Northern Ireland's legendary singer/songwriter Sir George Ivan Morrison (affectionately known throughout the world as "Van the Man") recently celebrated his 80th birthday with a series of concerts in his native Belfast. These culminated in 2 nights at the city's famous Waterfront Hall, in which he gave a rendition of a variety of songs both old and new and was accompanied by his daughter, Shana (an accomplished singer/songwriter in her own right), Ronnie Wood (of Rolling Stones fame) and the great blues singer, Chris Farlowe, along with his own excellent backing musicians/singers.

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get back home to attend, but I have happy memories of his performance at the Pairc Festival in Birmingham in 2023 (again with Ronnie Wood and Chris Farlowe). That night, he went back to his roots and treated us to renditions of the old blues and skiffle songs that inspired him in his youth (rendering me unable to stand still for 90 minutes). 

Van the Man is highly regarded in many parts of the world, but none more so than in his native country (as well as being a Knight of the Realm, he is a Freeman of the City of Belfast). I wish him well for this landmark birthday and hope that he will continue to inspire and entertain us with his songs for many years to come.