Best known as the bassist for the Smiths, Andy Rourke's funky and melodically adventurous playing contributed as much to the band's sound as Johnny Marr's glistening guitar work or Morrissey's brilliant moping. After the Smiths broke up in 1987, Rourke continued performing straight through until the time of his death in 2023, playing onstage and on-record with the Pretenders, Sinéad O'Connor, Blitz Vega, Freebass (a project with New Order's Peter Hook and ex-Stone Roses bassist Mani), and even on some of Morrissey's earliest solo material. Andy Rourke was born in Manchester, England in 1964. He was childhood friends with Johnny Marr, and the two grew up playing music together. Rourke joined the Smiths in 1982 after the band played their first show with a different bassist, and he would remain in the group until they broke up five years later. Before this, he had developed a heroin habit, one that would become a serious problem for him as time went on. He was briefly fired from the Smiths in 1986 for issues surrounding his drug use, being hired back shortly afterwards. At various points, Rourke was quoted as saying his dismissal from the band came in the form of a curtly worded postcard from Morrissey left under the windshield wiper of his car, though Morrissey has gone on record contesting that this ever happened. When the Smiths split in the late '80s, Rourke played bass on several early Morrissey tracks, including 1989 singles "Interesting Drug" and "The Last of the Famous International Playboys." Along with Smiths drummer Mike Joyce, Rourke played with Sinéad O'Connor, appearing on her 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got. Throughout the '90s and 2000s, Rourke also performed with the Pretenders, members of the Stone Roses, Killing Joke, Badly Drawn Boy, Freebass, and others. He also formed the band D.A.R.K. with Cranberries vocalist Dolores O'Riordan (their sole album, Science Agrees, appeared in 2016), and following her death in 2018, Rourke teamed with Happy Mondays guitarist Kav Sandhu to start new group Blitz Vega. Rourke died from pancreatic cancer on May 19, 2023. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi