Andy Rourke, bassist of The Smiths, has passed away at the age of 59. The news was shared today (May 19) by his former bandmate, Johnny Marr, via social media. According to Marr, Rourke’s passing was the result of an extended battle with pancreatic cancer. The last time Rourke played on stage was at Maddison Square Garden in September 2022 with his band.

Marr posted this on Twitter: “We are deeply saddened to report the passing of Andy Rourke after his prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer. Andy will be cherished for his kindness and beautiful spirit by those who personally knew him, and his exceptional musical talents will be remembered by music enthusiasts. We kindly ask for privacy during this difficult period.”

Rourke is primarily recognized for his role as the lead bassist for The Smiths from 1982 to 1986, and then again from 1986 to 1987. He contributed to all four of The Smiths’ studio albums: ‘The Smiths’ (1984), ‘Meat Is Murder’ (1985), ‘The Queen Is Dead’ (1986), and ‘Strangeways, Here We Come’ (1987).

Beyond The Smiths, Rourke co-founded and performed with supergroup Freebass, which included Peter Hook of New Order and Mani of the Stone Roses. He also recorded with The Pretenders for their 1994 album ‘Last of the Independents’, and collaborated with Killing Joke, as well as Moondog One, featuring former Oasis guitarist Bonehead.

Rourke and Marr met when they were 11 years old, bonding over music at their school. After graduating, Rourke co-founded The Smiths in Manchester in 1982, along with Marr, Morrissey, and drummer Mike Joyce. Johnny Marr: “Andy and I initially connected as schoolboys. We quickly became inseparable, spending our time studying music, enjoying ourselves, and striving to become the best musicians we could be.” Marr and Rourke would maintain their friendship after The Smiths disbanded.

Various musicians and music industry professionals have publicly expressed their condolences following Rourke’s death including Stephen Street, The Smiths’ producer, and fellow bassists Mat Osman from Suede and Tom Chapman from New Order.

Stephen Street wrote: “I am so saddened to hear this news! Andy was a superb musician and a lovely guy. I haven’t been able to read any other news about details yet but I send my deepest condolences and thoughts to his friends and family. RIP.”

Suede bassist Mat Osman: “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.”

New Order bassist Tom Chapman: “A true inspiration to me and the reason I moved to Manchester to be a musician. One of the best bass players to come out of Manchester. If it wasn’t for him I probably wouldn’t be in New Order today. My thoughts go to his family and friends.”

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Wayne Hussey, frontman of The Mission, will soon have a new single out in support of key workers dealing with Covid-19 globally. He has remade the classic Mission anthem “Tower Of Strength”, joined by members of The Cure, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Slowdive, Bauhaus / Love and Rockets, The Smiths, The Twilight Sad, Depeche Mode, The Cult, The Wonder Stuff, Gary Numan, Evi Vine, Midge Ure (Ultravox), Spear of Destiny / Theatre Of Hate, Beauty In Chaos, The Soft Cavalry, All About Eve, Guns N’ Roses, Nine Inch Nails and Gene Loves Jezebel.

The actual collaborators include: Andy Rourke, Billy Duffy, Budgie, Evi Vine, Gary Numan, James Alexander Graham, Jay Aston, Julianne Regan, Kevin Haskins, Kirk Brandon, Lol Tolhurst, Martin Gore, Michael Aston, Michael Ciravolo, Midge Ure, Miles Hunt, Rachel Goswell, Richard Fortus, Robin Finck, Steve Clarke, Tim Palmer, Trentemøller

Produced by Wayne Hussey, this release features mixes by Tim Palmer and Trentemöller. This is also the first time brothers Jay and Michael Aston (of Gene Loves Jezebel) have recorded anything together since parting ways many years ago.

Here’s a preview of the song featuring for instance Martin Gore.

The single itself will be out on August 28 on all digital platforms followed by a 12” vinyl and CD on October 2.

Wayne Hussey: “When Covid-19 hit I started receiving messages asking ‘why don’t you re-issue Tower Of Strength for the front line workers?’ The song had apparently been adopted as an anthem by some NHS workers, and it got me thinking that I would like to contribute something to the greater cause at this unprecedented time and the only thing I could really contribute is music. So in conjunction with my good friend Michael Ciravolo, I came up with the idea of recording a new version of Tower Of Strength for charity by enlisting the help of musician friends and acquaintances. Tower Of Strength was first released by The Mission as single in 1988 and then again in 1994. It charted twice in the UK top 40 and has proved to be probably our biggest song and the one we generally close our shows with. It is anthemic. I wondered if recording a more well known song might have a greater reach but neither Michael or I could come up with any suggestions that seemed to fit lyrically without getting too corny. So Tower Of Strength it was then.

Usually I detest things that are done for charity that are also self-serving, but I came up with a plan that satisfied my conscience. I spoke with my fellow Mission band members who co-wrote the song – Craig Adams, Mick Brown and Simon Hinkler – and we agreed to give up any publishing income generated by the new version to nominated charities, including mechanical and performance royalties and 100% of any revenue raised by sales. TOS2020 has been renamed to divert funds from the original version, and the charities will all be personally nominated by the people involved in its recording and release. Because the musical contributions are global our idea is that the proceeds will be divided and distributed equally among all the beneficiaries.”

Tracklist for the vinyl:

Vinyl Side A

1. TOS2020 (Beholden To The Front Line Workers Of The World mix)
2. TOS2020 (single)

Vinyl Side B

1. TOS2020 (Trentemøller remix)*
2. TOS2020 (Albie Mischenzingerzen remix)**

Tracklist for the CD:

1. TOS2020 (Beholden To The Front Line Workers Of The World mix)
2. TOS2020 (Trentemøller remix)*
3. TOS2020 (Albie Mischenzingerzen remix)**
4. TOS2020 (single)

Tracklist for the digital bundle:

1. TOS2020 (single)
2. TOS2020 (Beholden To The Front Line Workers Of The World mix)
3. TOS2020 (Trentemøller remix)*
4. TOS2020 (Albie Mischenzingerzen remix)**
5. Tower Of Strength (original new remaster) – The Mission (free bonus track with bundle only)

Side-Line also covered Depeche Mode’s ‘s Martin Gore launches new solo track ’.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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Bad news arrives from the UK dance scene. Diane Charlemagne passed away this afternoon surrounded by her family after losing her battle with cancer, aged 49. The release of her last record “It’s In Your Eyes” featuring Andy Rourke of The Smiths and remixed by Youth, will go ahead on November 20th as planned, with the proceeds going to Diane’s family.

Many will remember Diane Charlemagne from her work with Moby, Urban Cookie Collective or Goldie. Her project with Andy Rourke also featured Simon Wolstencroft, long term member of The Fall and Ian Brown’s drummer. The track was produced by Mike Bennett (The Fall, Ian Brown, The Specials and Kim Fowley), arranged and engineered by Pete Booker (The Kinks, Justin Timberlake and East 17) and has been remixed by Youth who has produced a drum and bass version of the track.

Below are a few videos featuring Diane Charlemagne.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil. Besides music I’m also an SEO and AI content flow specialist and have an interest in everything finance from stocks to crypto. There is music in everything!

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