An undisclosed illness that Stephen Morris describes as “pretty serious” has him weighing whether he’ll ever return to New Order. He admits he doesn’t know if he will come back to the band.
A new Rolling Stone interview has revealed that the drummer of Joy Division and New Order has spoken openly about his health, just two months after the band announced that he and his wife, keyboardist Gillian Gilbert, would stop touring “for the foreseeable future” because of personal health issues.
The Illness
Morris was asked if he hopes to eventually return to the group, and he responded, “I don’t know. I really don’t want to dwell on what this illness is, but it’s pretty serious. It’s not something that someone’s going to come up with a cure for.”
The disease is presently keeping Morris from leaving the United Kingdom for long stretches of time.
“I can’t really say things will get better, because they won’t.”
The New York Trip
Gilbert and he tried a brief journey to New York for a display of Ian Curtis’ verses not long ago, yet Morris described their two-day stay there as ending in disaster.
Morris said the trip did not go as planned.
South American Dates
Morris is out for New Order’s upcoming South American tour, which starts with two shows in São Paulo on November 23rd and 25th and then moves on through Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia.
Gilbert will also remain off the road for the tour.
| Date | Location |
|---|---|
| Nov 23rd | São Paulo |
| Nov 25th | São Paulo |
Hall of Fame Induction
Joy Division and New Order will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on November 14th in Los Angeles, and Morris is not expected to show up.
Both groups are entering together, and the class includes Ian Curtis, Gilbert, Peter Hook, Morris, and Bernard Sumner as its members.
Still Playing Drums
Morris made it clear that he has no plans to give up music, even as questions remain about live performances.
He confessed that he cannot help but keep making music, while also noting that he continues to play drums and still maintains a close bond with Sumner, Phil Cunningham, and Tom Chapman.
He is still playing drums.
A Gig Down the Road
Saying he would have been fine if the job had been nearby, he kept the door slightly open for something closer to home: “If it was a gig down the road, I’m sure we’d be all right.”
Even with international touring no longer an option, that points to a local show still being within reach.
While Morris didn’t rule out a return to New Order, he gave neither a timeline nor any guarantees.
The Eternal Box Set
A conversation precedes the arrival of a large collection tied to Joy Division, which is due out on September 25th.
This boxed set brings together audio from 16 concerts, with many performances never before released on record, plus over two and a half hours of live video across its two DVDs, all spread across 14 CDs.
The catalog that Morris helped construct still stands as a memorial to his contributions, while his present state keeps him bound to earth.
No Return Date
He is not promising a return date, and he makes no attempt to do so.
There is no known cure for the disease, and it is serious enough that travel has become difficult.
For now, the drummers remain near, the bandmates continue to keep in touch, and the songs keep arriving.
Source: consequence.net
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