What happened to Andy Rourke? Tributes pour in as The Smiths' bassist passes away at the age of 59

Well-known musician Andy Rourke recently passed away on May 19, 2023, at the age of 59. He battled pancreatic cancer for a long time, which eventually led to his demise. Rourke gained recognition as a member of the Manchester-based rock band The Smiths.The Smiths' guitarist, Johnny Marr, announced the news on social media as he wrote:&quot;It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Andy Rourke after a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer. 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.&quot;Marr shared a post on Facebook as he gave fans a glimpse into the memories he made with Rourke over the years. He mentioned that he met Rourke in school in 1975 and that he moved to his residence at the age of 15.He added:&quot;Andy and I spent all our time studying music, having fun and working on becoming the best musicians we could possibly be. Back then Andy was a guitar player and a good one at that, but it was when he picked up the bass that he would find his true calling and his singular talent would flourish.&quot;Marr mentioned that he last played with Andy and the band at Madison Square Garden in September last year.&quot;The secret weapon of The Smiths&quot; - Netizens pay tribute to Andy Rourke on TwitterAndy Rourke became popular over the years for his flawless work as a bassist with different bands and artists. Several fans took to Twitter and paid tribute to the artist after they heard about his demise.The Magic Mod@TaylorModRIP Andy Rourke90911667RIP Andy Rourke https://t.co/FKngzQwka6ᴍᴀɴᴄʜᴇꜱᴛᴇʀ ᴍᴜꜱɪᴄ ꜰᴏʀᴇᴠᴇʀ™️@MANCHESTERMUS10ANDY ROURKE RIP.Beautiful words from Johnny Marr.882114ANDY ROURKE RIP.Beautiful words from Johnny Marr. https://t.co/OtFqJ6CD53Sausagesoda🎶@sausagesodaThe Smiths ~ There Is A Light That Never Goes OutThe Tube 1986RIP Andy Rourke🖤44671333The Smiths ~ There Is A Light That Never Goes OutThe Tube 1986RIP Andy Rourke🖤 https://t.co/gDzPBySEcP🎸🎤 Ⴝ⚈ṋ𝗴Ѕ ⚈𝔣 Ý⚈𝙐ᴦ 🇱ı𝔣e 🎹🥁@SongsOfYourLif1One of the finest bass lines from one of the finest bass players. RIP Andy Rourke 3046789One of the finest bass lines from one of the finest bass players. RIP Andy Rourke &hearts;️ https://t.co/oh91bvQL0xJill Krajewski@JillKrajewskiandy rourke made the smiths' basslines unreal rip555118andy rourke made the smiths' basslines unreal rip https://t.co/G58L2JiDLDkate bush's husband@airbaggedRIP to the Legend, Andy Rourke. It’s worth noting that he worked with Morrissey post-The Smiths and was still as effortlessly cool and brilliant on records like “The Last of the Famous International Playboys”36166RIP to the Legend, Andy Rourke. It’s worth noting that he worked with Morrissey post-The Smiths and was still as effortlessly cool and brilliant on records like “The Last of the Famous International Playboys” https://t.co/Fbj7pgVATxBirmingham 81@Birmingham_81RIP Andy Rourke. Terribly sad news. Condolences to his family and friends. His melodic bass lines were such an integral, distinctive and memorable part of The Smiths' special sound4005892RIP Andy Rourke. Terribly sad news. Condolences to his family and friends. His melodic bass lines were such an integral, distinctive and memorable part of The Smiths' special sound https://t.co/RSGRyqdAtTDr. Aaron, PhD🏳️&zwj;🌈@aaronpostingRIP Andy Rourke, the secret weapon of The Smiths. A maddeningly talented bassist whose work was always brilliant. His playing sounded so effortless it made what he was doing sound deceptively easy, until you made the mistake of actually trying to play his parts. Crushing loss1447196RIP Andy Rourke, the secret weapon of The Smiths. A maddeningly talented bassist whose work was always brilliant. His playing sounded so effortless it made what he was doing sound deceptively easy, until you made the mistake of actually trying to play his parts. Crushing loss https://t.co/FPwSCBq2tzMat Osman@matosmanAw man. RIP Andy Rourke. 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. (pic - K Cummins)4487477Aw man. RIP Andy Rourke. 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. (pic - K Cummins) https://t.co/c3iBdsstpCAndy Rourke was a member of The Smiths since the 80sAndy Rourke joined The Smiths in 1982 (Image via Shirlaine Forrest/Getty Images)Andy Rourke developed an interest in music when he was 11 years old and dropped out of school at the age of 15. He soon took on a number of different jobs and began playing musical instruments for various bands.The Smiths was formed in 1982 by Johnny Marr and Steven Morrissey and Rourke joined them the same year. They were later joined by Mike Joyce and Craig Gannon. The band released its self-titled debut album in 1984 and this was followed by three more. They released their latest album, Strangeways, Here We Come in 1987.The band separated due to internal disputes in 1987 but Rourke continued to work with other bands and artists. He was featured in Sinead O'Connor's album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got and worked on singles like Interesting Drug, Famous International Playboys, Piccadilly Palare, and more.He played with bands and singers like The Pretenders, Killing Joke, Badly Drawn Boy, Bonehead, Ian Brown, and many others. Andy then formed another band called Freebass in 2005 and they released four EPs alongside one single and an album.Rourke established a new band called D.A.R.K. with Ole Koretsky and Dolores O'Riordan and their only album to date is Science Agrees, released in 2016. Andy was also the founder of another band called Blitz Vega.Rourke is survived by his wife Francesca Mor and the duo were married since 2012.

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