Morrissey says he has shut down email address shared to sell stake in Smiths

Singer had said he was open to offers for stake in former band although email address never appeared to work

In a sullen episode befitting some of his more gloomy lyrics, Morrissey, lead singer of the Smiths, has abruptly shut down an email address he was promoting to sell his business interests in the band.

The notoriously saturnine frontman blamed disagreeable and vexatious characters" involved with the band for his sudden decision, and claimed he had endured decades of misery, in a post on Friday on his website morrisseycentral.com.