Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
RIP Andy Rourke
- Thread starter Grinderman
- Start date
RIP Andy, a criminally underrated bassist and one of my bass playing inspirations. Responsible for so much of "the sound" of The Smiths. Apart from that bouncing bass line from This charming man which everyone knows, here's some of my other faves...
While everyone else in the 80s seemed to be enamored by slapmeisters like Mark King, I was always inspired by the post punk bass crowd like Andy, Peter Hook, Simon Gallup and Bruce Foxton - still sound so cool today
The music lives on!
While everyone else in the 80s seemed to be enamored by slapmeisters like Mark King, I was always inspired by the post punk bass crowd like Andy, Peter Hook, Simon Gallup and Bruce Foxton - still sound so cool today
The music lives on!
Same.
There's an aspect of the personality of the singer that I'm not a fan of but when I listened to this song again last night on this sad occasion it was some kind of time travel to me and a punch in the gut, perhaps more profound now than when I was 17. I put this up in another thread in Misc last night. RIP Andy Rourke.
And so, just like that, the classic Smiths lineup its over... forever. We never will see again Morrissey, Marr, Rourke and Joyce together again. One rare case of band wich never came back. Last show in 1988. The Eagles who, said it will only come back "when hell freezes" it did many times. Guns and Roses, wich swore each other to death, the same. Not The Smiths. This was a real deal.
Last edited:
Really? One of the most iconic bands of the 80's, with an influence that has continued through the years. While "How Soon Is Now" was somewhat atypical of the rest of their output, I'd say it's one of the top ten songs that defined the decade. A game changing band as they brought back focus to the guitar after the earlier synth-centric wave, in the post-punk/indie/college rock world.
Marr's intricate chimey jangle arpeggiation was a relief from the endless showboat shredding otherwise going on in guitarland. Morrissey may have been The Pope Of Mope, his lyrics almost laughable in its self-pity, but it struck a nerve with scores of marginalized or shunned youth at the time.
But driving all that was Rourke(with Joyce), having forged a new style, not flashy or show-off like a lot of bass at that time, but when you analyze what what he was doing, you realize his uniqueness and quiet brilliance.
RIP...Heaven Knows I'm Miserable Now. Fantastic bass lines, legendary!
Start with the song, "The Queen is Dead" from the album by the same name.
Morrissey the personality has not aged well at all, and he was insufferable at the time (although often funny). The Smiths' music, on the other hand, has aged brilliantly. I love that song. Whatever your thoughts about that band - and a lot of people really can't stand them - there was a ton of talent packed into that quartet.
Last edited:
While everyone else in the 80s seemed to be enamored by slapmeisters like Mark King, I was always inspired by the post punk bass crowd like Andy, Peter Hook, Simon Gallup and Bruce Foxton - still sound so cool today
The music lives on!
I agree 100%, all of those guys were huge influences on me when I started playing. Even though they predate those guys a bit, I would add Paul Gray (Damned), Bruce Thomas (Elvis Costello), Paul Simonon and Pete Farndon to that list. Simonon and Farndon didnt play with the skill of Andy but that whole era of punk/post punk bassists are the reason I started playing.
The early and mid 80s had a ton of guitar players that weren't endlessly shredding.
Pretty much ALL the guitar players in British New Wave, Post-Punk and Alternative bands were none-shredders: R.E.M., The Cure, Depeche Mode, U2, They Might Be Giants, Talking Heads, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, The Police, Psychadelic Furs, Simple Minds... I can go on.
He definitely stood out for playing more rhythmically with lots of strummed chords, as opposed to say texturally like some of the others, but none of the guitarists in the above named bands were showboating or shredding.
I guess you could say Marr's playing was even more low-key than those other guys, but that allowed Andy Rourke's bass to come through in all it's melodic glory
. I think that was Marr's genius - he wrote the music, provided the framework, but his playing on a lot of songs was tastefully minimal, which let the other members stand out more. He played like a songwriter and not a guitarist, if that makes any sense.
extremely insufferable! I was one of the many who endured two cancelled Morrissey concerts in my lifetime...both cancelled hours before the show.
ugh!
Paul Ryder then this. This is really sad. I grew up & learned bass with those songs.
On "Barbarism begins at Home" his P-Bass has a Wal like tone to it... any chance?
Never mind I see that it was a Yamaha BB2000
Never mind I see that it was a Yamaha BB2000
Last edited:
I was referring more to the post-Van Halen onslaught, and how out of control that got. But Marr was a standout among everyone you mentioned, no one sounded like him. Buck was perhaps close, McGeogh real close, but there were always surprise chord movements in Smiths songs that set them apart.The early and mid 80s had a ton of guitar players that weren't endlessly shredding.
Pretty much ALL the guitar players in British New Wave, Post-Punk and Alternative bands were none-shredders: R.E.M., The Cure, Depeche Mode, U2, They Might Be Giants, Talking Heads, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, The Police, Psychadelic Furs, Simple Minds... I can go on.
He definitely stood out for playing more rhythmically with lots of strummed chords, as opposed to say texturally like some of the others, but none of the guitarists in the above named bands were showboating or shredding.
I guess you could say Marr's playing was even more low-key than those other guys, but that allowed Andy Rourke's bass to come through in all it's melodic glory
I think that was Marr's genius - he wrote the music, provided the framework, but his playing on a lot of songs was tastefully minimal, which let the other members stand out more. He played like a songwriter and not a guitarist, if that makes any sense.
Oh man…tomorrow I'm going to the Cruel World festival in Pasadena(Iggy and Siouxie headling). Last year, Moz was technically the top bill, but after Bauhaus just absolutely killed it, totally owned the night, my friend who had come over from Amsterdam to attend, and I(both of us kinda 'meh' about him solo), set out for my car. The way parking was arranged, it was not easily found(didn't drop a pin). It took a frustrating hour to find it, all the while with him bleating in the distance. All I could think was, how perversely perfect. Heaven knows…
So sad. 
Andy was a big inspiration. The "The Queen is Dead" album made me start practicing pick style for real.
Andy was a big inspiration. The "The Queen is Dead" album made me start practicing pick style for real.
