Morrissey at Riot Fest Chicago 2016 - Saturday
Morrissey at Riot Fest 2016 (photo by James Richards IV)

Morrissey cancels more tour dates, shares blatantly Smiths-y new single

Morrissey‘s fall tour has not been going so well. He stopped his show in Los Angeles — arguably his biggest market — at The Greek Theatre after just 30 minutes, and he canceled all of last week’s shows, including Salt Lake City, Denver, Minneapolis, and Milwaukee, due to “band illness.” He was scheduled to play Washington, DC’s The Anthem tonight (11/28), but that too has been canceled.

“Regretfully, we announce the cancellation of tomorrow’s show in D.C.,” Morrissey wrote in a statement shared by The Anthem. “This is due to an extended recovery period. We appreciate the love and loyalty shown during this unfortunate time.”

Morrissey’s next scheduled show is at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre on Wednesday (11/30).

In other news, while the release date of Morrissey’s new album, Bonfire of the Teenagers, is up in the air, he released the first single from the album over the weekend. “Rebels Without Applause” is the most blatantly Smiths-y song Morrissey has released in 30 years, maybe ever, with a very Johnny Marr guitar riff. You can check that out below.

The song was co-written by Andrew Watt, who also produced the album, along with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, Josh Klinghoffer (RHCP, Pearl Jam) and longtime collaborator/guitarist Boz Boorer. While official credits also list all of those people under “lyricist,” a missive posted to Morrissey Central says, “Contrary to information supplied to both Spotify and to YouTube, Morrissey is the sole lyricist for ‘Rebels Without Applause’, and for all of the tracks on Bonfire of Teenagers.”