A Crowdfunder campaign has been launched to have a mural of late The Smiths bass guitar player Andy Rourke painted in the heart of Manchester, UK.
The bassist passed in May last year after a battle with cancer. This new campaign will see Rourke become the latest in a long list of iconic Manchester musicians to have their legacy remembered via murals across the city.
It’s been spearheaded by his former bandmate and drummer Mike Joyce in partnership with Pancreatic Cancer Action, a UK-based charity. The Crowdfunder is looking to raise £15,500 and at the time of writing is just under a third of the way there already.
The mural will be created by street artist Akse P19, who has painted murals all over the city in Northern England, including ones of Kurt Cobain, soccer player Marcus Rashford, and Joy Division’s Ian Curtis.
The latter has been a point of pride for Mancunians over the years but was controversially painted over for an Amazon Music advert. The mural was then repainted in a different spot.
Rourke's tribute will be emblazoned on the side of the Wheatsheaf Pub on Oak Street of Manchester’s Northern Quarter. It's an area home to much of the city's alternative scene and was loved by Rourke and his family.
“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 center of Manchester feels a fitting place and way for all his many fans to come and pay tribute.”
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He adds that securing a site for the mural has proved “challenging” and thanks the pub for providing the perfect canvas.
“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.
A small run of 100 A4 prints of the mural will also be available to those who pledge £50, with 30 A3 prints priced at £100. Handily, these costs include international shipping.
The mural will be unveiled in November, coinciding with Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in the UK.
Speaking to Bass Player in 2016, Rourke admitted his obsession for his instrument, saying, “If I wasn’t eating or in the bath, I had a bass in my hand. I played it constantly.”
In his tribute to his hero-turned-interviewee, Joel McIver reflected that Rourke's basslines “refused to go away” from the moment he firs heard The Smiths as an impressionable teen.
“With the high mids dialed up to maximum and inventive fills thrown into what seemed like every bar, bassist Andy Rourke’s staccato-picking dexterity blew my stupid teenage mind,” he continues.
“Not that I was thinking about the bass parts in even those slightly technical terms: all I knew was that those slinky, twangy lines sounded incredible.”
Head to Crowdfunder for more information.
