In Memoriam: A Rate-A-Record for Andy Rourke, Backbone of the Smiths’ Sound
Gone far too soon
I normally don’t write more than one Rate-A-Record piece a week, but this isn’t a normal week. When I published the latest installment on Sunday (about Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers deep cuts), I had not heard about the passing of Smiths bassist Andy Rourke from cancer two days earlier at age 59. I learned about it that evening when Simon Dillon posted about it on Facebook, and shortly after that Simon suggested a Smiths Rate-A-Record in memory of Rourke. It was a brilliant and fitting idea.
It’s likely that had the news reports only given Rourke’s name when reporting on his death, few but the most dedicated Smiths fans would have known who he was. Even those fans have a tendency to think mainly about Morrissey and Johnny Marr whenever the Smiths are mentioned. This is understandable, both because they were the key duo in the band and because bassists (and to a lesser degree drummers) rarely get the love they deserve. There are exceptions like Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee, and Sting, but few would immediately recognize the names Garry W. Tallent, Ron Blair, or Ian Hill (bassists for Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and Judas Priest, respectively).
