Former Smiths frontman Morrissey has cancelled the remainder of his US tour with "unimaginable sorrow" after collapsing backstage after his concert in Boston last Saturday night.

A statement posted on Morrissey fan-site True To You, which often acts as the mouthpiece for official Morrissey news, said that the singer had fallen ill after catching a "horrendous cold" from support act Kristeen Young in a previous show in Miami, "the symptoms of which were passed on to Morrissey".

Incredibly, Young responded to these claims with a Facebook post (now removed, incidentally) in which she maintains that she never complained of a bad cold, instead suffering an allergic reaction.

"I had an allergy attack that was over within 16 hours", she wrote. "I am very sorry that Morrissey is not feeling well. But I will not tolerate these lies...particularly about my health. This is really too much and bizarre."

The statement from Team Morrissey went on to say that "Morrissey received medical attention in Miami, and once again in Boston, but it was not enough to shake off the virus, the recovery time for which is too lengthy to meet the final 9 shows of the tour."

Morrissey has been forced to cancel a number of live dates owing to health concerns in recent years, including a bleeding ulcer, Barrett's oesophagus and double pneumonia.

Moz's scheduled New York City show, which was to feature Cliff Richard as the support act, is among the dates that have unfortunately been cancelled.

(via Billboard