Elmgrove Primary School, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
From 1950 to 1956 Van Morrison attended Elmgrove Primary School.
Gallery of Van Morrison
Orangefield High School, Belfast, Nothern Ireland, United Kingdom
Van Morrison enrolled at Orangefield Boys Secondary School (Orangefield High School). However, he left the school in July 1960 with no formal qualification.
College/University
Career
Gallery of Van Morrison
2009
4455 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89169, United States
Singer/songwriter Van Morrison performs for a sold out concert at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on September 25, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Steven Lawton
Gallery of Van Morrison
2010
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Van Morrison performs during the 41st Annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Presented by Shell at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 2, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Gallery of Van Morrison
2011
Finsbury Park, London, England, United Kingdom
Van Morrison headlines Day 2 of the Feis Festival in Finsbury Park on June 19, 2011 in London, England. Photo by Samir Hussein
Gallery of Van Morrison
2012
Paragon St, York YO10 4AH, United Kingdom
Van Morrison performs on stage at York Barbican on February 12, 2012 in York, United Kingdom. Photo by Tommy Jackson
Gallery of Van Morrison
2012
Ahoyweg 10, 3084 BA Rotterdam, Netherlands
Van Morrison performs on stage, North Sea Jazz festival, Ahoy, Rotterdam, 6 July 2012. Photo by Paul Bergen
Gallery of Van Morrison
2012
Hampton Court Palace, London, England, United Kingdom
Van Morrison performs on stage during the Hampton Court Palace Festival at Hampton Court Palace on June 17, 2012 in London, United Kingdom. Photo by Matt Kent
Gallery of Van Morrison
2013
Quarry Farm, Chipping Norton OX7 4BT, United Kingdom
Van Morrison performs on stage on Day 3 of Cornbury Music Festival 2013 at Great Tew Estate on July 7, 2013 in Oxford, England. Photo by Harry Herd
Gallery of Van Morrison
2014
The Royal Opera House, London, England, United Kingdom
Van Morrison attends the GQ Men of the Year awards at The Royal Opera House on September 2, 2014 in London, England. Photo by Anthony Harvey
Gallery of Van Morrison
2014
Chalk Farm Rd, Camden Town, London NW1 8EH, United Kingdom
Harrison Ford, Van Morrison and Elizabeth McGovern attend the second annual SeriousFun Network Gala at at The Roundhouse on November 4, 2014 in London, England. Photo by David M. Benet
Gallery of Van Morrison
2014
The Royal Opera House, London, England, United Kingdom
(L to R) Jeanne Marine, Van Morrison, Jools Holland and Sir Bob Geldof attend an after party following the GQ Men Of The Year awards in association with Hugo Boss at The Royal Opera House on September 2, 2014 in London, England. Photo by David M. Benett
Gallery of Van Morrison
2015
Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York City, New York, United States
Michael Buble and Van Morrison speak onstage at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame 46th Annual Induction And Awards at Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 18, 2015 in New York City. Photo by Michael Loccisano
Gallery of Van Morrison
2015
Newcastle, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Rory McIlroy (L) meets Van Morrison (R) who is performing at a gala evening in aid of the Cancer Fund for Children hosted by the Rory Foundation at the Slieve Donard Hotel during Day One of the Irish Open at Royal County Down Golf Club on May 28, 2015 in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. Photo by Charles McQuillan
Gallery of Van Morrison
2015
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Glascow, United Kingdom
Van Morrison performs on stage at Celtic Connections Festival at Glasgow Royal Concert Hall on January 26, 2015. Photo by Ross Gilmore
Gallery of Van Morrison
2015
1535 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, United States
Van Morrison attends the Songwriters Hall Of Fame 46th Annual Induction And Awards at Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 18, 2015 in New York City. Photo by Taylor Hill
Gallery of Van Morrison
2015
Royal Albert Hall, London, England, United Kingdom
Van Morrison and Roger Daltrey perform at Teenage Cancer Trust 15th Anniversary Year Concerts at Royal Albert Hall on March 25, 2015 in London, England. Photo by Mick Hutson
Gallery of Van Morrison
2015
Royal Albert Hall, London, England, United Kingdom
Van Morrison at Teenage Cancer Trust 15th Anniversary Year Concerts at Royal Albert Hall on March 25, 2015 in London, England. Photo by Mick Hutson
Gallery of Van Morrison
2015
Royal Albert Hall, London, England, United Kingdom
Van Morrison performs on stage at Lead Belly Fest 2015 at Royal Albert Hall on June 15, 2015 in London, United Kingdom. Photo by Edu Hawkins
Gallery of Van Morrison
2015
1535 Broadway, New York, NY 10036, United States
Michael Buble and Van Morrison perform their duet of "Real Real Gone" during the Songwriters Hall Of Fame 46th Annual Induction And Awards at Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 18, 2015 in New York City. Photo by Taylor Hill
Gallery of Van Morrison
2017
380 Old St, Hackney, London EC1V 9LT, United Kingdom
(L) Van Morrison presents the PPL Lifetime Achievement Award to Georgie Fame at the Jazz FM Awards 2017 at Shoreditch Town Hall on April 25, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Photo by Dave J Hogan
Gallery of Van Morrison
2018
Fairlee Rd, Newport PO30 2EL, United Kingdom
Van Morrison performing on the main stage at Seaclose Park on June 24, 2018 in Newport, Isle of Wight. Photo by Mark Holloway
Achievements
Membership
Awards
BMI ICON Award
2004
The Dorchester, London, United Kingdom
BMI President Emeritus Frances Preston (left) presents legendary songwriter/artist Van Morrison with the evening's top honor as the BMI ICON while BMI President and CEO Del Bryant congratulates Morrisson.
Legend Award
2014
The Royal Opera House, London, England, United Kingdom
Sir Bob Geldof (L) and Van Morrison, winner of the Legend award, attends the GQ Men Of The Year awards in association with Hugo Boss at The Royal Opera House on September 2, 2014 in London, England. Photo by David M. Benett
Knight Bachelor
2016
Buckingham Palace, London, United Kingdom
Singer, songwriter and musician Sir Van Morrison at Buckingham Palace, London, after being knighted by the Prince of Wales on February 4, 2016 in London, England. Photo by Yui Mok
BMI President Emeritus Frances Preston (left) presents legendary songwriter/artist Van Morrison with the evening's top honor as the BMI ICON while BMI President and CEO Del Bryant congratulates Morrisson.
4455 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas, NV 89169, United States
Singer/songwriter Van Morrison performs for a sold out concert at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on September 25, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo by Steven Lawton
Van Morrison performs during the 41st Annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival Presented by Shell at Fair Grounds Race Course on May 2, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Hampton Court Palace, London, England, United Kingdom
Van Morrison performs on stage during the Hampton Court Palace Festival at Hampton Court Palace on June 17, 2012 in London, United Kingdom. Photo by Matt Kent
The Royal Opera House, London, England, United Kingdom
Sir Bob Geldof (L) and Van Morrison, winner of the Legend award, attends the GQ Men Of The Year awards in association with Hugo Boss at The Royal Opera House on September 2, 2014 in London, England. Photo by David M. Benett
Chalk Farm Rd, Camden Town, London NW1 8EH, United Kingdom
Harrison Ford, Van Morrison and Elizabeth McGovern attend the second annual SeriousFun Network Gala at at The Roundhouse on November 4, 2014 in London, England. Photo by David M. Benet
The Royal Opera House, London, England, United Kingdom
(L to R) Jeanne Marine, Van Morrison, Jools Holland and Sir Bob Geldof attend an after party following the GQ Men Of The Year awards in association with Hugo Boss at The Royal Opera House on September 2, 2014 in London, England. Photo by David M. Benett
Marriott Marquis Hotel, New York City, New York, United States
Michael Buble and Van Morrison speak onstage at the Songwriters Hall Of Fame 46th Annual Induction And Awards at Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 18, 2015 in New York City. Photo by Michael Loccisano
Rory McIlroy (L) meets Van Morrison (R) who is performing at a gala evening in aid of the Cancer Fund for Children hosted by the Rory Foundation at the Slieve Donard Hotel during Day One of the Irish Open at Royal County Down Golf Club on May 28, 2015 in Newcastle, Northern Ireland. Photo by Charles McQuillan
Van Morrison attends the Songwriters Hall Of Fame 46th Annual Induction And Awards at Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 18, 2015 in New York City. Photo by Taylor Hill
Royal Albert Hall, London, England, United Kingdom
Van Morrison and Roger Daltrey perform at Teenage Cancer Trust 15th Anniversary Year Concerts at Royal Albert Hall on March 25, 2015 in London, England. Photo by Mick Hutson
Michael Buble and Van Morrison perform their duet of "Real Real Gone" during the Songwriters Hall Of Fame 46th Annual Induction And Awards at Marriott Marquis Hotel on June 18, 2015 in New York City. Photo by Taylor Hill
Singer, songwriter and musician Sir Van Morrison at Buckingham Palace, London, after being knighted by the Prince of Wales on February 4, 2016 in London, England. Photo by Yui Mok
380 Old St, Hackney, London EC1V 9LT, United Kingdom
(L) Van Morrison presents the PPL Lifetime Achievement Award to Georgie Fame at the Jazz FM Awards 2017 at Shoreditch Town Hall on April 25, 2017 in London, United Kingdom. Photo by Dave J Hogan
Orangefield High School, Belfast, Nothern Ireland, United Kingdom
Van Morrison enrolled at Orangefield Boys Secondary School (Orangefield High School). However, he left the school in July 1960 with no formal qualification.
Van Morrison is a British musician, producer, songwriter. He has become one of the most celebrated popular music artists in the world.
Background
Ethnicity:
Van Morrison's parents descended from the Ulster Scots population.
Van Morrison was born on August 31, 1945 in Belfast, Nothern Ireland, United Kingdom. He is the son of George Morrison, a shipyard electrician, and Violet Morrison. His mother was a jazz and opera singer who admired American country-and-western music, while his father was a blues enthusiast, listening to the likes of Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, Jelly Roll Morton, and Jimmy Rodgers.
Education
From 1950 to 1956 Van Morrison attended Elmgrove Primary School. At that time, his father had one of the largest record collections and Morrison grew up listening to various music legends. At the age of 11, Morrison started playing the guitar. A year later, he formed his first ever band called "The Sputniks" that played at a number of local cinemas before disbanding. Morrison then enrolled at Orangefield Boys Secondary School (Orangefield High School). However, he left the school in July 1960 with no formal qualification.
Van Morrison worked as a window cleaner before pursuing a professional music career. He played with the Monarchs. At the age of 17, he toured Europe for the first time with the band. While in Germany, the band recorded their single, "Boozoo Hully Gully" and "Twingy Baby" under the name of Georgie and the Monarchs. In November 1963, the group disbanded and Morrison went on to play with Geordie Sproule and guitarist Herbie Armstrong in the Manhattan Showband. When Armstrong auditioned to play with the Golden Eagles and Brian Rossi, later known as the Wheels, Morrison also went along and was hired as a blues singer. He eventually left the Golden Eagles to play with a new R&B club band along with Billy Harrison, Alan Henderson, Ronnie Millings and Eric Wrixon. This band, named 'Them,' went on to create numerous covers.
Them was a turning point in Morrison's music career. He was the lead singer and songwriter for the r&b quintet as they became a locally renowned band. Their local fame led them to a recording contract with Decca Records. They recorded their first single in 1964 called "Don't Start Crying Now." In 1965, Them had a hit in Britain called "Baby Please Don't Go." The band settled in London to work with producer Bert Berns. In London, they recorded "Here Comes the Night," which broke the British and American charts. Another single, "Gloria," written by Morrison was not a major hit, but several rock artists like Shadows of Night, Patti Smith, and U2 released their own versions of the classic. Two albums were released by Them, Them and Them Again . In 1966, the band toured for several months in the United States but when Morrison became upset at the record company's marketing ploy to label the group as rough young rebels, he stopped performing and returned to Belfast. Them was released as The Angry Young Them in the United States. Morrison quit the band. This was the first sign of his unwillingness to comply with the record companies.
By 1967, Berns had formed his own record company in New York called Bang Records. When Berns heard that Morrison had quit Them, he begged Morrison to come to New York to record some singles. Morrison did, and "Brown Eyed Girl," released in 1967, marked the beginning of his solo career. "Brown Eyed Girl" was a major hit in the United States, so Morrison decided to tour again. While Morrison was on tour, Berns collected all of the new recorded singles and released them as Morrison's first solo album, Blowin' Your Mind. Berns didn't inform Morrison, who became irate when he learned that he had no part in the release. Berns died suddenly of a heart attack in December of 1967, and Morrison left Bang records.
Morrison eventually signed with Warner Brothers in 1968 while living in Cambridge, Massachussetts and touring the East Coast with a jazz trio. Morrison' s first solo album with Warner Brothers, Astral Weeks, was released in October of 1968. Astral Weeks took only two days to record but had a lasting impact. The album did not initially generate many sales, but it is known today as one of the most dynamic records of the sixties.
Morrison's first commercially successful album came in 1970 with the release of Moondance. The album sold over a million copies that year before eventually going platinum. Moondance was written and produced by Morrison, who by now had proven himself a true musical artist with an inclement temperament to match. One of the singles, "Into The Mystic," yielded the label that Morrison would carry with him throughout the seventies, that of a mystic.
Morrison's work in the seventies solidified his legendary status in the music world. His Band And The Street Choir , released in 1970, produced two top ten hits, "Domino" and "Blue Money." In 1971, Morrison moved to California with his wife, Janet Planet. That same year Morrison released Tupelo Honey, which eventually went gold and had the hit "Wild Night." Tupelo Honey reflected Morrison's happiness with marriage, containing many love songs to his wife. In 1972, St. Dominic's Preview was released to rave reviews and contained two very mystical songs. What makes Morrison's songs mystical are the lyrical journeys they take through spiritual discovery, a common theme in all of his music. Two more critically acclaimed albums were released in the early seventies, Hard Nose the Highway and a performance album It's Too Late To Stop Now . Hard Nose the Highway featured the Oakland Symphony Orchestra and had a hit with "Autumn Song." It's Too Late To Stop Now was a Morrison performance backed by an orchestra he formed called the Caledonian Soul Orchestra.
After the divorce with his first wife, he spent months in Ireland reflecting on his life and expressing it by writing new material. The result was the very personal Veedon Fleece in 1974, which some critics proclaimed was his best work since Astral Weeks. Two more albums were released in the late seventies, Wavelength and Into the Music.
The eighties and nineties went much the same way for Morrison. He released an album just about every year that critics positively reviewed, yet almost always with lukewarm sales. Each album is composed with personal and spiritual themes like the 1983 album, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart, which mentioned Morrison's respect for L. Ron Hubbard's Scientology. However, with the release No Guru, No Method, No Teacher in 1986, Morrison seemed reluctant to accept his media label of spiritual mystic. Morrison finally had a breakout sales success with the release of The Best of Van Morrison, which sold two million copies in 1990. Hymns to The Silence went gold in 1992, much to the critics pleasure. Morrison teamed with the popular Irish band the Chieftains on Hymns to The Silence and on Irish Heartbeat in 1988.
During the 1990s, he also gave a number of live jazz performances including 'How Long Has This Been Going On', ‘Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison’ and ‘The Skiffle Sessions – Live in Belfast 1998’. Van Morrison continued to tour and record in the 2000s. In 2005, he released his album 'Magic Time' that debuted at #25 on the US Billboard 200 chart upon its release. In 2006, he released 'Pay the Devil', an album with a country music theme. That year, he also released his first ever commercial DVD titled Live at Montreux 1980/1974. His new double CD compilation album titled 'The Best of Van Morrison Volume 3' came out in 2007. This was followed by a 37-track double CD compilation album 'Still on Top – The Greatest Hits'.
On 17 March 2008, Morrison's studio album 'Keep It Simple' was released by Exile/Polydor Records in the United Kingdom. Four years later, his studio album titled 'Born to Sing: No Plan B' was released. In the mid-2010s, the singer worked on a few albums, namely 'Duets: Re-working the Catalogue', 'Keep Me Singing’ and 'Versatile'. His studio album 'You’re Driving Me Crazy' was released in April 2018 via Sony Legacy Recordings. This album features numerous collaborations with artist Joey DeFrancesco. In October 2018, Morrison announced that his 40th studio album, The Prophet Speaks will be released by Caroline International on December 7, 2018.
In an interview with the Irish Times before his Cyprus Avenue concerts to celebrate his 70th birthday, Van Morrison said of religion: "I wouldn't touch it with a 10-foot pole." He said that he separated religion and spirituality, adding: "Spirituality is one thing, religion... can mean anything from soup to nuts, you know? But it generally means an organisation, so I don't really like to use the word, because that's what it really means. It really means this church or that church... but spirituality is different, because that's the individual."
Politics
In one of his interviews Van Morrison said "I'm apolitical. I've got nothing to say about politics whatsoever. I'm not going to start now".
Views
Van Morrison once said "When I started studying tenor saxophone as a kid in Belfast, I did so with a guy named George Cassidy, who was also a big inspiration." He grew up listening to artists such as Jelly Roll Morton, Ray Charles, Lead Belly, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee and Solomon Burke; of whom he later said, "If it weren't for guys like Ray and Solomon, I wouldn't be where I am today. Those guys were the inspiration that got me going. If it wasn't for that kind of music, I couldn't do what I'm doing now."
Quotations:
"Music is spiritual. The music business is not."
"Singing is my profession - there is no plan B."
"These days politics, religion, media seem to get all mixed up. Television became the new religion a long time back and the media has taken over."
"There is no black-and-white situation. It's all part of life. Highs, lows, middles."
Personality
Van Morrison is widely known to be a very private man. His ability to maintain oil-and-water separation between his creative persona and his reluctant public self is almost as fabled as his prodigious recorded oeuvre. He is also known as an introvert who has no interest in achieving empathy with an audience.
Connections
Van Morrison was once married to Janet Rigsbee. The couple had a daughter, Shana Morrison, before divorcing in 1973. He met Irish socialite Michelle Rocca in the early 1990s. They got married and had two children. The couple divorced in 2018. In 2009, Morrison's tour manager Gigi Lee gave birth to a son and claimed that the baby’s father was Morrison, but he denied paternity. The baby died of an illness in 2011.
Van Morrison: A New Biography
This groundbreaking biography of a brilliant but disturbed performer explores the paradox of the man and the artist. It is based on more than 100 interviews.
2004
When That Rough God Goes Riding: Listening to Van Morrison
This book is Marcus's quest to understand Van Morrison's particular genius through the extraordinary and unclassifiable moments in his long career, beginning in 1965 and continuing in full force to this day. In these dislocations Marcus finds the singer on his own artistic quest precisely to reach some extreme musical threshold, the moments that are not enclosed by the will or the intention of the performer but which somehow emerge at the limits of the musician and his song.
2010
Hymns to the Silence: Inside the Words and Music of Van Morrison
Hymns to the Silence is a detailed investigative study of Morrison as singer, performer, lyricist, musician and writer with particular attention paid throughout to the contradictions and tensions that are central to any understanding of his work as a whole. The book takes several intriguing angles.
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, for "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?", 1995; Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, for "Don't Look Back", 1997
Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, for "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?", 1995; Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals, for "Don't Look Back", 1997