Edits edit

The article was marked as a Guitarist Stub and a Bassist Stub. I removed the Guitarist Stub.69.249.46.86 01:35, 23 March 2006 (UTC)Reply


I also cut out the stuff about the Smiths today, as it's all on the Smiths page. I'm not sure a discography is necessary either - perhaps just mention the few non-Smiths recordings in the body of the article? "What he's doing now" needs constantly updating (he's no longer in Vinny Peculiar's band, apparently), so it's best just to say what he has done, including whatever's current. --  ajn (talk) 19:00, 18 August 2005 (UTC)Reply

Birth year edit

There is some confusion about whether Rourke was born in 1963 or 1964. The National Portrait Gallery says 63 [1], as does the Encyclopaedia Britannica [2] and various other sites. On the other hand, IMDB says 64 [3]. I can't find this information on a cursory trawl of fan sites. If the year's going to be changed, let's have a reference to the information confirming the 1964 date, and please change the birth year category at the bottom of the article too. --ajn (talk) 10:39, 1 December 2005 (UTC)Reply

Article now states 1963 throughout, but your research work is included in the article to clearly show the confusion.
Derek R Bullamore 14:13, 16 December 2006 (UTC)Reply

Can the "Birth Year" section be done away with? It's not a very interesting fact that a couple of websites appear to have got the year of his birth wrong. I'll give it a week or so, then delete if no-one objects. --88.111.54.115 14:20, 12 June 2007 (UTC)Reply

The correct year of birth is definitely 1964. This can be proved by looking it up on the register of births for England and Wales, which has an Andrew M. Rourke born in Manchester in Q1 1964 but no one of that name in Q1 1963. MFlet1 11:42, 14 June 2007 (UTC)Reply

Yes, but the point is why bother with a paragraph all about the fact that two websites have got it wrong? It hardly seems like a major event in the guy's life story...--82.69.133.226 11:20, 15 June 2007 (UTC)Reply

You're right. I've removed it. MFlet1 16:13, 15 June 2007 (UTC)Reply

? edit

'and remained with the band throughout its existence (although he was briefly fired in 1986)'- this makes no sense whatsoever. (Paulo Fontaine 20:05, 17 January 2006 (UTC))Reply

Now amended to state 'almost throughout its existence'.
Derek R Bullamore 14:13, 16 December 2006 (UTC)Reply
An astonishing piece of pedantry and overstatement - 'makes no sense whatsoever' - really?!. He was 'fired' for two weeks during which time The Smiths neither recorded or toured. 86.15.255.20 (talk) 08:36, 21 May 2023 (UTC)Reply

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion edit

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 02:07, 6 March 2022 (UTC)Reply

Um, can we pick a better pic for his profile? How about one from the 80’s. Jesus. Also, did he have any children? The Smiths were only the MOST influential Brit indie guitar-band EVER. I’m a big Smiths fan - shame on you Wikipedia. 2600:1700:1580:9F0:CCEE:5762:8D75:A6E8 (talk) 17:47, 20 May 2023 (UTC)Reply

Hold your horses before playing the shame game. Wikipedia can only use non-copyrighted images, and this is the only one of Rourke alone. Did you or anyone you know take a photo of him in the 1980s? There's a 1985 publicity photo of the whole band which is free use, but it's not focused on him, and this is a page about him, not the Smiths. Unknown Temptation (talk) 19:49, 21 May 2023 (UTC)Reply

2600:1700 is right that it is not a great pic. have added a crop from [4]. Ceoil (talk) 20:07, 21 May 2023 (UTC)Reply