I have become a fanatic of a level I never felt possible. I have always been a fan girl of some sort. Gushing over Shaun Cassidy as a kid evolving to Ramone, Vicious, Strummer, Furstenfeld and so on. There has always been a musical swoonbucket but never ever to the magnitude of Morrissey.
Call it a midlife crisis, call it lack of brain cells but when you ink someones face and name on your body shits getting real. Morrissey is so brilliant that his minions of MozArmy truly worship his every move. I have seen him live twice. Since September of this year note ONE DAY..has passed where I didn’t listen to his solo work or something by the Smiths. Every day… every day. Constant repeat and no shame.
He has currently playing some dates in South America after cancelling his US tour due to serious illness. There were lots of grey areas in his sudden tour halt- pretty scary stuff. I saw him in October and in January- both times he appeared fit and healthy and both times he had us all fooled. He was very ill. Details of that dark time are finally being released and they’re scary and sad.
My hero tells Chilean newspaper La Tercera, “It was terrible. I had played in January in Ohio, and I was perfect, but the next night at the hotel I collapsed. I lost consciousness and when I recovered, I was covered in black blood and did not know what it was. I was taken to a hospital (where doctors) quickly discovered I had an ulcer, Barrett’s esophagus, and then (it) all finished in double pneumonia.
“I spent over four weeks on a drip, but I refused a blood transfusion. I managed to do some more shows in the U.S., but when I arrived in Mexico the doctors told me to stop. Not being able to finish the tour was devastating, but doctors warned me: ‘A few weeks ago you almost died, and now you say you’ll do 18 shows more? Are you trying to kill yourself?’ In fact, I think that was what I was doing…
“Seriously, I did not worry too much, because eventually we all die one day and in my case it would be better to die on stage than on a sofa covered with bread crumbs. Yes, the doctors told me: ‘Do you realise that you are dying?’ But it’s so abstract to hear you do not know what to do. Furthermore, we are all dying, even when we sleep we are dying slowly, but until that happens, you give everything you have. There will be much time to rest, once we get to the grave.”
So what does this mean? Now that he is back on stage, is he in good health? Is he giving a ‘f-you’ to the doctors who demand he retire? Is this the farewell tour of the man with the mighty quiff?
Please please please, let me get to see him one more time. Better yet please please please don’t die.
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