Morrissey has again halted plans to return to the global stage, cancelling all remaining dates on his 2025 tour due to what has been described as “extreme exhaustion”. The former frontman of The Smiths has withdrawn from performances across South America and Europe, bringing an already turbulent touring year to an early end and raising renewed questions about whether his upcoming 2026 make-good shows in North America will proceed as intended.
The cancellations affect dates previously scheduled for Buenos Aires in Argentina on 8 November, Sao Paulo in Brazil on 12 November, Santiago in Chile on 16 November, Lima in Peru on 20 November, and Bogota in Colombia on 22 November. The December concerts booked for Athens, Greece, as well as Istanbul and Ankara in Turkey, have also been removed from his touring calendar.
This latest update comes just weeks after Morrissey abandoned shows in Mexico City and Guadalajara with the same explanation. The announcement at the time read, “due to the artist’s extreme exhaustion”, mirroring a similar reasoning offered for the cancellation of several European summer shows earlier in the year.
Long-time Moz followers are familiar with his reputation for unpredictability when it comes to live commitments. In September, US shows in Mashantucket, Connecticut and Boston, Massachusetts were also called off after what Morrissey’s team described as a “credible threat to his life”. Authorities later confirmed a man from Ottawa, Canada, was released on bail after allegedly making threats against the singer.
Tour cancellations have become a recurring motif in Morrissey’s later career, occasionally for reasons as mundane as a cold stage. Yet the scale of these pull-outs is significant even by his standards, with more than 20 performances scrapped in 2025 alone. Fans who rolled their tickets over from previous cancellations now find themselves again wondering whether rescheduled dates will materialise in January 2026, when he is currently booked to return to the United States.
Morrissey’s recorded output in the past decade has followed a similarly turbulent path. His 2020 album I Am Not A Dog On A Chain delivered the standout track Bobby, Don’t You Think They Know?, featuring Motown legend Thelma Houston. However, after that release Morrissey parted ways with BMG, then later began a second Las Vegas residency under the “Viva Moz Vegas” banner in 2022. His 2023 touring included stops across the UK and Ireland.
His intended next album Bonfire Of Teenagers, recorded with producer Andrew Watt and featuring contributions from Chad Smith, Flea, Josh Klinghoffer, Iggy Pop and Miley Cyrus, stalled after Capitol Records declined to release it. Though Morrissey regained rights to the record in 2024, it remains unreleased, as does his subsequently reworked album You’re Right, It’s Time. In typical Morrissey fashion, the saga included parted management relationships, public statements, and ongoing speculation about industry opposition.
The shadow of The Smiths, which Morrissey fronted from 1982 to 1987 alongside guitarist Johnny Marr, continues to loom. A proposed reunion tour alleged to have been offered for 2025 famously fizzled after Morrissey claimed to accept the deal while Marr did not. Tensions between the pair have occasionally played out publicly, including disputes over ownership of The Smiths’ trademark.
Morrissey’s next scheduled touring activity is set for early 2026 in North America, a run itself intended to replace previously cancelled dates from earlier in 2025. Given the unpredictable nature of his touring in recent years, fans are approaching these plans with hope and caution in equal measure. Morrissey, who once sang “the passing of time leaves empty lives”, now faces increasing scrutiny not only on artistic direction but also on stamina for the stage.
For now, South American and European audiences will need to hold tight, and the question again hangs over a live chapter that never quite seems to stay written. Whether Morrissey’s recovery brings a return to form or merely resets the cancellation counter remains to be seen.
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