Morrissey’s track record of live show cancellations has become something of running joke in recent years, with the singer being frequently hospitalized over the past 24 months, including here in Boston after his appearance at the Opera House in June.
But now Mozzer has given some insight to his ongoing health struggles, and like that girlfriend in a coma, they seem pretty serious.
In a new interview with Spain’s El Mundo, Morrissey reveals for the first time that he has undergone a series of cancer treatments. There’s no mention of the type of cancer, except that he’s undergone several treatments. It’s clear the interview is via email, because there’s no follow-up after the cancer revelation.
Here’s the exchange, via morrissey-solo.com:
Q: Your fans are worried about your state of health, in recent months you have been hospitalized and have had to cancel several concerts. How are you feeling?
A: They have scraped cancerous tissues from me four times already, but who cares. If I die, then I die. And if not, then I don’t. Right now I feel good. I am aware that in recent photos I look unwell, but that is what illness does. I’m not going to worry about that, I’ll rest when I’m dead.
Q: You remain faithful to a very traditional kind of pop and are impervious to technology. Are you worried about becoming an antique?
A: I’m at an age when one should no longer be making music. Many composers of classical music died at age 34. And I’m still here, and nobody knows what to do with me. The audience that I have is very young, which leads me to think that the songs of the Smiths, as with those of the Ramones, are more significant now than before.
As the Guardian points out, Moz was diagnosed with “a bleeding ulcer in early 2013, double pneumonia in March 2013, food poisoning in July 2013 and then a respiratory infection in June 2014.” He ignored doctors advice to stop touring.
Morrissey is currently on tour in Spain, where he will perform two shows Thursday and Friday before heading to Italy for a string of dates next week.
More to come…