Stay updated with breaking news from Save live music. Get real-time updates on events, politics, business, and more. Visit us for reliable news and exclusive interviews.
Van Morrison has crafted yet another anti-lockdown tune, this time teaming with Eric Clapton. Stand and Deliver, which dropped Friday, was written by Morrison and performed by Clapton. Proceeds from the blues track will go to Morrison’s Save Live Music campaign benefitting those working in the music industry in the UK and Ireland. “Eric’s recording is fantastic and will clearly resonate with the many who share our frustrations,” Morrison told Variety. “It is heart-breaking to see so many talented musicians lack any meaningful support from the government, but we want to reassure them that we are working hard every day to lobby for the return of live music, and to save our industry.” ....
“Magna Carta, Bill of Rights, the Constitution, what’s it worth?” the lyrics go. “You know they’re gonna grind us down until it really hurts. Is this a sovereign nation, or just a police state? You better look out, people, before it gets too late.” The two musicians have faced a backlash since announcing the collaboration in November as a benefit to Mr. Morrison’s Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund, which supports U.K. musicians who are facing financial hardship because of widespread government restrictions on live music. “There are many of us who support Van and his endeavors to save live music; he is an inspiration,” Mr. Clapton told Variety in November. “We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The alternative is not worth thinking about. Live music might never recover.” ....
Van Morrison has crafted yet another anti-lockdown tune, this time teaming with Eric Clapton. Stand and Deliver, which dropped Friday, was written by Morrison and performed by Clapton. Proceeds from the blues track will go to Morrison’s Save Live Music campaign benefitting those working in the music industry in the UK and Ireland. “Eric’s recording is fantastic and will clearly resonate with the many who share our frustrations,” Morrison told Variety. “It is heart-breaking to see so many talented musicians lack any meaningful support from the government, but we want to reassure them that we are working hard every day to lobby for the return of live music, and to save our industry.” ....
Last year I spent a long and convivial morning in Belfast in the company of Van Morrison. True, Morrison was not there at the time truth be told, I’ve never actually met or spoken to the bravest man in rock but that’s not the only way you can get to enjoy an unforgettable encounter with the controversial singer. Over a couple of drizzly hours amid the horseshoe hills of the Northern Ireland capital, I walked the Van Morrison Trail, a cost-effective option for visitors to East Belfast with a decent smartphone, a bit of spare time and lots of curiosity at their disposal. Memorable enough in its own right, the 3.5-kilometre journey also sheds valuable light on the artist who in recent days appeared to be annoying all the right people with his musically expressed political views. ....