Tom Dunne: Van Morrison turns 80 — and gives us the gift of Remembering Now
Van Morrison performing at Live at the Marquee. Picture: Chani Anderson
Van Morrison turns 80 at the end of this month. His reputation is such that should a birthday invite fall this way I’d be quite likely to politely decline. His is a fearsome reputation. However, if he was performing at that party, I’d go. The man is a bona fide genius. End Of. Grumpy or not.
He is such a prolific genius that fans can experience him in completely different ways. One might hold up and declare him a poetic genius. Another might hold up and declare him a blue-eyed soul visionary, or a album and declare him a blues legend.
He is all of those things and more.
His is a tale of Ireland. His dad worked in Harland and Wolf and collected jazz and blues records. It is said to have been one of the biggest collections in Ireland. As a result Van grew up steeped in the music of Ray Charles, Solomon Burke, and Muddy Waters.
By 11 he was playing guitar, by 12 was in his first band, by 13 was playing gigs and arranging songs and by 14 had taken up the saxophone. He left school at 15, was briefly cleaning windows before touring US army bases in Europe with a showband, The Monarchs, when only 17.
By 1964, aged 19, he was assembling Them and playing legendary gigs at the Maritime Hotel in Belfast. He said later that Them left the best of themselves on that stage and it's easy to believe that. , as since covered by The Doors and Patti Smith, was already in the set.
He was signed by Dick Rowe. Dick has become famous since as the man who turned down The Beatles. But don’t let that fool you. He did also sign The Rolling Stones, Tom Jones, Cat Stevens, The Animals, The Moody Blues, and one George Ivan Morrison.
Them had chart hits with and but it was what came next that was really fascinating. Breaking up the band after a US tour where a young Jim Morrison would learn stage craft from watching Them side stage, Van was signed by Bert Berns.
If there is a biopic, this is where it will get interesting. Those first sessions produced one of Van’s biggest hits, , but when Bert died suddenly Van found his contract was not all it seemed. Firstly, he now appeared to be signed to Bert’s widow. Secondly the record company appeared to be owned by the Mafia.
Unable to gig, he wrote — an album repeatedly voted as one of the greatest of all time. When Warner Records freed him from his old contract, reputedly by passing $20K in an envelope to a man in a car park, he delivered — another instant classic.
The following years, leading to the triumphant 1974 live album , are some of the most creative of his career. The music flowed out of him. His band was sensational allowing him to develop what became known as Caledonia Soul Music. It is Morrison at his spiritual, mystic best.
It would be tempting to sketch out the other numerous phases of his career but Morrison is a bus you just have to get onto yourself. Any one of about 15 of his albums could seduce and enchant you in a way you never imagined possible. You just have to commit.
I discovered 1989’s at a point when Something Happens were touring a lot. Ironically I got lost in Northern Ireland at night, during the Troubles, whilst listening to . It, and distracted me. I was lost in Van world. One minute I was leaving Belfast, the next I was heading towards Sligo.
I don’t regret it though. The lights of that night in Northern Ireland still play on my mind. A sold-out show at The Limelight behind us, a friend with me and Van’s heartfelt “If only it could always be like this” will live with me forever.
His new album is classic Van. The songs on flow like water. It’s an incredible gift. I have friends who are great company but none of them have produced “the most spiritually transcendent body of work in the Rock and Roll canon". So be as curmudgeonly as you want Van... and Happy Birthday.
