Morrissey in hospital after on stage collapse



The former Smiths frontman Morrissey was rushed to hospital tonight after collapsing on stage at the start of a concert.

Witnesses said that just moments after the 50-year-old had finished performing his opening song, the 1983 hit This Charming Man, he fell to the floor and was dragged offstage by worried band members.

Minutes earlier he had arrived on stage and said: "Good evening ... probably."

The singer, whose real name is Steven Patrick Morrissey, was performing at the Oasis Leisure Centre in Swindon, Wiltshire, as part of a world tour when the incident happened at around 9pm.

He was taken by ambulance to Great Western hospital where medics described his condition as stable.

Mark Taylor, 40, who was in the 1,000-strong audience, said: "The stage went dark and he was taken off the stage and then his band then all left the stage. There was a wait of about 25 minutes before one of the stage crew came on and said Morrissey had left the building, and that he was seriously ill.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/oct/24/morrissey-the-smiths-collapse-swindon