Morrissey’s Chicago Show Postpone Due to Visa Hangup

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey was forced to postpone what was planned to be the first U.S. gig of his current tour in Chicago on Thursday because his lead guitarist was unable to perform in the U.S. this week “due to a visa administration error.” All tickets will be honored at the rescheduled show, set for December 17 at the Congress Theater, where the original show was to be held. The A.V. Club reports that Moz has been spotted around Chicago rehearsing for the upcoming tour in recent days.

A representative for Morrissey said the rest of the tour should go ahead as planned, and the next show will be held November 14 at the Majestic Theatre in San Antonio, Texas. The tour was planned a 15-date tour through North America, hitting Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Dallas and a few cities in Mexico, among other stops.

Morrissey’s last record, Years of Refusal, was released in 2009. The record peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 100 chart and number three on the U.K. Albums Chart. But Morrissey has not stayed out of the spotlight over the past two years.

Known for controversy, he’s been accused of racism and other things, but most recently he’s been in the news because of an attempt to sue British magazine NME for libel. The singer first brought charges against the magazine in 2007 because of an article he said insinuated he made racist. With nothing done in the intervening four years, the case has now reached a High Court Judge that will decide if the case will go to trial. If the case does go to trial, it would be the first British libel case in two years to go to trial. The judgment of the High Court Judge should be released in a few weeks.