Read about Andy Rourke net worth, age, wife, children, height, family, parents, salary and cause of death as well as other information you need to know.
Introduction
Andy Rourke was an English musician, best known as the bassist of the Smiths. He was known for his melodic approach to bass playing. Rourke joined the Smiths after their first gig, having known guitarist Johnny Marr since school, and played on all four of their studio albums.
Rourke performed on singer Morrissey’s solo releases after the group broke up in 1987. Rourke recorded with Sinéad O’Connor and the Pretenders in the early 1990s, and was a member of the supergroup Freebass and the band D.A.R.K. He also organized the Versus Cancer concerts from 2006 to 2009.
Early life
| Name | Andy Rourke |
| Net Worth | $2 million |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Age | 59 years |
| height | 1.78m |
Andrew Michael Rourke was born on January 17, 1964, until his death on May 19, 2023, at age 59 years. Rourke’s father was Irish and his mother was English. He received an acoustic guitar from his parents when he was seven years old. At the age of 11 he befriended the young John Maher (soon to be Johnny Marr) with whom he shared an interest in music.
Rourke and Maher spent lunch breaks in school jamming and playing on their guitars. When Marr and Rourke formed a band, he invited Rourke (still then a guitarist) to try on bass, which he fell in love with and continued to play for the rest of his career. He left school when he was 15 and passed through a series of menial jobs, playing guitar and bass in various rock bands, as well as in the short-lived funk band Freak Party, with Marr.
Career
Marr later teamed up with Morrissey to form the Smiths. Andy Rourke joined the band after its first gig and remained through most of its existence. Suffering from heroin addiction, he was sacked from the band in early 1986, rejoining two weeks later just before they released The Queen Is Dead.
In Andy Rourke’s absence, second guitarist Craig Gannon joined the band. Marr described Rourke’s contribution to that album as “something no other bass player could match”. The Smiths released Strangeways, Here We Come in 1987 to critical acclaim, but split soon after.
Check Out: Actress Anne Heche net worth and cause of death
Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce started legal proceedings against Morrissey and Marr over royalties. Short on money due to his heroin addiction, Rourke settled out of court for £83,000 and 10% of future royalties while relinquishing all further claims; Joyce pursued the claim until 1996 and was awarded substantially more in court.
Rourke having spent the settlement, later found himself being declared bankrupt following a petition of the Inland Revenue on 25 January 1999. Immediately after the breakup, Rourke and Joyce played with Sinéad O’Connor – Rourke (but not Joyce) appears on the album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990).
Andy Rourke along with Craig Gannon, they provided the rhythm section for two singles by former Smiths singer Morrissey – “Interesting Drug” and “The Last of the Famous International Playboys” (both 1989).
Rourke also played bass on Morrissey’s “November Spawned a Monster” and “Piccadilly Palare” (both 1990) and composed the music for Morrissey’s songs “Yes, I Am Blind” (the B-side of “Ouija Board, Ouija Board”, 1989); “Girl Least Likely To” (a B-side on the 12-inch single of “November Spawned a Monster”; also released as a bonus track on the 1997 reissue of Viva Hate); and “Get Off the Stage” (the B-side of “Piccadilly Palare”).
He also played and recorded with the Pretenders (appearing on some of the tracks on 1994’s Last of the Independents); Killing Joke, Badly Drawn Boy (with whom Rourke toured for two years), Aziz Ibrahim (formerly of the Stone Roses), and ex-Oasis guitarist Bonehead as Moondog One, which also included Mike Joyce and Craig Gannon. Rourke also played bass for Ian Brown, both on tour and on Brown’s album The World Is Yours.
Andy Rourke, his then-manager Nova Rehman, his production company, Great Northern Productions, and others organized Manchester v Cancer, a series of concerts to benefit cancer research, later known simply as Versus Cancer. The initiative was prompted when Rehman’s father and sister were diagnosed with the disease.
The first Manchester v Cancer concert took place in January 2006. It featured a reunion between Rourke and his former Smiths bandmate Johnny Marr, who performed one song together. He organised further concerts in the three following years.
Rourke formed Freebass with bass players Mani (ex-the Stone Roses) and Peter Hook (ex-New Order) in 2007 and remained active in the group until August 2010. Early in 2009, he moved to New York City, where he had a programme on East Village Radio and worked as a club DJ with Olé Koretsky under the name Jetlag. This led to Rourke and Koretsky forming the band D.A.R.K. with singer Dolores O’Riordan from The Cranberries. The trio released their debut album, Science Agrees on 9 September 2016.
Andy Rourke Cause of death
Andy Rourke died in May 2023. On 19 May 2023 it was reported that Rourke had died from pancreatic cancer, at the age of 59.
Who is Andy Rourke Wife?
Andy Rourke’s wife name is Francesca. Andy and his wife Andy Rourke had their wedding in England.
What is Andy Rourke net worth
How much was Andy Rourke worth? Andy Rourke net worth was estimated at around $2 million. His main source of income was from his primary work as a musician. Andy Rourke’s salary per month and other career earnings were over $400,000 dollars annually. His remarkable achievements earned him some luxurious lifestyles and some fancy car trips. He was one of the richest and most influential musicians in the United Kingdom. He stood at an appealing height of 1.78m and had a good body weight which suited his personality.
Read related articles on Apumone.com and follow us on Twitter.