English rock loses one of its figures. Smiths bassist Andy Rourke has died of pancreatic cancer, former 1980s guitarist Johnny Marr announced on Twitter on Friday.
“Those who knew him will remember Andy as a kind and beautiful soul, fans as an extremely gifted musician,” he added on Instagram. “We met Andy at school in 1975,” he wrote, “we were best friends, we went everywhere together.”
Originally from Manchester, in the north of England, the group was formed in 1982 and notably distinguished itself with its album The Queen is Dead, released in 1986. In the band’s albums, Andy Rourke “reinvented what it’s like to play bass guitar,” wrote Johnny Marr on Instagram. Suede band bassist Mat Osman paid tribute to a “rare bass player”, whose “sound we immediately recognized”.
Agreements and disagreements
Plagued by heroin addiction and financial difficulties, Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce sued Johnny Marr and singer and lyricist Morrissey in a copyright split two years after the band split. band in 1987. An agreement had finally been reached and the friendship between the bassist and the guitarist had survived.
Morrissey has meanwhile adopted an increasingly reactionary discourse – he notably performed in 2019 on an American show with a badge from a British far-right party. He was virulent towards his former comrades, before adopting a more conciliatory tone in his autobiography published in 2013. The group’s producer, Stephen Street, expressed his sadness after the disappearance of Andy Rourke, paying tribute to a “lovely guy and an amazing bass player”.