As we commemorate the life of influential bass great Andy Rourke, who has died aged 59, we are unearthing his most memorable conversations. This interview with Joel McIver was originally published as the cover feature in the September 2016 issue of Bass Guitar Magazine.
I credit my brother Robin with introducing me to the Smiths, perhaps the 1980s’ most significant force when it came to British guitar music. I was completely smitten. A lot of my acne-ridden teenage peers couldn’t abide Morrissey’s ‘unique’ vocals, but coupled with Johnny Marr’s shimmering, layered guitar tracks, it couldn’t be denied that the Smiths’ songs sounded completely different to the cheesy synth-pop and thrash metal which I thought represented all that popular music had to offer.
