Simon Parkin A gig by Morrissey on Great Yarmouth's Britannia Pier has sold out in a matter of minutes. The seaside date next May - which harks back to the days when some of music's biggest names played Yarmouth's piers, is one of 14 dates announced.

Simon Parkin

A gig by Morrissey on Great Yarmouth's Britannia Pier has sold out in a matter of minutes.

The seaside date, on Friday, May 15 - which harks back to the days when some of the biggest names in music played Yarmouth's piers, is one of 14 dates announced as part of a national tour.

Tickets went on sale at 10am today, sparking a telephone clamour amongst fans. But in record time the date at the 1,200 seat venue had sold out.

Sharon Davison, box office manager, said: “It had sold out within 10-minutes. It's so strange, we're just not used to this level of demand, it's all new to us.

“When people first spotted it on the Morrissey website the phone started ringing red hot from people wanting to know whether it was true and when they could get tickets.

“People started calling from 8.30am and at 10am they all went straight away. We're still getting calls now. People sound so disappointed when they find out it's sold out.”

The tour is timed to coincide with the singer's ninth studio album, Years of Refusal, to be released on February 16 on the Polydor/Decca label, preceded by the single, I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris.

Years of Refusal was completed earlier this year in LA with the late Jerry Finn, producer of Morrissey's acclaimed 2004 album You Are The Quarry.

The 12-track album, released in the year when Morrissey turns 50, will include a clutch of new songs played live in recent months including I'm Throwing My Arms Around Paris, Something Is Squeezing My Skull, Mama Lay Softly On The Riverbed and One Day Goodbye Will Be Farewell.

Morrissey last played in Norfolk two years ago when he appeared before a sell-out crowd at King's Lynn Corn Exchange.

As well as the Yarmouth date, the tour will also see the be-quiffed ex-Smiths singer play Cambridge Corn Exchange the following night.

In the 1960s Yarmouth was a regular stopping off point for many of the biggest musical names of the day. The Beatles appeared just before going to America, while The Shadows appeared in summer season on the pier.