Morrissey Hints at Cancer Scare: ‘If I Die, Then I Die’
It’s been a rough year for Morrissey, as the laconic singer has endured everything from tour-canceling illnesses to possibly being dropped from his new label to bizarre allegations of a murder-for-hire plot. However, in a new interview with El Mundo, the former Smiths singer reveals he’s dealing with some health issues that make all those other troubles seem insignificant. According to Morrissey, he’s had a cancer scare, although in talking about the disease, the singer doesn’t seem that scared at all.
“They have scraped cancerous tissues four times already, but whatever,” Morrissey told the Spanish-language El Mundo (via a translation by the Guardian). “If I die, then I die. And if I don’t, then I don’t. Right now I feel good. I am aware that in some of my recent photos I look somewhat unhealthy, but that’s what illness can do. I’m not going to worry about that. I’ll rest when I’m dead.”
Over the past few years, Morrissey has canceled tour dates for reasons like food poisoning, bleeding ulcers, pneumonia and a sickness he blamed on his opening act, but this is the first time the usually candid rocker has uttered the C-word aloud. In early 2013, Morrissey spent some time in a Michigan hospital after suffering from “a concussion, a bleeding ulcer and Barrett’s esophagus.” After canceling six U.S. shows following his hospital stay, the singer penned a grim letter to fans where he discussed his own mortality.
“The reports of my death have been greatly understated,” Morrissey wrote. “The positive from all of this is that there are now no known ailments left for me to try.” The singer also joked about an upcoming Las Vegas concert, writing, “If there’s an audience of any kind in attendance, I just might die with a smile on my face, after all. If I am not there, I shall probably never again be anywhere. Equally, I am determined to play Flint [Michigan] if it kills me (which, on the face of it, it almost has).” He concluded the letter by signing off, “pause at my headstone, MORRISSEY.”
In a recent interview where Morrissey talked about his many health issues, he proclaimed that, “The worst was in June in Boston, when I was hospitalized with acute fever. I was delirious for six hours, talking absolute nonsense and unable to stop. I’ve never been so frightened in my life. Then, of course, you get these bitchy comments for having to cancel shows…. I’ve been to so many hospitals lately that there’s hardly any point in my leaving.”
At press time, Morrissey hasn’t updated his fan sites about the cancer reports. Whatever the diagnosis, Morrissey is back out on the road, and NME reports that the singer’s backing band is proudly donning shirts that say “Fuck Harvest” as a nod to his record label after the label released Moz’s new LP World Peace Is None of Your Business.