Andy Rourke, bassist for The Smiths, has died at the age of 59 after a long battle against pancreatic cancer, a member of the band itself has reported on Twitter. The person in charge of giving this sad news has been Johnny Marr, guitarist of the group, in his own account: “We announce the death of Andy Rourke after a long illness of pancreatic cancer” the artist has revealed.
“Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him, and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans,” continues Marr, who has taken the opportunity to pay tribute to his partner and to ask for privacy in these hard times. moments.
Andy Rourke was known for being the lead bassist for The Smiths in the 1980s. True to his bass, the Manchester musician appeared on all four of The Smiths’ studio albums: 1984’s ‘The Smiths’, 1985’s ‘Meat Is Murder’, ‘The Queen Is Dead’ and ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’ by 1987.
The English artist also became part of the band Freebass, along with Peter Hook of New Order and Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield of Stone Roses. He also participated in the creative process of the 1994 album ‘Last of the Independents’ by The Pretenders, and accompanied Morrissey on several singles after the band’s dissolution.
Rourke went on to record with Sinead O’Connor, Ian Brown and Cranberries vocalist Dolores O’Riordan. His participation in hit singles like ‘This Charming Man’ or ‘There is a light that never goes out’ makes Rourke go down in history as a rock legend.
Rourke’s death has shocked the music industry, which has taken to social media to pay tribute to the late bassist. Among those affected is The Smiths’ own producer, Stephen Street, who has written: “So saddened to hear this news! Andy was an excellent musician and a lovely guy. I haven’t been able to read any other news on details yet, but I send my deepest condolences and thoughts to his friends and family.”