Happy Mondays guitarist to release album with The Smiths' Andy Rourke on anniversary of his death

  • Kav Sandhu caught up with Granada Reports Entertainment Correspondent Caroline Whitmore at OId Trafford

Happy Mondays guitarist Kav Sandhu is set to release a new album featuring The Smith's Andy Rourke on the anniversary of his death.

Rourke died in May 2023 at the age of 59 following a long illness with pancreatic cancer.

The musician from Manchester formed rock band Blitz Vega alongside Happy Mondays guitarist Sandhu in 2016.

Blitz Vega was formed by Andy Rourke and Kav Sandhu eight years ago. Credit: Blitz Vega

Sandhu announced his latest album called 'Northern Gentleman' on 17 January 2024, on what would have been Andy's 60th birthday.

He said: "I met Andy about 24 years ago and Manny from the Stone Roses had brought him down from a gig and we had all sorts of people in there from Bonehead from the Oasis and other Mancunian legends.

"Andy was introduced to me and he was just so nice. So we stayed in touch over the years and I was playing Coachella with The Happy Mondays, Andy was DJ'ing and he was saying that we should start a band together at some point."

He continued: "The whole idea of the band was to be a touring band and that's the only thing we couldn't do because Andy was unwell."

  • Sandhu recounts how he met Rourke and Blitz Vega came to be

While the Sandhu and Rourke recorded with the Blitz Vega band at the famous Abbey Road recording studios, Andy was poorly and had to play sitting down as he was battling cancer and just had an operation at the time.

Sandhu said: "I don't know many people that can still play the bass sitting down. And no one picked up on it because he looked really cool. He always looked cool."

Andy Rourke passed away in May 2023 following a lengthy illness with pancreatic cancer. Credit: PA Images

"I was sitting with him in the hospital in New York and he said 'you've got to do a favour for me, you've got to make sure the album [Northern Gentleman] comes out and you take it on the road'. He really was a Northern Gentleman."

"We're releasing a single called Love City next week on May 17, on roughly a year [since Andy passed], just what he wanted us to do.

"And he's brilliant on the record. These are songs that he co-wrote and put so much into."

  • Sandhu speaks about his favourite tracks on the new album

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