After clearing the way for a meat-free concert tour (even insisting that the Staples Center go vegetarian, saying “…all McDonalds vendors shall be closed down, and the only thing burning shall be my heart”), Morrissey has had to cancel part of his North American tour due to health concerns. This comes after a delay of several concert dates.

Furthermore, Moz is being advised to retire for fear that his ailments—which include a bleeding ulcer, pneumonia, and a pre-cancerous throat condition called Barrett’s esophagus—won’t improve. The Smiths frontman told the Mexican radio station Reactor 105.7:

“I had a very bad time. I had internal bleeding and I was rushed into hospital and I had lost a lot of blood. They tried to patch me together over the following five weeks but it didn’t work…I was on lots of IV drips for almost five weeks, and each time it seemed as though I was back to robust health I would decline…I had lost so much blood I had become anemic, but I’m still receiving ongoing treatment and I am very optimistic now.

“It almost became absurd the number of things that happened to me, but everything just attacked me at once. The double pneumonia—everything was really a result of the fact I had lost so much blood, so the immune defenses were very, very low and couldn’t cope with anything, so therefore the slightest gust of wind and I would have a terrible cold…I have been cautioned to [retire], but it’s difficult for me because it’s very ingrained in me.”

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