Litany of health problems cost Morrissey his tour of the US

Morrissey has cancelled 22 shows in America due to ill health (Rex Features)

The singer Morrissey has revealed that he was forced to cancel his US tour because of the huge medical costs arising from his series of health scares, which included double pneumonia and a stomach ulcer.

The former Smiths frontman said, on top of his poor health, the bills meant he was unable to get insurance to continue performing on the dates.

Morrissey, 53, told a Mexican radio station: “I had to (cancel) because of medical reasons, because I have had so much medical attention, it had soaked up all the insurance. So we couldn't actually continue any more because we weren’t insured to continue.”

He had been fighting ill health for a number of weeks after being diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer and a condition called Barrett's oesophagus, which can in some rare cases, lead to cancer. His depleted defences were then battered by pneumonia.

The singer said: “They tried to patch me together over the following five weeks, but it didn't quite work and I was on lots of IV drips for almost five weeks and each time it seemed like I was back to robust health I would go into decline.”

Morrissey disclosed that he had been advised to retire from live performance but was determined to return to the stage because “it’s ingrained within me and I know it’s the best of life when you tour and you make music and sing.”