Veteran British crooner Sir Cliff Richard will stage a free show for fans in New York this week (begs16Jun14) on the same night his cancelled concert with Morrissey was due to take place.

The Devil Woman hitmaker had been looking forward to performing as Morrissey's support act on Saturday (21Jun14), when his U.S. tour was set to make a stop at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, but the former The Smiths frontman recently scrapped all remaining dates on the trek after falling ill.

Now Richard is planning to make it up to devotees by inviting them to attend a gig at The Gramercy Theatre in Manhattan this weekend.

Ticket holders for the original Morrissey show will be given priority at the venue and the remaining tickets will be handed out on a first come, first served basis.

Sharing the news in a video message on his Facebook.com page, he says, "I know that many of you are disappointed because the New York concert is cancelled, but what can you do? Morrissey is not well. I am also disappointed...

"I've decided I'm going to go anyway to New York and I'm going to put on an evening. It won't be the show I had planned to do at Morrissey but it could be a real nice evening... I hope I'll see you and we'll get over our disappointment together."

Morrissey had been scheduled to stay on the road until the end of the month (Jun14), but was advised by doctors to cut his trip short after collapsing with an "acute fever" in Boston, Massachusetts and receiving medical treatment during a stop in Miami, Florida in recent weeks.

It's the second time in as many years illness has prompted the ageing rocker to pull his U.S. tour - early last year (13) he had to axe his entire trek as he struggled with double pneumonia, a bleeding ulcer, and throat condition Barrett's esophagus after months of illness.