The musician has been praised as a ‘kind and beautiful soul’.
The entertainment industry is in mourning following the death of
The Smiths bassist Andy Rourke.
Rourke was 59.
Former
bandmate and guitarist Johnny Marr told fans of the devastating development
in a post on social media.
“It is with deep sadness that we
announce the passing of Andy Rourke after a lengthy illness with pancreatic
cancer,” Marr tweeted.
“Andy will be remembered as a kind and
beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by
music fans.
“We request privacy at this sad time.”
It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andy Rourke after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer.
— Johnny Marr (@Johnny_Marr) May 19, 2023
Andy will be remembered as a kind and beautiful soul by those who knew him and as a supremely gifted musician by music fans.
We request privacy at this sad time pic.twitter.com/KNehQxXoFz
The iconic four-piece was one of the biggest independent music
acts of the ‘80s and are probably best known for hits such as This Charming
Man and How Soon Is Now, which was later covered to become the theme song
from hit television series, Charmed.
Rourke was a founding member
of The Smiths and featured strongly across two stints with the band between
1982 and 1987 and on their four albums The Smiths (1984), Meat is Murder
(1985), The Queen is Dead (1986) and Strangeways, Here We come (1987).
Smiths producer Stephen Street shared his sadness after hearing
of Rourke’s death.
“Andy was a superb musician and a lovely guy,”
he said.
“I send my deepest condolences and thoughts to his friends and
family. RIP.”
Suede musician Mat Osman described Rourke as a
total “one-off”.
“A rare bassist whose sound you could recognise
straight away. I remember so clearly playing that Barbarism break over and
over, trying to learn the riff, and marvelling at this steely funk driving
the track along,” he said.
