Singer Morrissey Collapses on Stage

The Smiths' former frontman was released from the hospital after having trouble breathing during a performance west of London

Photo: WENN

Morrissey, the 50-year-old former frontman of indie band The Smiths, spent Saturday night in a hospital after falling to the floor during a gig in Swindon, England, about 80 miles west of London.

The singer was discharged Sunday after being “admitted as a precautionary measure,” a spokeswoman at the Great Western Hospital tells PEOPLE, and “he is much improved.”

The incident happened when he was completing his first song, The Smith’s “This Charming Man,” Saturday evening. Eyewitness Jillian Moody told the BBC, “He kept putting his hand up to his mouth as if he felt sick or … perhaps he was trying to hide something, but he didn’t look particularly comfortable.”

After he fell, two members of Morrissey’s current band helped him offstage and he was taken to the hospital. Ambulance crews were initially told he was unconscious.

“Just after 9 p.m. [local time] we got a call to a 50-year-old who was reported to be suffering from respiratory problems and was unconscious. We sent a paramedic in a double-crewed ambulance,” a spokeswoman for the ambulance service said in a statement. “When they arrived, they found a conscious patient who was not feeling well at all. They made an initial assessment and took him to the Great Western Hospital for further assessment.”

Morrissey – whose real name is Steven Patrick Morrissey – is currently touring Europe and has nine dates set for the U.S. later this year.

A show Monday night at the Bournemouth Academy on the South Coast of England has been canceled, according to Morrissey’s record label, and the singer has been “advised to rest.”