Andy Rourke photographed outside Salford Lads Club in Salford, Manchester, England in March 2007. Photo by Stephen Wright/Getty Images.

With a post on Twitter, Johnny Marr shared the news that Andy Rourke, his childhood friend and bass player for The Smiths has died following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Rourke was 59 years old.

His publicist issued a statement on behalf of Rourke’s family and Marr.

“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 [hospital] 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,” the statement read.

The Smiths photographed in Dunham Massey, Greater Manchester, England on Sept. 7, 1983. Left to right: drummer Mike Joyce, bassist Andy Rourke, guitarist Johnny Marr and singer Morrissey. Photo by Kevin Cummins/Getty Images.

As shock and sadness took hold of the hearts of indie rock fans around the world, all three of his former bandmates posted tributes to his groundbreaking musical approach and his warmth and humor as a person. On his website, Morrissey recalled his former bandmate’s humility and creativity.

“He didn’t ever know his own power, and nothing that he played had been played by someone else,” Morrissey wrote. “His distinction was so terrific and unconventional and he proved it could be done.”

Marr posted a lengthy tribute recalling his childhood experiences with Rourke and his family, and how much he admired him as a friend and collaborator.

 

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Andy Rourke performs with The Smiths at Hammersmith Palais in London on March 12, 1984. Photo by Pete Still/Redferns.

“Watching him play those dazzling bass lines was an absolute privilege and genuinely something to behold,” Marr wrote. “We maintained our friendship over the years, no matter where we were or what was happening.”

Marr also singled out a particular memory from the studio: “I sat next to him at the mixing desk watching him play his bass on the song ‘The Queen Is Dead.’ It was so impressive that I said to myself ‘I’ll never forget this moment.’”

Though The Smiths were only together for five years, their four studio albums all but became the blueprint for indie rock, bringing comfort and understanding to generations of music fans who found themselves alienated from mainstream culture.

Rourke’s style evolved during a long musical friendship with Marr. Rourke originally began on guitar as the pair played in bands around South Manchester, England before forming The Smiths in 1982. His bass playing departed from the root-note-centered bass playing of The Cure and throbbing melodies of Joy Division. Rourke’s comparatively virtuosic style featured both elaborate fingerpicking and pick playing.

A brief listen to the intro to “Rubber Ring,” off The Smith’s Louder Than Bombs, will make it obvious Rourke has some serious chops. But then go and really listen to the bass work on “Stretch Out and Wait,” later on the double album. There you will hear Rourke in all of his subtlety as he underscores Marr’s delicate chord progression while also providing counterpoint to Morrissey’s vocal melody. Paul McCartney would be proud.

Discovering The Smiths was like finding your voice. Discovering other Smiths fans was like finding your tribe. Much like Rourke’s unorthodox bass lines that could have only found a home in the music of The Smiths, fans built lasting friendships and communities of people who might not fit in anywhere else.

And like many iconic artists, they’ve inspired a global network of tribute bands with Bay Area Smiths and Morrissey tribute act This Charming Band. Their bassist, Mark Sharp, remembered Rourke.

“Having spent the last 10-plus years doing my best to recreate those iconic parts showed me his brilliance. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude as his talents had only stood to make me a better musician.”

Rourke’s impact on Bay Area indie fans runs deep.

He had a similar impact on Bay Area DJ Omar Perez, also the bass player for Derv Gordon and So What.

“I identified with [Rourke’s playing] on an unspoken level that catalyzed me to learn to play music,” said Perez, who co-founded San Francisco’s long-running indie rock nightclub Popscene, where Rourke guest DJ’d on occasion. “Andy shared our enthusiasm while recognizing the profound levels of love and dedication in everyone he met.”

Andy Rourke and RIFF editor Roman Gokhman at BottleRock Napa Valley in Napa, Calif., on May 10, 2013.

Rourke ran smack into that love and dedication in the form of Nikki Arias, bassist for localPixies tribute act Debased, who got to meet her hero at one of these appearances.

“He asked me what my favorite Smiths bass line was, so I started singing the line from ‘There is a Light That Never Goes Out,’ and he joined in and sang it with me.” Just an absolute gentleman,” Arias said.

RIFF editor-in-chief Roman Gokhman had his own encounter a decade ago in May, when, while interviewing the Flaming Lips in their tent at BottleRock Napa, Rourke walked in and joined in, asking his own questions. Gokhman remembers his good-humored cheerfulness and lighthearted spirit.

After The Smiths split in 1987, Andy Rourke remained active collaborating with Morrissey on some early solo singles, Sinead O’Connor on her breakthrough album, I Do Not Want What I Have Not Got, and various projects with members of The Cranberries, New Order and The Stone Roses.

“Post-Smiths, he kept a steady identity,” Morrissey wrote online. “Never any manufactured moves. I suppose, at the end of it all, we hope to feel that we were valued. Andy need not worry about that.”

Smiths fans in the Bay Area are likely to have a place to share memories and celebrate Rourke as This Charming Band will be playing at The Chapel on May 20.

Writer David Gill contributed to this story. Follow Skott Bennett at Twitter.com/skottbennett.