The nightmare of organizing a Morrissey concert

It had all the makings of a historic event, but it wasn’t to be. Just hours before his highly anticipated performance at the Palau de les Arts Auditorium in Valencia, Morrissey cancelled what was to be his first concert in Spain in 10 years on Thursday, claiming he hadn’t been able to sleep a wink the night before.

According to a statement published on the artist’s website, the cause of this “sleep deprivation” was the noise from a street party with electronic music that was set up near the central hotel booked for him by his production office. This hotel was booked despite local promoters having warned about street closures and intense nighttime activity in downtown Valencia during the days leading up to the Fallas festival, the city’s world-famous festival of art, fire, food and music.

Morrissey described his stay at the hotel in Plaza de Manises as “an indescribable hell.” “It will take me a year to recover. And that is an understatement.” Despite this unsettling statement, the Spanish leg of his tour, which is part of the European tour promoting the album Make-Up is a Lie, is expected to continue on Saturday, March 14 at the Auditorio de Zaragoza and on March 16 at the Cartuja Center CITE in Seville.

The decision to cancel the concert in Valencia further fuels Morrissey’s reputation as an emotionally volatile artist prone to breaking professional commitments for the most outlandish reasons. It also doesn’t make things easy for his large and loyal fanbase, who watch as their idol’s constant controversies and outbursts overshadow his undeniable value as one of the most brilliant and influential British pop musicians of the last half-century.

Various sources within the Spanish music industry acknowledge that working with Morrissey is a real headache. “A nightmare,” some even say. They explain that it’s increasingly difficult to find an insurance company willing to cover an artist with an average cancellation rate of nearly 30%. His abrupt departures have become part of popular culture in the form of memes, and there are even websites that keep track of all the concerts the former Smiths frontman has canceled or postponed throughout his 40-year career: 408 cancellations and 1,725 ​​abbrievated sets.

This is, in fact, the second consecutive time the British artist has left his fans in Spain hanging, and once again it involved SF Music, the promoter co‑producing his current Spanish tour with Primavera Sound. Last year, Morrissey cancelled his concert as part of the Noches del Botánico festival in Madrid, citing “acute sinusitis” as the reason. On that occasion, the insurance company compensated the promoters, who this year have had to find another insurance firm.

It was the artist’s own management agency that chose the dates, cities, and venues where Morrissey wanted to perform in Spain: the Auditorium of the Palau de les Arts in Valencia, with a capacity of 1,200 people; the Auditorio de Zaragoza, with a capacity of 1,500 people; and the Cartuja Center CITE in Seville, which can hold 3,400. These are comfortable spaces, with good acoustic conditions, that are noticeably smaller than the theaters that usually host Morrissey’s performances.

In fact, all the tickets for this tour, with an average price of €110 ($126), sold out in minutes. “We could easily have sold four times as many tickets, but we’re very excited because we believe these concerts are going to be historic. Audiences in Spain haven’t had the opportunity to see Morrissey this close up,” said sources at SF Music on Wednesday morning.

2004: Hundreds of crying fans

It is reasonable to think that behind the choice of these “special” venues there is a genuine interest on Morrissey’s part to present his songs in the best conditions to his Spanish fans, many of whom still remember the shock of his high-profile cancellation at the Benicàssim International Festival (FIB) in 2004.

Joan Vich, former director of FIB, vividly remembers that “incredibly difficult” day when he saw hundreds of Morrissey fans weeping at the foot of the stage upon learning that their idol wouldn’t be appearing. Expectations were higher than usual because that year saw the release of You Are the Quarry (2004), a fantastic album marking the vocalist and songwriter’s return after a ten-year hiatus.

“They were opening the main stage, and everything was set up with their set, which was an Elvis tribute featuring gigantic red light-up letters,” recalls Vich, who at the time was the festival’s press officer. “The worst part is that his manager announced the cancellation two hours before the concert. The band was there, ready, the soundcheck was done, and there were a lot of people waiting in the front row. The manager said that Morrissey had a panic attack when he was about to board the private plane that was supposed to bring him from England. Personally, I still think he didn’t come because he had a sudden lapse of judgment and didn’t want to.”

In 2006, Morrissey somewhat repaid FIB by giving an “incredible” concert. “Not only that, but he also agreed to have it broadcast live on [Spanish broadcaster] RTVE, which is unusual for artists of his stature,” says Vich. The singer’s time in Benicàssim also led to some “backstage” anecdotes. In addition to demanding that no meat be sold or consumed on the festival grounds — a requirement always included in his contract—the British artist asked the driver who picked him up to change his leather shoes for “vegan” ones.

With nearly three decades of experience booking and programming artists at all levels, Vich considers Morrissey’s case highly unusual. “Generally, in this industry, we all assume that each party rigorously fulfills its professional responsibilities, and cancellations only occur when there is a justified reason.” “Ultimately, with these cancellations, the only ones who win are the ticketing companies, because they refund the ticket money but keep the commission,” he adds.

Beyond his professional perspective, Vich is also a jaded fan. “I try to separate the man from his work, but my opinion of Morrissey is basically that he’s a bad person, a misanthrope, and a racist who doesn’t care about canceling even if his band is already on stage and won’t get paid, or if his team has to endure the embarrassment of having to face the music for him. I’m telling you this as someone who bought a ticket to see Morrissey in Seville next week. It’s a shame, because I think that after a period of musical stagnation, these last few singles are worthwhile.”

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