British singer Morrissey, who has had to cancel tours in recent years because of ill health, has said in an interview that he received several treatments to remove cancerous tissues.

The former frontman for alternative rock band The Smiths had to put off concerts after suffering various ailments, including a bleeding ulcer, double pneumonia and a respiratory infection. But he was not known to have revealed the cancer treatments.

If I die, I die. If not, then no. Right now I feel good

“They have scraped cancerous tissues on four occasions already, but whatever,” the 55-year-old Morrissey told Spain’s El Mundo newspaper in an interview.

“If I die, I die. If not, then no. Right now I feel good,” he said, in a wide-ranging discussion in which he reiterated his support for Scottish independence and criticised his former music label, bullfighting and the world of show business.

The singer, who performed in Lisbon on Monday night and was due to give concerts in Madrid and Barcelona this week, was also asked about recent spells in hospitals.

“I’m conscious that in recent pictures I don’t look too good, but that’s what illness does to you,” he said. “I’m not going to worry too much about that. I’ll rest when I’m dead.”