There’s nothing quite like being by the water when the sun’s out. Despite the fact Manchester doesn’t have a beach - as the famous Ian Brown quote goes - we do have more than our fair share of canals, reservoirs and rivers.
19.05.2023 - 16:21 / deadline.com
Andy Rourke, The Smiths bassist on all four of the band’s album, died today of pancreatic cancer in New York City. He was 59.
Tributes from the music world poured in following the announcement of Rourke’s death, which was made by his friend and Smiths guitarist Johnny Marr this morning.
“It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andy Rourke after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer,” tweeted Marr. “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.”
Marr followed up with an image of himself and Rourke from The Smiths’ days.
Rourke was born on January 17, 1964, in Manchester, England, becoming friends with Marr at 11. When Marr and Morrissey aka Steven Morrissey formed The Smiths, he joined soon after.
The Smiths were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s in the UK, and he played with them on all four studio albums: The Smiths (1984), Meat Is Murder (1985), The Queen Is Dead (1986) and Strangeways, Here We Come (1987). The group had 17 Top 30 singles in the UK, including “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out,” “How Soon Is Now?” and “Panic.”
The Smiths never hit the U.S. pop singles chart but had three consecutive gold albums there.
After The Smiths broke up following a messy legal battle, Rourke played with the likes of Sinéad O’Connor, Pretenders, Badly Drawn Boy and the Stone Roses’ Ian Brown. He most recently released an album with The Cranberries’ singer Dolores O’Riordan under the bandname D.A.R.K. in 2016.
Tributes came in from the likes of Billy Bragg, Brown and The Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, and can be seen below.
Very sorry to hear that Smiths bassist Andy Rourke has passed
There’s nothing quite like being by the water when the sun’s out. Despite the fact Manchester doesn’t have a beach - as the famous Ian Brown quote goes - we do have more than our fair share of canals, reservoirs and rivers.
Lewis Capaldi’s new album ‘Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent’ is already outselling the rest of the Official Albums Chart Top 20 combined, and set to reach the Number One spot.The album arrived last Friday (May 19) and marked the second full-length LP from the Scottish singer-songwriter.
Smiths drummer Mike Joyce appeared on BBC Breakfast today (May 21) to pay tribute to his late bandmate Andy Rourke.Rourke died after “a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer”, confirmed a statement from bandmate Johnny Marr on Friday (May 19). He was 59 years old.Since then, tributes from across the music industry have poured in, with Joyce himself hailing Rourke’s “perpetual” musical legacy, while Morrissey said of Rourke: “I just hope … wherever Andy has gone … that he’s OK.
New Order and Joy Division co-founder Peter Hook ran the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run this morning (May 21) in honour of The Smiths’ Andy Rourke.Rourke died earlier this week after “a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer”. He was 59.Speaking to BBC Sport after completing the Great Manchester Run, Hook told host Jeanette Kwakye that: “I lost a really good friend this week, Andy Rourke from The Smiths.
On a spring afternoon in 1982, a young musician named Johnny Marr turned up unannounced outside a council house in Kings Road, Stretford.
Morrissey has paid a touching tribute to his former bandmate Andy Rourke saying he 'will never die as long as his music is heard'. It was announced on Friday that Rourke, bass player in The Smiths, had died at the age of 59 'after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer'.
Johnny Marr and his late Smiths bandmate Andy Rourke reuniting on stage last year, following the news of his death.Rourke died after “a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer”, confirmed a statement from Marr this morning (May 19). He was 59 years old.Last year, Rourke made a guest appearance at one of Marr’s New York City shows, joining Marr on stage at Madison Square Garden when supporting The Killers to play ‘There Is A Light That Never Goes Out’ and ‘How Soon Is Now?’.See footage from the show below.We got a mini-Smiths reunion at Madison Square Garden! Johnny Marr just brought up Andy Rourke for There Is A Light That Never Goes Out@mainlyoasis pic.twitter.com/irPi6lNR5L— Robbie Fox (@RobbieBarstool) October 1, 2022After the on-stage reunion, the pair then went on to reunite for their first new song in 35 years with Blitz Vega, the band comprising Rourke and ex-Happy Mondays guitarist Kav Blaggers.Upon the release of the new song, Rourke reflected on reuniting with his old bandmate.
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Morrissey has paid tribute to former Smiths bassist Andy Rourke following the news of his death.Rourke died after “a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer”, confirmed a statement from Johnny Marr this morning (May 19). He was 59 years old.Expressing his “deep sadness” over his passing, Marr added: “Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans.”The soloist has since shared a longer message, in which he described Rourke as “one of those rare people that absolutely no one doesn’t like”. Marr went on to say that he’d “be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by everyone who knew him”.Elsewhere, ex-Smiths drummer Mike Joyce hailed Rourke as “not only the most talented bass player I’ve ever had the privilege to play with but the sweetest, funniest lad I’ve ever met”.He continued: “Andy’s left the building, but his musical legacy is perpetual.
Miley Cyrus, 30, has been busy promoting her latest album Endless Summer Vacation, with its debut single, Flowers, becoming the singer's best-selling song. Since its release earlier this year, Flowers has been heavily theorised to be about her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth. Fans looked into the lyrics, realising the song was released on the Hunger Games actor's birthday, and claimed her wardrobe choices and location for the music video were all connected to their now-dissolved relationship.
Legendary musician Andy Rourke has died at the age of 59 following a long fight with pancreatic cancer.
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Andy Rourke, the bassist in seminal British indie rock band The Smiths, has died age 59. The news was announced on Friday by Rourke's former bandmate Johnny Marr, who paid tribute to "a kind and beautiful soul" and confirmed Rourke passed away following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. In his statement, Marr wrote: "It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andy Rourke after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer.
Andy Rourke has sadly passed away.
Smiths drummer Mike Joyce has paid tribute to his ex-bandmate Andy Rourke, following the news of his passing.Rourke died after “a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer”, confirmed a statement from Johnny Marr this morning (May 19). He was 59 years old.Expressing his “deep sadness” over his death, Marr added: “Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans.”Rourke formed The Smiths in Manchester with Marr, Morrissey and Joyce back in 1982.Writing on Twitter today, the latter hailed Rourke as “not only the most talented bass player I’ve ever had the privilege to play with but the sweetest, funniest lad I’ve ever met”.Joyce continued: “Andy’s left the building, but his musical legacy is perpetual.
Andy Rourke, bass guitarist of The Smiths, one of the most influential British bands of the 1980s, has died after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer, his former bandmate Johnny Marr said Friday. He was 59.
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 pic.twitter.com/KNehQxXoFzNot only the most talented bass player I've ever had the privilege to play with but the sweetest, funniest lad I've ever met. Andy's left the building, but his musical legacy is perpetual.
Twitter.Rourke befriended Marr when he was 11 years old, with the two regularly jamming together in their teenage years before forming The Smiths with frontman Morrisey and drummer Mike Joyce in 1982.The Manchester native was a key band member until their 1987 breakup, before the release of their fourth studio album “Strangeways, Here We Come.”Rourke continued to work with Morrissey on his solo project and performed alongside artists Sinéad O’Connor, The Pretenders, Badly Drawn Boy, and guitarist Aziz Ibrahim, according to CNN.Bassist Mat Osman of Suede praised Rourke’s unique talent as he mourned the rocker.“A total one-off – a rare bassist whose sound you could recognise straight away. 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,” the rocker tweeted.“I am so saddened to hear this news! Andy was a superb musician and a lovely guy,” longtime Smiths producer Stephen Street tweeted.“I first met Andy aged 17 @simonWolstencr1 party.
Johnny Marr has led tributes to former bandmate Andy Rourke following his death aged 59. The late musician’s death was announced by Marr, who released a statement on Twitter. ‘It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andy Rourke after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer,’ Marr, 59, wrote.
Johnny Marr says his late Smiths bandmate Andy Rourke "reinvented what it is to be a bass guitar player", in a touching tribute to his childhood friend. The seminal musician has passed away at the age of 59, following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer, with guitarist Johnny confirming the sad news on Friday (19. 05.