Andy Rourke could soon be memoralised in a mural in Manchester’s Northern Quarter. Indeed a crowdfunder campaign has been launched by his old bandmate Mike Joyce and the charity Pancreatic Cancer Action to raise £15,500 to turn this into reality.
The mural will be created by the street artist Akse P19 who has painted similar murals all over Manchester, including ones of Marcus Rashford, Kurt Cobain and Ian Curtis.
The place earmarked for the mural is on the side of the Wheatsheaf Pub on Oak Street. “Andy’s passing left us all absolutely devastated and I’ve been wanting to do something to celebrate his life and contribution to music,” says Joyce. “The idea of a mural in the centre of Manchester feels a fitting place and way for all his many fans to come and pay tribute.”
“The mural will not only serve as a permanent tribute to Andy's legacy as a brilliant musician but also as a memory of the funniest, sweetest lad I had the pleasure of knowing,” he continues, with funds also helping support its charity partner.
There’s a small run of A4 prints of the mural available to those who £50, with A3 prints for those who donate over £100, but bewarned numbers of these are limited.
The plan is for the mural to be unveiled in November, to coincide with Pancreatic Awareness Week.
Rourke died in May last year, aged just 59. Long regarded as one of the greatest bassists of his era, his melodic basslines provided the backbone and muscle for Marr and Morrissey to weave their respective spells. Indeed the Smiths’ frontman – not noted for being generous in his praise – once remarked that Rourke was good enough to have played in Elvis Presley’s band: “He didn’t ever know his own power, and nothing that he played had been played by someone else,” he said last year.
Pancreatic cancer is notorious for being one of the most vicious forms of cancer and kills over 8000 people each year in the UK alone. Aside from Rourke, other musicians who have died from the disease include Terry Hall, Ric Ocasek of the Cars and Aretha Franklin.
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