The Smiths star Mike Joyce reveals unexpected fact about bandmate and addresses reunion rumours

Some 42 years ago, four ‘unlikely’ lads from Manchester joined forces to become The Smiths.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Going on to become one of the most recognisable acts of all time, the band - made up of Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce - became pioneers of the city’s music scene. Their hits including This Charming Man, How Soon Is Now and Sheila Take A Bow, went stratospheric.

Despite not having released an album since 1987, the band’s impact remains just as strong today.

But news of bassist Andy’s death at the age of 59 last May from pancreatic cancer hit both fans and bandmates hard. Hailed as one of the greatest of his kind, a Manchester mural of the star was unveiled this week following a successful fundraising campaign led by drummer Mike and the Pancreatic Cancer Action charity.

READ MORE: The tiny radio station producing famous presenters and pulling in global superstar guests

The mural, situated on the wall of the Wheatsheaf pub in the Northern Quarter, was created by local street artist AKSE P19. It was based on a photograph taken at Caird Hall in Dundee by tour photographer Nalinee Darmrong in 1985.

Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Mike, who was born in Fallowfield, said he is ‘beyond thrilled’ with the finished product. “It’s incredible,” he explains. “You can tell it’s Andy. It looks superb. I’m so happy for his memory and to have something so permanent for him.”

The Smiths released four studio albums between 1982 and 1987, before splitting up. Despite never working together as a four-piece again, Andy and Mike continued to collaborate on projects together - including touring and producing music with the likes of Sinead O’Connor.

“Every time I met up with him, he was just so entertaining,” Mike, now 61, recalls of Andy. “He absolutely nailed every department in terms of personality, he was just that kind of person. He was just so funny, so entertaining and he couldn’t stop himself. Even in quite solemn moments, he’d often be quite inappropriate and try to make people laugh.

“He was just a great person to be with. He was the perfect mate, really, and that was even before he put on the bass. I was lucky to be able to know him as a friend, rather than just as a musician. His bass playing was just out of this world, and the great thing is that it’s also now here forever. You can just put on a record and hear him.”

Mike says Andy, who spent the last years of his life living in New York, rang him up not long after being diagnosed with cancer to share the news with him. Wanting to keep it private and only known amongst friends and family, Mike said he tried to remain upbeat about the diagnosis.

"When he told me, I didn't really take it in,” he explains. “I just thought, well, lots of people have these sorts of things and come out alright on the other side. I’m always incredibly positive about lots of things and I was very positive about Andy’s situation.

“I think he tried to explain to me that it was quite serious, but I wasn’t really having it - I couldn’t really accept that. I wasn’t being defeatist, I just wanted to be super positive about the whole thing. He came over to Manchester not long after the diagnosis and we had a few beers after quite a serious operation and was undergoing treatment, and he looked good, he looked fine.

"Then, a few months later, I saw some pictures of him online and he didn’t look very well at all. Me and Bee [wife Tina] went over to New York to see him and he was very poorly at that point. But it was something that we didn’t really speak about.

“Just, because once it looked like things were pretty bad, it sort of became this elephant in the room - we just kind of talked about everything other than that. I didn’t think there was much point discussing the situation further as he was quite poorly. That was in February and that was the last time we saw him.”

Whilst serving as a fitting tribute to his former bandmate, Mike hopes the mural of Andy will raise awareness of pancreatic cancer - and has so far raised more than £26,000. The money raised will go towards the cost of the mural, which has already been met, with the rest now going directly to the Pancreatic Cancer Action charity.

Mike says: “The idea was always that once we had enough money to paint the mural and hire out the equipment, every extra penny would go to the charity and it feels fantastic to be able to do that.

“There’s going to be a QR code on the side of the mural for people, if they’re worried or concerned, to seek advice or support. If there’s anything that makes you feel different or off-kilter, then go get it checked out. If you get the all clear, then absolutely fantastic, but if there is something that needs to be looked into, then you can get the treatment or help you need. That’s what I hope it will help people with.”

And, when asked if there's anything about Andy that not many people will know, Mike replies instantly. "He had the most absolutely gorgeous feet,” he laughs.

“They were just bloody perfect - he could have been a foot model. I can’t remember where we were, we must have been swimming or something, but I just thought his feet were just absolutely gorgeous. They looked like they had been pedicured, and were just beautifully proportioned.”

Alongside their music, one of the things that many people in this part of the world will connect with The Smiths is the iconic Salford Lads Club - which featured on the album artwork for the band’s 1986 album The Queen Is Dead. They now also have a room filled with the band’s memorabilia.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that the venue is on the brink of closing for good after bosses asked for financial help. A fundraising campaign is now underway to help the listed recreational club - with music stars, including Mike, having helped towards the cause either through donations or auctions.

Speaking about the club's importance, Mike says: “It’s been open since 1903 so it’s been doing what it does for 120 years. That alone should be enough of a reason to keep it.

“Lots of people have got behind it - Noel’s helped out, Morrissey’s helped out, I’ve donated some stuff that they can auction. It's great that people are piling in to help, but I think it needs some kind of government or council funding."

With Oasis announcing a reunion tour earlier this year, many Smiths fans hoped their favourite band might follow suit and get back together. But followers of the group know all too well that it'd be far from easy. There have been numerous public fallings out among members over the year.

Earlier this year, Morrissey claimed he and Marr had been made a "lucrative" offer to tour as The Smiths next summer which he had accepted but which Marr had "ignored." Marr responded: "I didn't ignore the offer - I said no." There were also back-and-forths between the pair over trademarks and attempts to protect the band's name.

Speaking to the M.E.N, Mike says that, without Andy, The Smiths will never get back together properly but he wishes Morrissey and Marr well if they do end up settling their differences to head out on tour together again.

“If Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr got together again, it wouldn’t be the Beatles, would it?,” he says. “Obviously, without Andy, I’d say it’s impossible. A Smiths reunion can’t happen now without Andy."

Rourke and Joyce took Morrissey and Marr to court over royalties in 1989. During the legal battle, it was alleged that Mike and Andy were seen as 'mere session musicians, as readily replaceable as the parts in a lawnmower'. Rourke eventually settled out of court, but Joyce won his case in late 1996.

Commenting on the significance of the original line-up Joyce says: “The Smiths were the four of us - from that very first record, Hand In Glove, until the last record we released. Me and Andy were on every single record and every single concert we ever played. We weren’t session musicians, we were band members.

“If Morrissey and Marr decided to get back together then I’m not going to try and stop it. That’s their decision if they wish to get back together and do it, then so be it - but it wouldn’t be The Smiths. It would be a completely different rhythm section.”

For Mike, once the campaign trail for Andy’s mural simmers down, he plans to head back into the studio for his own bit of music as part of a new trio he’s in called Pleasure Hits.

“I’ve been working with a singer and producer from San Francisco called Kelley Stoltz and a guitarist from Manchester called Rick Hornby,” he explains. “We’re talking old money here, but we have a Side One of an album done.

“I’ve just been moving house so once I get my drums back out of storage, I’ll be starting work on that again. We’re hoping to release something next year.”

You can donate to the Andy Rourke fundraiser in aid of Pancreatic Cancer Action here.