British singer Morrissey cancels Spain concert because of ‘sleep deprivation’
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Morrissey had travelled for two days by road to reach his hotel in Valencia from Milan, arriving late on March 11.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Madrid – British indie rock star Morrissey cancelled a concert in Spain’s Valencia on March 12 because the din from the city’s traditional pyrotechnics festival left him “catatonic” with sleep deprivation.
The lead singer with 1980s English band The Smiths had travelled for two days by road to reach his hotel in Valencia from Milan, arriving late on March 11, said his official website.
“Any form of sleep or rest throughout the night was impossible due to festival noise/loud techno singing/megaphone announcements,” said a statement. “This experience has left Morrissey in a catatonic state.”
A second announcement on March 12 confirmed that the “show in Valencia has been rendered impossible due to sleep deprivation”, disappointing fans of the singer, whose British chart-topping albums include Viva Hate (1988) and Vauxhall And I (1994).
“It will take me one year to recover. And that is an understatement,” Morrissey added in a message on his official website.
The Mediterranean city draws hundreds of thousands of people every March during the colourful Fallas festival, famed for its art, fireworks and the spectacular burning of giant sculptures.
In contrast, Morrissey concerts are known for ending as damp squibs. According to music website weheartM.com, he scrapped more than 30 of 84 scheduled performance dates between early 2025 and late January 2026.
The singer also cancelled his concert originally scheduled to take place in Singapore in November 2023.
Morrissey, 66, is a fierce advocate of vegetarianism who requests that his gigs take place in vegetarian spaces, with The Smiths’ album Meat Is Murder (1985) addressing vegetarianism.
He once quit the stage of the Coachella festival in California after sniffing the waft of meat coming from a barbecue. AFP
