Morrissey Planning U.S. Tour

Former Smiths frontman Morrissey will set off on just his third string of U.S. tour dates since 1997. The enigmatic vocalist, who is currently without a record label in the U.S. and his native U.K., will kick off the jaunt Feb. 1 in Spokane, Wash.

Although only seven dates have been announced, sources say concerts are in the works for Atlanta, Toronto, the New York area, and several cities in Texas. Tickets for the first round of shows in Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Seattle; St. Paul, Minn.; Madison, Wis.; and Chicago go on sale Saturday.

Tickets for a Valentine's Day concert at the historic Civic Theatre in downtown Akron, Ohio, go on sale Jan. 14.

Morrissey's solo career fell on hard times in the latter years of the past decade, after numerous sour deals with major labels. His 1997 "Maladjusted" album (Mercury) peaked at No. 61 on The Billboard 200, and sold 82,000 copies in the U.S., according to SoundScan.

The 1992 album "Your Arsenal" remains Morrissey's top-selling solo disc of the '90s, having moved 350,000 copies in the U.S.

Still, the 40-year-old artist maintains a rabid fanbase in the U.S. and abroad, and his performance at the Coachella Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. this October was reportedly the highlight of the event.

Over the course of 13 U.S. shows this fall and early winter, Morrissey unearthed rare solo tracks such as "Hairdresser On Fire" and "Tomorrow," while tackling long-standing Smiths favorites such as "Meat Is Murder" and "Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me."

Dates and locations for shows announced thus far are as follows: Feb. 1: Spokane, Wash.
Feb. 2: Portland, Ore.
Feb. 3: Seattle
Feb. 8: St. Paul, Minn.
Feb. 9: Madison, Wis.
Feb. 10: Chicago
Feb. 14: Akron, Ohio


-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.