Video: Morrissey returns to stage at London’s Royal Albert Hall, 3 nights after collapse

Three nights after collapsing on stage and being rushed to the hospital, Morrissey resumed his fall European tour tonight at London’s famed Royal Albert Hall — a concert that already had been postponed for health reasons back in May.

According to British media and fan accounts, Moz took to the stage to a rapturous ovation, quipped, “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” and then launched into The Smiths’ “This Charming Man” (see video above), the song he barely finished Saturday night before collapsing at Swindon’s Oasis Leisure Centre.

The 50-year-old singer was hospitalized overnight with breathing problems, then released; he canceled Monday night’s concert in Bournemouth, but had vowed to restart his tour — in support of the just-released B-sides album Swords— at Royal Albert Hall. Neither Morrissey nor his management has disclosed what was behind the health scare.

According to the NME, Moz was typically self-deprecating tonight. At the climax of “How Soon is Now?,” he “poked fun at his recent collapse by lying on the ground for a few minutes before getting to his feet with the quip: ‘Thank you, Swindon.'” (See video below.)

The NME added:

“Ever keen to joke about his on-stage collapse, the Manchester singer also told the crowd: ‘The doctor said I shouldn’t smile. I told him I don’t,’ before he began his 2004 hit ‘Irish Blood, English Heart.'”

A fan who caught the gig posted on Morrissey-solo.com: “This show was near perfect, very muscular and fast paced. Moz had a point to prove and he proved it!”

As for the concert itself, Morrissey’s devoted much of his set to the 2000-era B-sides compiled on Swords, yet he also threw in some Smiths rarities and favorites, such as “Cemetery Gates,” “Death at One’s Elbow,” “Is It Really So Strange?” and “Nowhere Fast.”

The tour continues Thursday night in Leeds.

See Morrissey’s Royal Albert Hall setlist and more video after the jump…

Setlist: Morrissey, Royal Albert Hall, London, 10/27/09

“This Charming Man”
“Black Cloud”
“When I Last Spoke To Carol”
“How Soon Is Now”
“Ganglord”
“Cemetery Gates”
“I’m Throwing My Hands Around Paris”
“Teenage Dad On His Estate”
“Nowhere Fast”
“Irish Blood, English Heart”
“Why Don’t You Find Out For Yourself”
“One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell”
“Death At One’s Elbow”
“The World Is Full Of Crashing Bores”
“Is It Really So Strange?”
“The Loop”
“Because Of My Poor Education”
“I’m OK By Myself”
“First Of The Gang To Die”

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• Morrissey released from hospital, Monday’s Bournemouth concert postponed
• Morrissey collapses on stage during U.K. concert, hospitalized in stable condition
• Morrissey’s U.S. tour dates: West Coast concerts planned in November, December
• Morrissey ‘irked’ at Andy Rourke’s claim he was fired from The Smiths via postcard
• Morrissey fleshes out fall European tour, featured in another nearly naked photo
• Tracklist for Morrissey’s ‘Swords’ b-sides CD revealed; singer plans L.A. concert
• Morrissey: Don’t buy my new box sets — I’m not making money off them
• Morrissey to release vinyl box sets of solo singles spanning 1988 to 1995
• Morrissey, The Cure, Depeche Mode top first six months of Slicing Up Eyeballs
• Morrissey vows to restart Tour of Refusal, announces ‘Swords’ b-sides album
• The Smiths’ ‘Singles Box’ to be released this month in expanded 12-CD edition
• Morrissey’s ‘Years of Refusal’ tour marred by cancellations, immigration trouble