All artists
Van Morrison
b. 1945
Belfast singer whose band Them turned a seaman’s mission into the north of Ireland’s rhythm-and-blues headquarters.
was born in Belfast in 1945 and grew up on his father's American blues, jazz, and gospel records. After showband work he fronted Them, whose residency at the Maritime Hotel — an old seaman's mission turned R&B club — made Belfast the place in Ireland where the blues was played hard, and produced “Gloria,” “Here Comes the Night,” and “Mystic Eyes.” He left for America and a long solo career, beginning with Astral Weeks (1968), which is not a blues record but could not have been made by someone who had not played them.
In context
Elsewhere
Where Van Morrison worked
Open in full mapplaces