Tom Dunne: Van Morrison turns 80 — and gives us the gift of Remembering Now

His new album is classic Van. The songs on Remembering Now flow like water. It’s an incredible gift

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 Astral Weeks and declare him a poetic genius. Another might hold up Too Late to Stop Now and declare him a blue-eyed soul visionary, or a Them album and declare him a blues legend.