RIP Andy Rourke (May 19, 2023)

Oh man, this hurts. Tweet from Johnny:

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Related items:

• Morrissey-solo: [Morrissey Central] "BEAM OF LIGHT." - May 19, 2023
• Morrissey-solo: Mike Joyce pays tribute to Andy Rourke on BBC Breakfast (May 20, 2023) - May 21, 2023

Media items:

• BBC: "Andy Rourke: The Smiths bassist dies aged 59" - May 19, 2023
• The Guardian: "Andy Rourke, bassist for the Smiths, dies aged 59" - May 19, 2023
• The Independent: "Andy Rourke death: The Smiths bassist dies aged 59" - May 19, 2023
• Louder Than War: Andy Rourke dies at 59 - May 19, 2023
• NME: "The Smiths bassist Andy Rourke has died" - May 19, 2023
• Mojo: "“The Smiths Were A Gang. A Band Of Brothers…” Andy Rourke Interviewed" - May 19, 2023

 

[Johnnie Ray]

Here we go, someone we all loved from a band we all adored and cherished has died, and now its the usual will he, wont he? Hes a hypocrite if he does and hes a bastard if he doesn’t etc etc.
For once its not all about Morrissey.
Just take a second to remember the four of them, the best band in the world, ever.

Nah. I just want the guy who I have invested a lot of my time for 38 years to just be decent. The bar is low.

 

[ZOOM FROM GLOOM]

.

Sick down to my heart.

Thank you Andy for the music, thank you for making The Smiths as unique as they were and forever will be.

You won’t be forgotten.

 

[Andy Rourke]

Sadly, not expecting anything from Morrissey on this.
Not that he needs to; it’s not about him.

I bet because of the lawsuit Moz won’t say anything.

 

[marqueemoon]

This is the test for me. This will really show what kind of person Morrissey is. Hopefully he comes through. I am so sad about this, it feels like a family member has passed.

It isn't a test of anything. Morrissey had a personal relationship with Andy, no matter how long ago, he's under no obligation to make a public statement about someone he actually know to pass your arbitrary moral test.

 

[Frank Jobsworth]

Nah. I just want the guy who I have invested a lot of my time for 38 years can just be decent. The bar is low.

I think you have to accept that it might be complicated for them on a personal level, it just might have to be something that comes down to their relationship, it might have to be done privately first or not at all.

 

[marqueemoon]

I can't wait to see how Morrissey makes this all about himself.

You're the one making it all about Morrissey, you utter ghoul.

 

[Firebird]

My favourite Smith without a doubt. RIP sunshine

 

[Johnnie Ray]

It isn't a test of anything. Morrissey had a personal relationship with Andy, no matter how long ago, he's under no obligation to make a public statement about someone he actually know to pass your arbitrary moral test.

That is called being petty AF. Hopefully, he doesn't think like your dumb azz and issues a statement like a normal person. Now run along.

 

[Anonzzzz]

You know, I am already pre-thinking less of Moz for not saying anything. I bet he won’t. I hope I’m wrong. Rest in peace, Andy sir

Also, I normally never say anything against Moz and say nothing but lovely things about him. But this slight would be too awful to forget.

 

[Surface]

Morrissey and Marr brought misery to The Smiths – Andy Rourke brought joy​

By
James Hall

Rourke's post-Smiths life may have been messy – but his distinctive, playful bass gave the dour Mancunians’ songs a dollop of fun

Marr and Morrissey over royalties. Rourke settled almost immediately out of court (while Joyce’s case went to the High Court in 1996). He also struggled with heroin addiction and filed for bankruptcy in 1999. Rourke was instrumental in setting up Manchester vs Cancer, a series of benefit concerts, which led to a public reproachment – a 2006 concert saw him perform with Marr.

At the time of writing Morrissey had not posted any words about Rourke on his Morrissey Central website, his usual tool for communicating with the world. However, Morrissey and I were recently guests of the same people at the Ivor Novello awards in London. He left promptly in the middle of lunch, suggesting that he may have just received the sad news (or, alternatively, he simply isn’t a fan of awards shows). Morrissey will no doubt feel this loss deeply.

Rourke’s playing was sublime. Mat Osman, the Suede bassist, described Rourke as “a rare bassist whose sound you could recognise straight away”, and he’s right. Osman labelled it “steely funk”. It’s a neat description. It was Rourke’s distinctive playing that set The Smiths’ second single This Charming Man apart when it was released in 1983. His bassline is a bouncy and funky counterpoint to Marr’s jangly guitar as it leaps around. The two musicians’ playing intertwines but it’s Rourke who carries the song. Marr once said, “I would elevate him and he would ground me.”

His playing on Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now and Rubber Ring (a B-side) provide a masterclass in tight but fluent playing (he also plays cello on the latter). Rourke never overwhelms, but without his bass the songs would lose all structure and character.

Cemetry Gates from 1986’s The Queen is Dead is almost totally propelled by Rourke’s playing. The song ends with a bass riff over which Marr plays a supporting role. Barbarism Begins at Home, from 1985’s Meat is Murder, features slap bass and reveals one of Rourke’s influences – Mark King from pop group Level 42, not an obvious influence for a hip underground indie band. However The Smiths’ classic There Is A Light That Never Goes Out provides arguably the greatest example of what Rourke does best.

His little bass chicane at the end of every line in the verse (Morrissey’s “Take me out tonight…” is followed by a distinctive four-note motif) is absolutely crucial to the song’s DNA. It leavens the doom-laden romance (it’s a song about being so in love that you wouldn’t mind being killed by a 10-tonne truck), gives it a dollop of joy, and acts as a sort of sonic wink. We don’t really mean it.

A Smiths reunion has never been on the cards. Morrissey and Marr have had a very public falling out that seems to stem from Morrissey’s numerous controversial comments about race, meat-eaters and politics. And there’s been not much love lost between Morrissey and Joyce either. Still, Rourke’s death while still in his 50s marks the premature end of an era. The constituent parts of one of the UK’s most ground-breaking and fêted bands are no longer all with us. It seems far too early.

But those songs live on. As Joyce wrote, “Andy’s left the building, but his musical legacy is perpetual.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/andy-rourke-the-smiths-bassist-death-tribute/

Off topic but its interesting that Morrissey was at the Ivor Novello awards as James were also there as winners of The Music Icon award, wonder if they met up for a chat?

 

[ninetimesfined]

Would morrissey write a statement about a lawnmower part?

 

[Morrissey-so-old.com]

Rest in Peace Andy, thank you for helping create some of greatest tunes in the world and being in one of the greatest bands of all time. You will be sorely missed.

 

[BrummieBoy]

 

[megatronman]

 

[pewtavert]

Cancer is what this world ought to be focused on and stop bickering about nonsense. RIP and condolences to the Rourke family and fans everywhere!!!

 

[Harsh Truth]

To be fair to Morrissey given the way their relationship ended he probably wouldn't want to stir anything up when people are feeling a bit raw. If it happens then i'd* want it to be because he really feels it strongly enough and not SER going through the motions or something.

*he's obviously free to do whatever he wants.

I'm happy to be surprised by Morrissey's touching tribute.

 

[Sooner Than You Think]

Andy never got enough credit in my view. I was always impressed by his basslines which Johnny said were Andy's. I have never understood how one determines who are the songwriters in bands. There seems to be no consistency between them. I think if Andy had been in New Order he would have been credited as a songwriter.

RIP Andy.

 

[Guest of a guest]

Statement has been made on Morrissey Central

 

[overthemoors]

I have never understood how one determines who are the songwriters in bands.

Morrissey and Johnny seem to have made the decision - unfairly so.

 

[JimboFDG]

Nice words - https://www.morrisseycentral.com/messagesfrommorrissey