Andy Rourke, bassist of the British band The Smithsdied at 59 years of pancreatic cancerhis former partner, guitarist Johnny Marr, announced on social media.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andy Rourke after a long illness. Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as an extremely gifted musician by music enthusiasts. We ask for privacy at this sad time,” Marr wrote on Twitter.
On Instagram the musician posted a detailed account of his history with Rourke: “Andy and I met at school in 1975. We were best friends, we went everywhere together. When we were fifteen I moved into his house where he lived with his three brothers and I quickly realized that my partner was one of those rare people that no one liked.
So after recalling the bands they participated in as teenagers, he added it to the Smiths records “Andy reinvented what it means to be a bass player.”
In this regard, he highlighted his performance on the song “The Queen Is Dead” by noting: “It was so impressive that I said to myself: ‘I will never forget this moment.’
“It is both a source of pride and sadness that the last time Andy played on stage was with me and my band at Maddison Square Garden in September 2022,” he concluded.
Led by Morrissey and staffed by Rourke, Marr and drummer Mike JoyceThe Smiths had a string of hits in the 80s with songs like “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” and “Girlfriend In A Coma”.
The band, led by Marr and Morrissey, broke up in 1987 and released albums such as ‘The Smiths’ and ‘Meat is Murder’ throughout their career.
The Manchester quartet’s demise was one of the most notable in the UK musical world, the aftermath of which led Joyce and Rourke to take Morrissey and Marr to court over copyright issues in 1989, international press reported.
Source: Clarin
