Flowers for Andy Rourke - Rock and Roll Globe
The hidden lights tucked around Kav Sandhu’ shelving keep changing colors, rotating through all the hues of the rainbow. Sandhu is home in Surrey in the
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Flowers for Andy Rourke
How Blitz Vega rose from the ashes of The Smiths bassist’s tragic passingSeptember 27, 2024 Lily Moayeri
The hidden lights tucked around Kav Sandhu’ shelving keep changing colors, rotating through all the hues of the rainbow.
Sandhu is home in Surrey in the UK for the moment, one of the places he takes up residence, the others being nearby London, New York and Los Angeles. He’s wearing oversized, yellow-tinted glasses, shielding his emotions. But as he speaks about his late bandmate and friend of 25 years, bassist Andy Rourke, most notably of The Smiths, Sandhu’s voice shakes every so often. Finally, he just breaks down. A few tears make their escape, catching Sandhu by surprise.
His reaction is understandable. Northern Gentleman, the album he and Rourke were working on under the name Blitz Vega is nearing its release date of Sept. 27 on Sandhu’s FutureSonic Records. That day is almost exactly one year since Rourke’s passing. The album was recorded over a period of seven years in multiple locations around the world. Rourke’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis arrived early in the recording process, but his attitude and determination to complete Northern Gentleman made him even more of a legend in the eyes of his bandmates, particularly Sandhu.
Sandhu has always been legend adjacent. He’s been in bands or worked on projects with members of New Order, Joy Division, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses and Primal Scream, to mention just a few. He met Rourke early in his music career, when he was still a teenager and playing a gig in Manchester with his then band, where Sandhu’s vision and dedication were apparent.
“[Rourke] came into the dressing room after the show and was really complimentary,” Sandhu remembers “He was very kind and made us feel really good about what we were doing. The impression he made that night lasted. Someone who had done so much and was exceptionally talented was so humble and so kind and had time to appreciate new music and people coming into that world for the first time, it really impacted me. Every time I came across him over the years, he was always the same. Genuinely one of the kindest, most talented musicians in the whole pack.”
The two reconnected backstage at Coachella in 2007 when Sandhu was performing with the Happy Mondays. They kept in touch and in 2016 began writing songs for what would eventually become Northern Gentleman. The driving force for Blitz Vega was as a live band, but when Rourke was diagnosed, the 30 dates they had already booked were scrapped. They played less than a handful of dates with Rourke. Instead, they refocused on recording.
“There were no periods of sadness,” says Sandhu of the seven years of on-and-off recording. “[Rourke] was always smiling and joking and laughing. He’d have an operation, fly to L.A. and we’d be in the studio. Not once was [his illness] mentioned. He’d been completely sober for five years by this point. He was never an out of order, crazy rock ‘n’ roller or anything, but when he became healthy, you got to know the real Andy. There was nothing clouding that. It had a really good influence on me.”
The camera was rolling from the first day of recording to the last moments of rehearsing for the final show, with the idea of turning it into a documentary or docu-series, or behind-the-scenes clips—all of which is still in the works. There is a wealth of footage, which brings with it a perspective for Sandhu which he, of course, didn’t have when things were happening in real time.
He says, “The one thing that made me feel happy about what we were doing was how much joy playing and recording those songs gave Andy and how happy he was when he was doing it — even though he had this thing hanging over him all the way through. It was not something he ever wanted anybody to judge him on. It wasn’t something he discussed. When he guested with Johnny Marr in New York in 2022, it became fairly obvious to the outside world.”
Marr plays guitar on the early single, “Strong Forever,” which is the first time that the former members of The Smiths have recorded together since the group’s disbandment. Northern Gentleman has obvious references to The Smiths, but it is an amalgamation of music from the north of England. “Hole in my Heart” has shades of The Charlatans, “Disconnected” gives nods to The Stone Roses and “Lost & Found” smacks of early Oasis. The through-thread on Northern Gentlemen is musicians having a good time playing together.
It was after Rourke’s passing that being in the studio became difficult for Sandhu. He has spent Rourke’s final days with him at the hospital, playing him the album on headphones and taking down notes from Rourke on his phone. Rourke was very specific about what he wanted and Sandhu was meticulous about following Rourke’s direction.
“It was hard to finish,” Sandhu admits. “I was trying to convince myself the best way to deal with it would be to just get on with it. Then I realized I probably needed to take a break for a bit. I took three weeks to get my head together. It was difficult to go through Andy’s notes, but once I was able to, it felt like a positive process because it’s exactly what he wanted. It actually makes it easier because you don’t have to make the decisions. Anything Blitz Vega now, I’m not making the decisions. Andy’s made it quite straightforward and I’m doing it. All I am doing is making sure I do him proud.”
