Morrissey officially abandons South American tour due to 'lack of funding' Jul 22nd 2013, 09:57
'Cancellations and illness have sucked the life out of all of us,' says singer after much-troubled tour to Peru, Chile, Brazil and Argentina is called off
Morrissey has officially abandoned his South American tour, despite promoters' previous claims to the country. Blaming a "lack of funding" for his second tour cancellation this year, the singer seems prepared to stop gigging altogether: "Cancellations and illness have sucked the life out of all of us," he wrote, "and the only sensible solution seems to be the art of doing nothing."
"In a year when far too many disappointments have been buried, this really is the last of many final straws," Morrissey explained on the blog True to You. "I am informed today that the projected tour of South America is snuffed out ... It's quite easy to sell tickets, yet [apparently] impossible to transport band and crew from F to G."
The tour has been troubled from the beginning. He first booked the gigs in March, weeks after double pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer forced the termination of a US tour. Soon after, and without any explanation, dates in Mexico were called off. But Morrissey was still due to play in Peru, Chile, Brazil and Argentina, and he landed in Lima just a couple of weeks ago. "Peru, Peru," he wrote. "My heart's lighthouse."
Then Morrissey's entire team was hit with food poisoning. "After such a victorious and uplifting welcome of Lima love, the contaminated jinx had its way via a simple restaurant meal of penne pasta and tomato," he wrote. "[We] collapsed with a deadly and delirious bedridden disease." The singer flew off to receive treatment in Los Angeles. His promoters offered conflicting reports about which concerts were still on. And finally, now, still in Los Angeles, Morrissey has declared the whole thing "euthanised".
The nature of Morrissey's funding problems is not clear. One of the singer's promoters "categorically denied" claims that the shows were undersold, telling Peru's El Comercio that all the gigs were at least 80% sold out. It's possible that ticket proceeds weren't enough to pay for the extra travel necessitated by illness; it's also possible that Morrissey has insurance problems. During his earlier 2013 tour, the decision to fly home followed a discovery that they had "soaked up all the insurance ... [and] couldn't actually continue any more".
"The future is suddenly absent, and my apologies are now so frequent as to be somewhat ridiculous," Morrissey wrote this week. "The collapse of South America [brings] the curtain down with a colossal thud, and the major problems remain as insoluble now as they were in 2009. The obvious conclusion stares back at me from the mirror, and the wheels are finally off the covered wagon … I shall see you in my dreams."
Morrissey's last album was released in 2009. Although he continues to write new material, he claims labels are not interested in putting his records out unless they also receive a share of his tour revenue. He has also ignored calls for a crowdfunded album. "He's old-school," explained producer Tony Visconti. "I actually don't blame him."
Despite all these troubles, Morrissey is still preparing to unveil a concert film, Morrissey 25: Live, which will be shown in cinemas next month.
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