A brief history of Morrissey cancelling shows
Over the years, Morrissey has developed something of a reputation for cancelling concerts.
He’s not alone in this regard. Countless music artists have started postponing, rescheduling and cancelling tour dates for the sake of their mental health. Yard Act, Arlo Parks, and Sam Fender have all spoken up about the damaging effects of touring, with many refusing to play ball and deliver the schedules they are apparently “expected” to provide as a recognised artist.
It’s obvious that musicians no longer feel obliged to sacrifice their well-being for the sake of ticket holders, and that should be commended. The need to look after yourself transcends the notion of being well-paid or in the limelight. And, for the most part, those decisions have come at great anguish and with heartfelt apologies and promises to make up the dates at another time so as not to let down fans. That being said, there have been times when Morrissey has cancelled shows for reasons that seem less than obvious.
Like everyone, Morrissey was forced to cancel his 2020/2021 European tour due to the introduction of laws banning public gatherings amid a global pandemic. However, in 2019, the singer made a similar move after a medical emergency stemming from an accident sustained while travelling in Europe.
The only show that was actually cancelled was his Seattle date on October 1st, which was canned due to “circumstances beyond our control”. The year before, in 2018, Morrissey postponed nine dates in the UK and Europe, spanning July 4th to July 21st. Again, the cause of the cancellations remained a mystery. “Due to logistical circumstances beyond our control,” Morrissey’s management wrote, “The UK/European Morrissey concerts scheduled for July will be postponed.”
In 2017, things took a very dramatic turn when it was claimed that Italian police pulled a gun on the former Smiths frontman, convincing him to cancel seven proposed dates across the country, including his appearance at the Macerata Opera Festival. The previous spring, the singer had walked off stage at the Fox Tucson Theatre, Arizona, after experiencing vocal issues. Two days later, his show at the Tobin Center in San Antonio also fell through due to “health issues”. Sadly, eager fans at the Vina Robles Amphitheatre in California later that year were left in the cold after it was announced that Morrisey wouldn’t be performing because the heater wasn’t working. Things only got worse when illness in the touring party forced the singer to cancel another string of shows scheduled for December.
In 2016, Morrissey cancelled the remaining six dates of his tour following the hospitalisation of keyboardist Gustavo Manzur, though the “mismanagement of tour funds” was also a cause for concern. 2014/15 went pretty well, save for the odd postponement and cancellations due to missed flights. The same cannot be said of 2013, however, which saw Morrissey cancel US dates spanning January 24th to May 1st due to medical reasons.
In the official cancellation statement, Morrissey’s team wrote: “The singer has suffered a series of medical mishaps over the past few months including a bleeding ulcer, Barrett’s esophagus and double pneumonia. Despite his best efforts to try to continue touring, Morrissey has to take a hiatus and will not be able to continue on the rest of the tour.” Things didn’t get any better in June 2013, when Morrissey was forced to cancel his tour of South America due to “lack of funding”. In 2012, Morrissey’s mother was hospitalised. In order to fly back to England, he paused the tour. Sadly, it was around this point that the series of “medical mishaps” that led to the cancellation of his 2013 dates began.
After a chaotic 2012, during which Morrissey’s mother was hospitalised, 2011 was relatively free from cancellations, though an unexpected deluge forced the singer to cancel a date in Helsingborg. 2009, on the other hand, saw a slew of show cancellations, including his performance at Coachella, which was cut short after the vegan singer was forced off stage by the smell of burning meat. That same year, a bout of influenza led to the postponement and cancellation of data across the UK, Europe and the US. In 2007, Morrissey blew out his voice in Boston, forcing him to cancel a string of summer and autumn dates, which were later rescheduled. The early 2000s had been comparatively breezy, save for Morrissey’s decision to pull out of a couple of festival dates, including the 2005 Isle of Wight Festival due to the death of his drummer, and his abandonment of 2004’s Lollapolaooza (along with Sonic Youth, PJ Harvey and co) due to poor ticket sales.
Even in the 1990s, Morrissey had a habit of exiting tours last minute. In 1995, for example, he walked away from a string of dates supporting David Bowie on his European tour, forcing the ‘Ashes to Ashes’ singer to replace him with The Gyres, Echobelly, Placebo and a selection of local bands, any of whom, I imagine, were very grateful to Morrissey. The same can’t be said for the audiences of his 1991 tour, which saw the singer cancel dates from May 16th to November 26th. More recently, Morrissey abandoned his performance at LA’s Greek Theatre after just 30 minutes.
Ypu may think that since the pandemic hit, Morrissey has decided to make good on the promises he makes to his fans and ticket-buying audiences, but you’d be wrong. In fact, it would appear in recent years Morrissey has only increased his willingness to cancel shows due to a range of different issues.
In 2023, Morrissey cancelled much of his 2023 tour of Asia, citing “technical issues and reasons beyond our control,” which is acceptable to a degree. The reasons are, after all, beyond their control. But it did equate to four dates being cancelled altogether, and a run of South American dates also being postponed.
Those postponed dates ran into 2024, where Morrissey found himself once again having to pull the plug on a run on the South American dates in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia because of physical exhaustion among his band and crew, with Morrissey also labelling the industry’s lack of support as a contributing factor as to why he had to cancel the dates. In 2025, though, things seem to kick up a notch.
Following a “credible threat” to Morrissey’s life, among other technical issues, the singer was forced to cancel 22 dates across the year. It would also house a range of postponed dates which, in fairness to the songwriter, he did (largely) make up. But it would seem that Moz’s penchant for running the red pen through prospective performances has kicked into a new gear.
In 2026, we got our most recent run of cancelled shows. Morrissey has once again begun a bit of bad luck with prescription medicin causing an adverse reaction and forcing him to cancel shows in California, and, most recently, sleep deprivation hampered his ability to perform in Valencia, with a statement on Morrissey’s website noting: “Having travelled for two days by road, Morrissey reached the hotel in Valencia late on Wednesday. Any form of sleep or rest throughout the night was impossible due to festival noise / loud techno singing / megaphone announcements.”
It added, “This experience has left Morrissey in a catatonic state. Before leaving for tonight’s scheduled concert, please check that the show remains possible under these circumstances.”
The second statement reads, “Tonight’s scheduled show in Valencia has been rendered impossible due to sleep deprivation. Morrissey drove from Milan to Valencia but has been unable to rest in Valencia due to noise.”
Morrissey’s team then insisted, “The show is not cancelled. Circumstances render the show impossible.” Additionally, in a third post, Morrissey then said that his hotel is in the Plaza Manises area and personally described it as an “indescribable hell”, before adding, “It will take me one year to recover. And that is an understatement.”
While it isn’t entirely possible to check out the full list of cancellations under Morrissey’s belt, we can say that since 2012, the singer has proposed 639 shows and has cancelled 111 while postponing 100, which, if you’re honest, is genuinely impressive.
