Morrissey returns for two Las Vegas shows

Morrissey has announced his return to the stage, months after cancelling a number of US tour dates citing “physical exhaustion”.

The former frontman of The Smiths said “despite recent fiascoes” he will perform a pair of concerts in Las Vegas on July 26 and July 27 at the House of Blues.

“Having hung upside down for several months, I am now in good health – like an arrow fully drawn and waiting to be fired: please fling me,” he said in a statement on Instagram.

It comes after the 65-year-old sought “medical supervision for physical exhaustion” and was “ordered to rest for two weeks”, forcing him to cancel a number of US tour dates in late January.

Speaking about his new Las Vegas performances, Morrissey said on Instagram: “Life begins again with full accompaniment from Jesse Tobias (guitar), Carmen Vandenberg (guitar), Camila Grey (keyboards), Solomon Walker (bass), and Matthew Walker (drums.). Expect a night of thrust and parry – no-show tunes. If you can find a decent pair of shoes, by all means come along. There is nothing quite like physical proximity, I am assured.”

Morrissey, full name Steven Patrick Morrissey, featured in The Smiths’ original line-up alongside guitarist Johnny Marr, drummer Mike Joyce and bassist Andy Rourke. Rourke died last year aged 59, following a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer.

The influential English band had a string of hits in the 1980s with songs including Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now, This Charming Man and There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.

The band, powered by the songwriting partnership of Marr and Morrissey, split in 1987, having released albums including The Smiths and Meat Is Murder and earning three top 10 hits.

The demise of the Manchester four-piece was one of the most spectacular in UK music, the fallout of which saw Joyce and Rourke taking Morrissey and Marr to court over royalties in 1989. Following their split, Morrissey went solo and produced a string of hit albums including number ones Viva Hate, Vauxhall And I and Ringleader Of The Tormentors.