British rocker Morrissey was forced to pull out of a headlining show in Sweden just hours before he was set to appear on stage. The former Smiths frontman is currently on the European leg of his world tour, having performed in Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and France.
However, as fans made their way to Stockholm’s Hovet Arena on Monday evening (June 23), the 66-year-old took to Instagram to announce the cancellation. Morrissey claimed that he and his crew were “travel-weary beyond belief” after travelling to six countries in seven days. The Suedehead star also cited “zero music industry support” and claimed to have “no financial support from imaginary record labels” to get them to venues across Scandinavia, while fuming that “no radio will play our music.”
He posted the lengthy statement alongside two photographs, one of himself on stage and another a random still from the 2006 Norwegian slasher film, Cold Prey.
The musician penned: “SCANDINAVIA! The pain at not reaching Stockholm this week is horrific for the band and crew.
“I know it’s impossible for people to understand, but we dream of Stockholm, Reykjavik, Trondheim, Helsinki, Aarhus … but there is no financial support from imaginary record labels to get us to such places.”
Morrissey added: “In the last seven days we have traveled into six countries, and we are travel-weary beyond belief. We can barely see.
“We pray to God that someone, somewhere can help us reach Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland, Denmark … where we have thousands upon thousands of friends, yet absolutely zero music industry support.
He continued: “No label will release our music, no radio will play our music … and yet our ticket sales are sensational. What does this tell us about the state of Art in 2025?
“The wagon rolls on to Berlin, 27 June. With the grace of God we will all gather. I love all of you with whatever is left of my doomed heart,” Morriessy concluded.
Despite this, some fans remained unimpressed and accused him of using excuses to disappoint concertgoers as one stated: “Why schedule so many dates without proper funding?? Just say you don’t have the money rather than making excuses.”
Another raged: “You do 2 of 4 shows that you have programmed and you are exhausted? It’s amazing. Stop crying and do your job!”
However, others defended Morrissey, as one wrote: “I will be waiting here for you when you return! ???????????????????????? Until then, I will come see you in far-off places.”
Another fan echoed: “Hope you manage to get things sorted! You should kick some record labels in the eye until they help you!”