On Sunday we learned the scary news that Morrissey, who had just kicked off a new concert tour in Europe in support of the release of his new 2-disc b-sides collection titled Swords, collapsed on stage in front of a sold out audience just 2 songs into his performance. It was reported that Moz was immediately rushed to the hospital where he remained in stable condition the following day before being released. Today we learn that the Mozzer made a triumphant return to the concert stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall last night and performed a full concert without incident. Happy news! Morrissey is back to his old self!!

He was dragged off stage after collapsing during a gig earlier in the week, but that didn’t stop Morrissey putting in a sterling performance at London’s Royal Albert Hall [last night]. The 50-year-old singer had to cut short a gig in Swindon over the weekend after he suffered from breathing difficulties. But, he looked to be back on form for the concert at one of the country’s premier entertainment venues. Manchester-born Morrissey collapsed while playing at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon on Saturday when the gig ended abruptly after his opening rendition of This Charming Man. It was only the second night of his Swords tour of the UK. The former member of the Smiths was taken to hospital suffering from breathing difficulties and was later discharged. But, despite his problems, a spokesman for the Royal Albert Hall reassured fans that the singer would perform at the gig, saying: ‘He definitely wants to continue tonight.’ Shocked onlookers at the Swindon concert described seeing Morrissey “straining” to perform on Saturday night and slumping to his knees. Two band members then rushed to his side and dragged him offstage. The incident forced him to postpone a show in Bournemouth on Monday night, but prior to the London show a spokeswoman for the Royal Albert Hall said the star was “rested and absolutely fine”.

I can’t even tell you how happy this news makes me. Morrissey is one of my fave performers and I’m very pleased to know that he is well enough after his scary collapse to get right back to work. While I fear that the 50 year old may be straining himself a bit much, I have to hope that he knows his limits and wouldn’t be back on the performance stage if he wasn’t feeling up to it. Moz will be touring here in the US at the end of November and early December … I have tickets to see him in concert … I hope he continues to be in good health so we can enjoy his genius here in the US next month. Stay well, Moz! We love you!!

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Last Monday we got to see photos of Morrissey lunching here in SoCal just days before he was to leave for Europe to kick off a new tour. Last night, Moz played a show at Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon, UK but collapsed to the ground after singing just one song. Folks in the audience report that the Mozzer didn’t look or sound well as he sang the first song and had to be carried off stage and rushed to the hospital. Here are photos from last night’s concert which show Morrissey on his feet before he collapsed to the ground:

This is the moment singer Morrissey collapsed on stage with breathing difficulties. The former Smiths frontman, 50, was performing at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon before falling to the floor. He had just sung 1983 hit This Charming Man to the 1000-strong audience before he collapsed and was rushed to hospital. Witnesses said the singer – whose full name is Steven Patrick Morrissey – seemed to be ’straining’ and ‘wincing’ as he sang before sinking to the floor. Audience members said that he came on stage looking drawn and told the audience: ‘Good evening… probably.’ Eyewitness Mark Taylor, 40, told the Sunday Telegraph: ‘The stage went dark and he was taken off the stage and then his band then all left the stage. ‘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 cancelling his concerts.’ A Great Western Ambulance Service spokeswoman said: ‘Just after 9pm we got a call to a 50-year-old man who was reported to be reported to be suffering from respiratory problems and was unconscious. ‘We sent a paramedic in a doubled-crewed ambulance. 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 for further assessment.’ She said his condition was not thought to be life threatening. A hospital spokesman said: ‘Morrissey has been admitted to the Great Western Hospital. He is being reviewed by the medical staff and his condition is stable.’ Morrissey has already cancelled a number of dates this year citing an ‘unspecified illness’.

This is very scary news but I’m happy to know that Moz is in stable condition. As I mentioned earlier this week, Morrissey is scheduled to play shows in Europe thruout November before returning to the US for a string of dates here. It’s unclear if any of those performances will actually happen now. I would much rather Morrissey take his time and recuperate from whatever it is that is ailing him so that he can stay healthy. Let’s send all our love and get well wishes to the Mozzer in the hopes for a speedy and full recovery.

*Much love goes out to my tweeps on Twitter who alerted me to Morrissey’s collapse just moments after it took place … @gretchenraine was the first to give me the head’s up:

@trentvanegas Morrissey collapsed onstage tonight – if you have any contacts who have an update will you post it? PLEASE?!! *worried*

Again, here’s hoping Moz gets well soon!

UPDATE: Morrissey’s official website has been updated with new of his collapse:

MORRISSEY STABLE

Morrissey is in stable condition after his collapse in Swindon Saturday night. Thanks go out to all his well wishers, more information will be posted as soon as it is available.

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Morrissey, the godfather of emo mope rock, was spotted enjoying a lovely afternoon lunch at Cafe Med in West Hollywood, CA yesterday presumably mentally preparing himself for his upcoming concert tour. The Mozzer is hittin’ the road and will be jetting off to Europe this week to play some dates before returning to the US at the end of November to tour here … but before all of that, the man has got to eat … which he did … yesterday:

Moz’s tour is to promote the release of his new b-side collection Swords which will be released on November 3 (you can pre-order your copy of the 2-disc set HERE). I was lucky enough to snag some tix to see Morrissey when he plays SoCal in December and I could not be more excited!! I’ve seen the man a few times and was even lucky enough to catch the shirt off his sweaty back at one show … I can’t wait!! Wee!!

[Photo credit: Splash News]

Day 1 of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival got underway in Indio, CA yesterday where thousands of people flocked to the desert to watch live concert performances by artists like Morrissey, The Ting Tings, Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band and more. But, Coachella Day 1 was really all about Sir Paul McCartney who headlined the fest last night and officially got the 3-day party started:

Energized by the desert air and memory of his late wife, a playful and passionate Paul McCartney riffed on “Foxy Lady,” led an after-midnight “Hey Jude” singalong and dedicated songs to his former bandmates at the Coachella music festival that kicked off Friday. McCartney took off his black jacket five songs in and didn’t put it back on for the next 29, strutting the stage in boots, black pants, a white shirt and suspenders that he tugged at wryly. “It’s going to be a good weekend, dear,” he told the crowd of thousands gathered for the three-day festival, which erupted in cheers with the first chords of Beatles tunes like “Eleanor Rigby.” It was McCartney’s first appearance at a U.S. festival as a solo artist. In the 2 1/2-hour set, including two encores, McCartney dedicated “Long and Winding Road” and “My Love Does It Good” to his late wife Linda, who died at the couple’s ranch at Tucson, Ariz., 11 years earlier to the day. “It’s an emotional day for me. That’s good, that’s OK,” he said, pounding his chest. “Lot of heart, lot of emotion.” Before a moving performance of “Blackbird,” he noted that it had been written in response to the 60s civil rights movement. “Now you’ve got President Obama. Yeah, you know we’ve come a long way.” Switching from serious to cheerily self-aware, he led call-and-response chants only to wave them off quickly as “messing around,” and dismissed signs held by front-row fans — including one that asked for his guitar pick. “No! It’s mine!” McCartney said. “Anyway, if I make a mistake, I can blame the signs.” There were mistakes. McCartney was proficient but sometimes out-of-sync with the four-man band backing him. But he clearly enjoyed himself, plowing through songs from his “Fireman” album, “Band on the Run” from the Wings, and Fab Four favorites like “Back in the USSR,” “Paperback Writer” and, for the finale, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” McCartney launched brightly into “Something” with only his voice and a ukulele he said was given to him by George Harrison, before his band mates and the crowd joined in. The first day of the festival also featured Morrissey, Leonard Cohen, the Hold Steady, Franz Ferdinand and the Ting Tings. It drew a number of young Hollywood stars to this desert city southeast of Palm Springs. Anne Hathaway was spotted in the VIP area wearing patterned harem pants and a cardigan, while Morrissey’s set drew the attention of “Twilight” actor Robert Pattinson, wearing skinny cut-off jeans, and Kirsten Dunst in a short-sleeve mini-dress. Kate Bosworth, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Chloe Sevigny and Zoe Kravitz were also spotted in the VIP area. Las Vegas-based The Killers and M.I.A., a replacement for Amy Winehouse, headline a more youthful Saturday lineup. My Bloody Valentine and The Cure cap off Sunday night. The recession has forced music festivals nationwide to lower prices or downsize, and three-day, $269 tickets to Coachella were available on a layaway plan. Single-day tickets were $120 at the door.

Wow, sounds incredible. I was unaware that it was the anniversary of Linda McCartney’s death … and I simply cannot believe she passed away 11 years ago! Has it really been that long? I have to say, altho I’m not a fan at all of day-long festival concerts (especially in the California desert) it sounds like yesterday might’ve been worth the desert trek. I would’ve happily paid $120 just to see Sir Paul play a 2 1/2 hour concert all by himself. I understand that Morrissey wasn’t too happy yesterday. He complained from the stage saying, “The smell of burning flesh is more than I can bear … and I hope to God it’s human” (via Amanda Palmer’s Twitter). See, it’s hard to tell if Moz was really pissy or if he was just being his usual charming/bitchy self. In any event, 90+ degree weather notwithstanding, it sounds like Day 1 of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for 2009 was a good one … let’s see how Day 2 goes today.

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Pink readers LyndyLoo and Mark have alerted me to the fact that Morrissey (alongside the lads in his band) has decided to appear nekkid on the innersleeve artwork of his new single I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris. Wearing only 7″ records (ahem) to cover their willys, Moz and his boys seem pretty proud to show off their stuff:

I gotta admit … I likes what I see. While the dudes in Mozzer’s band (well, except for the guy directly to Moz’s left) have pretty nice bodies to show off, I’m most impressed with Morrissey’s sexy bod. As the elder statesman of mope/shoegaze rock, I think he has much to hold his head up and be proud of. After the jump, check out the uncensored semi-NSFW full size single artwork …

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Morrissey has got a new music video out for the first single from his new album Years Of Refusal which is due out on February 17. Here are a few screencaps from his new single and music video I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris:

I’ve been fortunate enough to be able to preview the album in full and, honestly, I wasn’t immediately wowed. It took me a few listens to really get into the disc but I’m totally on board with it now. It does sound a bit like his previous albums, which is good but (on the negative side) sometimes just sounds like more of the same. After the jump, check out the video for I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris and judge for yourself …

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Back in October we got our first look at what was presumed to be the photo that is to be used as the cover artwork for Morrissey’s new album Years of Refusal. Today we get to see that photo as the official album artwork and get a few deets about the album’s release date along with some tour information information:

According to Moz’s official website, Years of Refusal is due for release on February 16 with the album’s first single I’m Throwing My Arms Around Paris set for release one week prior. Paris will be released with two new b-sides — Because of My Poor Education and Shame is the Name (which features vocals by Chrissie Hynde). Morrissey has also scheduled a few dates at the Royal Albert Hall in the UK in May with homecoming concerts in his hometown of Manchester on May 22 & 23. But, before he does those UK dates he will be performing a few warm-up shows here in the US — Ticketmaster has already listed a date in Florida and a date in Virginia. As a huge Mozzer fan, I am very excited by all of this news!

I’m dying to hear what the new stuff sounds like … Morrissey rarely disappoints. It really does look like 2009 is going to be a great year for concerts :)

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