British singer Morrissey was in stable condition yesterday, a hospital said, after collapsing on stage with breathing problems.
The 50-year-old former frontman of 1980s pop band The Smiths fell ill just one song into his concert on Saturday at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon, southwest England.
Morrissey’s knees buckled and he slumped to the floor as he came to the end of opening song This Charming Man, The Smiths’ 1983 breakthrough hit, the Daily Telegraph newspaper’s Web site said. He was then dragged offstage.
PHOTO: AFP
“Just after 9pm we got a call to a 50-year-old man who was reported to be suffering from respiratory problems and was unconscious,” said a spokeswoman for the Great Western Ambulance Service. “We sent a paramedic.”
“When they arrived they found a conscious patient who was not feeling well at all. They made an initial assessment and took him to the Great Western Hospital,” she said.
His condition was stable and not thought to be life threatening, she said.
“The stage went dark and he was taken off the stage and then his band all left the stage,” the Daily Telegraph’s Web site quoted 40-year-old eyewitness Mark Taylor as saying.
“There was a wait of about 25 minutes before one of the stage crew came on and said Morrissey had left the building, and that he was seriously ill.
“Everybody started booing, thinking ‘here we go again’. He has a bit of a poor track record for canceling his concerts.”
The Mancunian singer has been touring North America and Europe since releasing his ninth solo album Years of Refusal in February.
He has cancelled several concerts during the tour, including dates in Florida, North Carolina, California, Britain and France.
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