Morrissey has claimed that “I officially died for nine minutes.”

In an interview with Alternative Nation, he cites a 2013 incident on tour in South America, where he was hospitalised and forced to cancel a series of dates.

Asked what places he’s looking forward to visiting on his upcoming American tour, the singer replied: “I’m also always excited to be in South America, even though the last visit to Peru gave me food poisoning and I officially died for nine minutes. That was fun?”

Elsewhere in the interview, Morrissey voices his criticisms of Barack Obama, saying: “Obama has mystified me because he doesn’t appear to support black people when they need it most. Ferguson being an obvious example. If Michael Brown had instead been one of Obama’s daughters, I don’t think Obama would be insisting that the nation support the so-called security forces! How can they be called security forces if they make the people feel insecure? Obama seems to be white inside.”