There are certain things in life that remain indisputable facts: The sky is blue, there are 24 hours in a day, and beloved British rockstar Morrissey is really good at canceling live shows. Three days into January 2026, he canceled two shows in California, although the venue stated that the shows will be rescheduled. The former Smiths frontman always has his reasons, but his penchant for postponing or canceling shows has become a well-circulated meme among fans, critics, and haters.
The California shows were originally scheduled for January 3 and 6 in Rancho Mirage and San Diego. Morrissey claimed he had an “adverse reaction to a prescription medication,” leading to the January 3 postponement. For the other show, he didn’t give a reason.
Meanwhile, he axed two shows in Mexico in November 2025, citing “extreme exhaustion.” A couple of days later, he scrapped the whole South American tour. October 2025 brought more cancellations when Morrissey shelved two shows in Turkey that were scheduled for December. Prior to that, shows in Stockholm were canceled for the summer, with Morrissey claiming he and his band were “travel-weary beyond belief.” There were also claims of “zero music industry support,” leading to a lack of funds for the tour.
Morrissey Has Been Everyone’s Favorite Plan Canceler For Decades
You know when you find yourself roped into plans, wishing you hadn’t agreed so quickly, and hoping someone cancels so you can get out of going? There’s a good chance Morrissey could help out with that. While I’ve never personally had Morrissey cancel on me, I’ve witnessed this phenomenon, let’s say, secondhand. Meaning, I’ve heard Morrissey fans contemplate, out loud, whether or not to purchase his tickets because there’s a chance he might cancel at the last minute.
Still, his fans love him all the same. The plethora of canceled and postponed shows is just part of the Morrissey experience. And it’s a decades-long experience, according to compilations of his tours.
The Morrissey fan site Morrissey-Solo has done the legwork of cataloguing many of his tours. They noted that he’s toured every year since 2012. In that time, he announced 639 concerts, played 449 of those, canceled 111, and rescheduled 100. According to the data and calculations made by Consequence, that’s about a 70% completion rate.
Another Morrissey fan site, WeHeartM, has an entire page dedicated to every date that Morrissey has ever canceled. This goes way back into his days with The Smiths as well, and reported 402 canceled, postponed, or abbreviated shows.
Despite his habit of canceling shows, Morrissey is truly an icon of British alternative post-punk. His fans remain dedicated, and that’s what matters. But that doesn’t mean there’s no fun to poke every once in a while.
Photo by Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images
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