left the band shortly after.

More recently, he was a member of D.A.R.K. with Cranberries vocalist Dolores O’Riordan and Olé Koretsky. D.A.R.K. released one LP, Science Agrees, on September 9, 2016 via Cooking Vinyl.

Throughout his career Rourke recorded with Sinead O’Connor, the Pretenders, and Ian Brown and toured with Badly Drawn Boy. He also notably played on solo Morrissey songs in 1989, including as “Last of the Famous International Playboys” and “Interesting Drug,” following the Smiths’ split in 1987.

Last year, Marr and Rourke reunited on single “Strong Forever.” The track was released Blitz Vega, a group featuring Rourke and former Happy Mondays guitarist Kav Blaggers, and co-produced with DJ Z-Trip. “I wanted exactly what Johnny does,” Rourke told Rolling Stone of why he asked Marr to play on the song. “He has a very distinctive sound, and that’s what he did. We love what he brought to the track.”

Rourke added of Marr, “We’ve remained friends, we’ve known each other since we were 13 years old. He’s my oldest and dearest friend and I feel our friendship gets stronger as time passes.”

The Smiths producer Stephen Street remembered Rourke on Twitter, writing, “Andy was a superb musician and a lovely guy. I haven’t been able to read any other news about details yet but I send my deepest condolences and thoughts to his friends and family.”

Mat Osman, bassist of Suede, paid tribute to Rourke’s playing. “A total one-off – a rare bassist whose sound you could recognise straight away,” he wrote on Twitter. “I remember so clearly playing that Barbarism break over and over, trying to learn the riff, and marvelling at this steely funk driving the track along.”

He added, “My DMs are 90% other bass players talking about doing exactly the same thing with Barbarism Begins At Home. Love the idea that the day after Meat Is Murder came out there were hundreds of us, headphones on, dropping the needle over and over, saying ‘fucking HELL, Andy.’”