British musician Andy Rourke, best known as the bass player of the legendary Manchester band The Smiths, had passed away at age 59. He died in New York City, after a long battle with cancer.
The statement from his representatives says: “It is with deep sadness that we announce that Andy Rourke has passed away in the early hours today at age 59 in New York City at Memorial Sloan Kettering 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.”
Andy Rourke had a long and successful career which included many different projects, with the most recent one being Blitz Vega, the band with Happy Mondays‘ Kav Sandhu. In November last year, the band released their most recent single ‘Strong Forever,’ which also features The Smiths guitarist Johnny Mar, making it the first reunion of any ex-members of The Smiths on a song.