Friday, May 19, 2023

RIP Andy Rourke

Andy Rourke, the bass player for the Smiths in the 1980s who later relocated to the East Village, died today of pancreatic cancer. He was 59. 

His Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr (the two met at age 11) had this to say about his longtime friend via Instagram
"Throughout our teens, we played in various bands around south Manchester before making our reputations with The Smiths from 1982 to 1987, and it was on those Smiths records that Andy reinvented what it is to be a bass guitar player." 
There were many other tributes on social media...
Rourke relocated from Manchester to the East Village in 2009, settling in an apartment on 13th Street. He later hosted a popular show on East Village Radio. 

Smiths singer Morrissey paid tribute to Rourke: "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." 

To the glory days...

7 comments:

  1. What a sad day. The Smiths were an iconic part of my childhood during the 80's. Condolences to his loved ones. RIP Legend.

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  2. RIP Neighbor. 🙏🏻

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  3. RIP Andy. Honored you chose the East Village. Wish it had been longer. RIP

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  4. I met him a few times off of Union Square Park a few times in early 2020 (we had some things in common, is all I’ll say), a lovely guy, and his superb, always interesting bass playing drove their songs along, the soundtrack to my mid eighties.

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  5. Seemed like such a good guy!

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  6. GREATEST Band of the '80's...LOVED you. RIP!!!

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  7. Thanks for posting about Andy. The best bassist, in the best band, ever. And he had a library card from Tompkins Square Library. <3

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