Stephen Morris says he doesn’t know whether he’ll ever return to New Order as he deals with an undisclosed illness he describes as “pretty serious.”
The Joy Division and New Order drummer opened up about his health in a new interview with Rolling Stone, two months after New Order announced that Morris and his wife, keyboardist Gillian Gilbert, would step away from touring “for the foreseeable future” due to personal health reasons. When asked whether he hopes to eventually rejoin the band, Morris replied, “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.”
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Morris said the illness currently prevents him from traveling outside the UK for extended periods. He and Gilbert recently attempted a short trip to New York for an exhibition of Ian Curtis’ lyrics, but Morris said the two-day visit “just ended in disaster.” “I can’t really say things will get better, because they won’t,” he added.
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That means Morris will sit out New Order’s upcoming South American run, which begins with two shows in São Paulo on November 23rd and 25th before continuing through Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Colombia. Gilbert will also remain off the road.
Morris also appears unlikely to attend Joy Division and New Order’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on November 14th in Los Angeles. The two bands are being inducted together, with Ian Curtis, Gilbert, Peter Hook, Morris, and Bernard Sumner named as members of the class.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding live performances, Morris stressed that he has no intention of giving up music. “I can’t really not do music,” he said, adding that he’s still playing drums and remains close with Sumner, Phil Cunningham, and Tom Chapman. In fact, he left the door cracked for something closer to home, saying, “if it was a gig down the road, I’m sure we’d be all right.”
The interview arrives ahead of Joy Division’s massive Eternal (Live) box set, due September 25th. The 14-CD, two-DVD collection gathers audio from 16 concerts, including previously unreleased performances, alongside more than two and a half hours of live footage.