Rocker Jesse Tobias believes singer Morrissey suffered a cursed year after repeated illnesses forced him to axe 60 concerts and dump his American tour.

The former The Smiths frontman repeatedly left fans disappointed as he cancelled dozens of shows after suffering a string of health woes including double pneumonia, food poisoning, a bleeding ulcer, and a serious throat condition called Barrett's oesophagus.

His problems began in January (13) and continued intermittently until July (13), when the rocker finally gave in and announced he was axing his entire tour, and Tobias, who plays as part of Morrissey's backing band, is convinced the star was suffering some kind of hex.

The former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist tells Uncut magazine, "Unfortunately we had a string of problems. It was horrible. This was a bit of a cursed year."

Despite his problems, Morrissey has ended 2013 on a high note - his acclaimed memoir, which was released in October (13), is on course to be one of the year's best-sellers after spending five weeks at the top of the U.K.'s paperback chart.