Cult singer Amanda Palmer has written an open letter to Morrissey, urging the British singer to start an online campaign to fund his next album.

The former The Smiths star recently admitted he may never release new music again due to his ongoing struggle to find a suitable recording contract.

However, Palmer, a longtime Morrissey devotee, insists fans would happily donate their cash if the rocker launched a campaign on fundraising site Kickstarter.com.

In a message posted on Salon.com, she writes, "You have some of the most fanatical fans in the world, caring and devoted people from countries far and wide who would be really, really happy to support you at levels far beyond $5 just to have the songs in their ears.

"You'd also be the first artist of your fame and calibre to undertake a project of this kind with your fanbase, which would make it historic... Since I know you almost definitely won't do this and that you may well think I'm a bothersome a**hole for writing you this open letter, I'd just like to say this: You may be the end of a family line, but you have spawned a lot of singing, songwriting children, whether you like it or not, and I proudly count myself as one of them."

The Dresden Dolls star Palmer has enjoyed huge success on Kickstarter - she pulled in $1 million (£625,000) in public donations last year (12) to fund her next record.