That is now two great bassists lost in just one week (with John Giblin passing last Sunday)!
So, today we sadly say goodbye to Andy Rourke, aged just 59, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.
Morrissey may have the wry, witty lyrics and the off-hand vocal style and Johnny Marr the era-defining jangly guitar sound, but, as with many great bands, it was the rhythm section that would make or break them. Mike Joyce gave the songs their drive with his subtle power, but Andy Rourke added some funky verve with his bass lines.
As Split Single frontman Jason Narducy noted:
"I was once tasked w/ assembling a band to play The Smith’s The Queen is Dead album for a gig. I got 2 guitarists for Marr parts - thought I’d make it easy on myself to play bass instead of complex guitar lines. I was wrong. Intricate, beautiful bass lines. Iconic. Amazing bassist."
Rourke played on all four Smiths studio albums, despite a brief two week period where he was fired when they found out he had dabbled with heroin. Childhood friend Marr, ended up moving in with Rourke's family at the age of 15, and remembered starting of as a decent guitar player, before finding his calling and switching to bass and joining the Smiths.
The Smiths: This Charming Man - https://youtu.be/cJRP3LRcUFg
Despite his recent erratic reputation, Morrissey posted a beautiful eulogy for his former bandmate on his website.
"I just hope wherever Andy has gone that he's OK. He will never die as long as his music is heard. He didn't ever know his own power, and nothing that he played had been played by someone else. His distinction was so terrific and unconventional and he proved it could be done. I suppose, at the end of it all, we hope to feel that we were valued. Andy need not worry about that."
The other half of that rhythm section, Joyce recalls 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. Andy's left the building, but his musical legacy is perpetual. I miss you so much already. Forever in my heart, mate."
The Smiths: Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now - https://youtu.be/TjPhzgxe3L0
Regarding his playing ability, Suede's bass player Mat Osman recalled the song Barbarism Begins At Home, "trying to learn the riff, and marvelling at this steely funk driving the track along."
The Smiths: Barbarism Begins At Home - https://youtu.be/y_T1NE4Q2BI
Later on, Rourke played on some of Morrissey's solo output and joined a bass 'supergroup', Freebass, with Mani Mountfield (Stone Roses) and Peter Hook (Joy Division / New Order). He was also in Badly Drawn Boy's touring band for several years.
We'll leave the last word for Johnny Marr on his lifelong friend.
"Andy reinvented what it is to be a bass guitar player. Watching him play those dazzling basslines was an absolute privilege and genuinely something to behold."
The Smiths: The Queen Is Dead - https://youtu.be/eubgWMwSD0k
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