The old curmudgeon has just turned 80
Van Morrison Night on BBC klaxon
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
Musings on the byways of popular culture
The old curmudgeon has just turned 80
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Sadly, no Rainbow concert from the TLTSN tour of 73 that I could have gone to see at Brum Town Hall and stupidly didn’t
I believe Afterword superstar Kaisfatdad saw Sir Van the Man on that Too Late to Stop Now tour in 1973. It might even have been at the Rainbow.
@duco01
Three years later I got to see Van do a two-song cameo during an equally memorable – for all the wrong reasons – gig at the Birmingham Odeon.
While Van’s performance that night has largely (if unfairly – he was rather good) been forgotten, memories of EC’s drunken rant about Enoch Powell have never quite gone away.
“Afterword Superstar” – that descriptor is going to stick, @Kaisfatdad!
Good to see you have got over it @Jaygee
Sometime ago, on another thread about Sir George, I mentioned this forthcoming, with someone then asking for a sight.
https://www.covermesongs.com/2025/08/the-best-van-morrison-covers-ever.html
Did they show that bit when he did Cypress Avenue on Comic Relief? You know, with the puppets. And the custard pie?
‘Down on Cyprus Avenue, Cyprus Avenue – Mahalia Jackson comin’ through the ether, Kenny G and Max Bygraves, Clodagh Rogers and Carl Douglas… Yeats an’ Coleridge, William McGonagle, Doug McClure, Paris buns an’ custard pies, Lennie the Lion, Orville an’ Lord Charles, Waldorf an’ Stadler – MUFFIN THE MULE! MUFFIN THE MULE!!! Take me way back, take me way back… DUSTIN GEE! LES DENNIS!!! playin’ aranbee aranbee down by the Kingdom Hall wi’ Ray Allen an’ Roger de Courcey, smokin’ dope, SMOKIN’ DOPE’ down by Avalon wi’ Shari Lewis an’ Peter Brough, PETER BROUGH – pasty suppers, Rancheros, OLD ENGLISH SPANGLES an’ gottles o’ gear gottles o’ gear… ITSTOOLATETASTOPNOWITSTOOLATETASTOPNOW!!!!’ (continues in this vein for next 20 minutes as band play nondescript Celtic Soul shuffle)
Previous previous previous! Just a closer walk with Colin H!
Some nice nods to long gone vantriloquists there, C
…and long gone Old English Spangles…
SHERBET FOUNTAINS! SHERBET FOUNTAINS! Blackjacks and Fruities, Parma Violets, visits to the dentist, drills and fillings, SHERBET FOUNTAINS!
😀
WILLIAM BLAKE
TS ELIOTT! LORD BYRON!!! PAM AYRES!!!
Cyril Fletcher! Cyril Fletcher!
I’m famished now, does anyone have any potted herrings?
An image that immediately conjures its particular soundtrack.
Well, it’s the smiths… ‘corse wouldn’t want to listen to it… shows how goddamn easy that caper was. clever. well, clever enough to get to no. 49 in 1985, ‘and’ no 1 in the indie chart for 36 weeks.
The pop charts today aren’t as good as the pop charts were in the 60s.
The pop charts were especially bad in the 80s.
The Clash are a much-feted band who didn’t make much impact on the actual charts.
So are the Smiths.
Everything is about to be deleted, so buy CDs.
You should buy cheap compilations from Ace.
Have I missed anything? (you aren’t wrong about most of this stuff, honestly…)
Sod the smiths. This is what I meant…
@Leffe-Gin
Check out the delicious limited edition potted herring flavor Ice cream wafers and cornettos on Fusco’s special Van 80th birthday menu!
William McGonagall! William McGonagall!
EJ Thribb! EJ Thribb!
Random poet! Random poet!
Very good 😀
I was in a Norfolk charity shop last weekend with Mrs F (who lived in France until 1984). She picked up an old Pam Ayres book and asked “was she a poet, then?”
You really should make a compilation of thesemasterpieces of the pasticheur’s art, Colin. Suggested title – ‘Copycats Ripped Off My Songs’.
My fear is, though, that rather like 99% of Van’s songs, once they’re placed/heard side by side, you realise ‘It’s all the same song! It’s all the same song!’
Nope
I guess the TLTSN concert isn’t available because of a rights issue…?
We watched the Later… episode and it’s well worth a watch – most of this I had forgotten or never seen. For instance, I was surprised to see Mick Green playing (we we were watching with friends and no one else knew who he was), and great to see Lonnie Donegan too.
Happy Birthday Van. It’s been a bumpy ride, especially the last few years, but this man’s music has been a vital part of my and many others’ lives over the last half century and more. The fact that he is still out gigging (including in Belfast tonight), still in good voice, and still producing work of this quality is be be applauded from the rafters.
Celebrating Sir Van’s birthday by spinning my long-coveted vinyl set of his stunning Pacific High Studio radio broadcast from Sept 1971
Enjoyed the viewing last night. I always love that version of Philosophers Stone from Later, particularly the solos. I know the sublime guitar playing is Mick Green but does anyone know the name of the sax player at that time?
Pee Wee Ellis?
@kjwilly I believe he is Leo Green.
He leads a band called The Van Morrison Alumni Band:
https://www.theleogreenexperience.com/the-van-morrison-alumni-band
@peanuts-molloy Yes, that’s him. Thank you.
I have his album, Straight Up, on Naim Jazz records.
Very good and, as you’d imagine from a label set up by a hi-fi company, it sounds fantastic. Features Jools Holland and Brian Kennedy on a couple of tracks.
BK’s couple of tracks were presumably recorded on a four track tape
Thanks for the warning.
… warning
…ing
Was in the band around the time of The Healing Game. Also, Benny Green’s son.
Leo Green used to be artistic director of Ronnie Scott’s until about 2012 but quit with some degree of acrimony.
Arse wipe mouth organ.
This was on Radio 4 extra yesterday and gives some background.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b06d2g8z?partner=uk.co.bbc&origin=share-mobile
Just on the TLTSN concert. I assume that is the same concert I have in the deluxe CD reissue that came out not long ago?
That’s the one – terrible quality footage. Looks like raw footage that doesn’t seem to have been near a post-production facility since the day it was shot
We get to see rather a lot of the group’s cellist Teressa “Terry” Adams in that film…
A choice of filming Van or Terry I know which I’d choose.
IIRC she is the only one smiling in the whole band, and the only woman. The rest of the band are a bunch of fairly ordinary dudes – but the whole thing is just transcendental, what a band they were (especially the keyboard player… incredible.)
A pedant writes: also Nancy Ellis on viola (who joined the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra shortly after and had a long career with them). Terry Adams was a player in the San Francisco classical scene as well.
It’s been a LONG time since I watched it. I should give it another spin. Every time, I am just watching the keyboard player. Jef Labes, maybe…?
That’s him
The bass player was smiling I seem to recall In fact he “looked” pretty coked up. I wonder if being in Van’s band was a bit like being in James Brown’s band.
He certainly talked a lot about the military like precision of the Irish show bands.
Worth a read.
https://thequietus.com/interviews/strange-world-of/the-strange-world-of-van-morrison/?fbclid=IwRlRTSAMjz8JleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHgo7hJwXQudAjUvhrF27cGKw5HNWinF_1_X9x5w7HTiPsTkCP4WWsSf7VqD8_aem_Jwh6BKDNQjrH38ODx5NnuQ
“Interesting” article. What always intrigues, however, is that he clearly has some friends: Chris Farlowe, Ronnie Wood and Paul Jones, for three. Farlowe is as mad as a box of bats, mind, Wood enjoys going to the opening of envelopes and Jones is a very forgiving christian.
@retropath2
VTM was also close to late Grease Band and Wings guitarist, Henry McCulloch and helped out with his care after HM suffered a debilitating heart attack towards the end of his life
Thanks Junior – that was an enjoyable and reminiscent read. Super glad to see Snow In San Anselmo listed – surely one of his most Vanish tracks.
“Spray it on those gravy-ring stains! PREWASH! PREWASH! Wash them on the Delicates programme…in the days after dolly tubs! Drain and spin, then lay flat! Hang out to dry (like I’ve been by the music industry) down by the pylon! DO NOT IRON! I SAID DO. NOT. NORN. IRON!”
One of his most Vanish tracks.
Arf!
Barry Scott! Barry Scott!
Cilit Ban….
Van throws down his mike and storms off stage
Some great tunes there @juniorwells excellent work!
These are the two Van Morrison live sets I always go back to …
Montreux 1974
Montreux 1980
1980 shades it for me, but I always wonder why the Beeb can’t show stuff like this on these themed nights. The holy grail for me would be Glastonbury 1982.
Actually, I take that back, 1980 doesn’t shade it at all. It’s simply one of the best live performances by any band ever.