Andy Rourke

Andrew Michael Rourke (born 17 January 1964) is an English

musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He is known for his
Andy Rourke
melodic approach to bass playing.

Contents
Career
Equipment
Discography
The Smiths
Morrissey
FreeBass Rourke in 2011
D.A.R.K. Background information
Sinéad O'Connor
Birth name Andrew Michael
The Pretenders Rourke
Ian Brown
Born 17 January 1964
References
Origin Manchester,
External links Lancashire,
England
Genres Alternative rock,
Career
indie pop

Rourke's father was Irish while his mother was English.[1] He Occupation(s) Musician
received an acoustic guitar from his parents when he was seven years Instruments Bass guitar,
old. At the age of 11 he befriended the young John Maher (soon to be guitar, cello
Johnny Marr) with whom he shared an interest in music. The pair
spent lunch breaks in school jamming and playing on their guitars. Labels 24 Hour Service
When Marr and Rourke formed a band, he invited Rourke (still then a Station
guitarist) to try on bass, which he fell in love with and has stuck with Associated acts The Smiths,
ever since.[2] Morrissey,
Freebass,
Rourke abandoned school when he was 15.[3] He passed through a
Moondog One,
series of menial jobs and played guitar and bass in various rock bands,
the Adult Net,
as well as in the short-lived funk band Freak Party, with his
schoolfriend Johnny Marr.[4] D.A.R.K.

Marr later teamed up with Morrissey to form the Smiths. Rourke joined the band after its first gig, and
remained through most of its existence. He was briefly sacked from the band, allegedly receiving the news in a
note left under the windscreen wiper of his car: "Andy, you have left the Smiths. Good luck and goodbye,
Morrissey". Morrissey has denied this. In May 1986, Rourke rejoined the Smiths, just before they recorded
The Queen Is Dead. Marr described Rourke's contribution to that album as "something no other bass player
could match". The Smiths released Strangeways, Here We Come in 1987 to critical acclaim, but split soon
after.

Immediately after the break-up, Rourke and Smiths drummer Mike Joyce played with Sinéad O'Connor –
Rourke (but not Joyce) appears on the album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990). Along with Craig
Gannon, they provided the rhythm section for two singles by former Smiths singer Morrissey – "Interesting
Drug" and "The Last of the Famous International Playboys" (both 1989). Rourke also played bass on
Morrissey's "November Spawned a Monster" and "Piccadilly Palare" (both 1990) and composed the music for
Morrissey's songs "Yes, I Am Blind" (the B-side of "Ouija Board, Ouija Board", 1989); "Girl Least Likely
To" (a B-side on the 12-inch single of "November Spawned a Monster"; also released as a bonus track on the
1997 reissue of Viva Hate); and "Get Off the Stage" (the B-side of "Piccadilly Palare").

Rourke has also played and recorded with the Pretenders[5] (appearing on some of the tracks on 1994's Last of
the Independents); Killing Joke, Badly Drawn Boy (with whom Rourke toured for two years), Aziz Ibrahim
(formerly of the Stone Roses), and ex-Oasis guitarist Bonehead as Moondog One, which also included Mike
Joyce and Craig Gannon. Rourke also played bass for Ian Brown, both on tour and on Brown's album The
World Is Yours.

In March 1996, Rourke and Mike Joyce started legal proceedings against Morrissey and Marr over royalties.
While Joyce continued with the action, Rourke settled out of court for £83,000.[6] Having spent the settlement,
Rourke later found himself being declared bankrupt following a petition of the Inland Revenue on 25 January
1999.[7]

Rourke, his then-manager Nova Rehman, his production company, Great Northern Productions, and others
organised Manchester v Cancer, a series of concerts to benefit cancer research, later known simply as Versus
Cancer. The initiative was prompted when Rehman's father and sister were diagnosed with the disease. The
first Manchester v Cancer concert took place in January 2006. It featured a reunion between Rourke and his
former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr, who performed one song together. The second Manchester v Cancer
concert took place in March 2007. Rourke performed with former Oasis guitarist Bonehead's band Elektrik
Milk. Rourke was less involved in organising the third concert in February 2008 or the fourth in December
2009.

Rourke formed Freebass with bass players Mani (ex-the Stone Roses) and Peter Hook (ex-New Order) in
2007 and remained active in the group until August 2010. Early in 2009, he moved to New York City,[8]
where he has a programme on East Village Radio[3] and works as a club DJ with Olé Koretsky under the
name Jetlag. This led to Rourke and Koretsky forming the band D.A.R.K. with vocalist Dolores O'Riordan
from The Cranberries.[9][10] The trio released their debut album, Science Agrees on 9 September 2016.[11]

Rourke is a lifelong Manchester United supporter.

Equipment
Throughout his career, Rourke has used a Fender Precision Bass, Squier Precision Bass, Fender Jazz Bass,[5]
and a Yamaha BB2000; for amplification, he has used Peavey Mark III Head with Ampeg SVT cabinet and
Trace Elliot GP-11.

Discography

The Smiths
Morrissey

Singles

"Piccadilly Palare"
"Interesting Drug"
"November Spawned a Monster"
"The Last of the Famous International Playboys"

Albums

Bona Drag (1990)

FreeBass

Singles

"Live Tomorrow You Go Down" – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station

EPs

Two Worlds Collide – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station

You Don't Know This About Me (The Artur Baker Remixes) – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station
Fritz von Runte vs Freebass Redesign – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station
Two Worlds Collide (The Instrumental Mixes) – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station

Albums

It's a Beautiful Life – 2010 – 24 Hour Service Station / Essential

D.A.R.K.
Science Agrees (2016)

Sinéad O'Connor
I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got (1990)

The Pretenders
Last of the Independents (1994)

Ian Brown
The World Is Yours (2007)

References
 1. Staff writer(s) (20 November 1999). "Paddy English man" (https://www.irishtimes.com/news/pad
dy-english-man-part-1-1.252576). The Irish Times.
2. "Andy Rourke Interview" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tMMOZKC9Og), YouTube.
Retrieved 1 September 2011.
3. "Catching Up With Andy Rourke of The Smiths" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/salvatore-bono/
catching-up-with-andy-rou_b_819098.html). HuffPost. 8 February 2011.
4. Simpson, Dave (23 January 2012). "How we made: Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce on the
Smiths' first gig" (https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2012/jan/23/how-we-made-smiths-first-gi
g). Retrieved 7 February 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
5. "Bass guitar news, reviews and tutorials" (https://www.musicradar.com/bass). MusicRadar.
Retrieved 7 February 2019.
6. "Can a New Film Heal the Smiths Rift?" (http://www.citylife.co.uk/news_and_reviews/news/511
0_can_a_new_film_heal_smiths__rift_), Manchester Evening News, 29 August 2006.
Retrieved 10 January 2012.
7. "The London Gazette" (http://www.london-gazette.co.uk/issues/55394/pages/1363/page.pdf)
(PDF). The London Gazette: 1363. 4 February 1999. Retrieved 16 February 2014.
8. "About JetLag" (http://jetlagnyc.blogspot.com.au/search/label/info), Jetlag. Retrieved 10
January 2012.
9. "About D.A.R.K." (http://jetlagnyc.blogspot.com/search/label/info)
10. "Members of the Smiths, the Cranberries Form New Band D.A.R.K., Share "Curvy" " (https://pitc
hfork.com/news/64388-members-of-the-smiths-the-cranberries-form-new-band-dark-share-curv
y/). Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
11. Galbraith, Alex (6 September 2016). "Cranberries/Smiths supergroup D.A.R.K. share gothic
club track 'The Moon' " (https://consequenceofsound.net/2016/09/cranberriessmiths-supergroup
-d-a-r-k-share-gothic-club-track-the-moon-listen/). Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 21 May
2017.

External links
Official website (http://www.andyrourke.com)
Versus Cancer (http://www.versuscancer.org)
Forever Ill (https://web.archive.org/web/20050524205026/http://foreverill.com/bass.htm)
Pretenders 977 Radio (http://www.pretenders.org.uk)
"Andy Rourke Interview" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tMMOZKC9Og) YouTube.
Vulgar Picture (http://www.vulgarpicture.com)

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This page was last edited on 23 October 2020, at 06:53 (UTC).

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