Van Morrison believes he likely would not still be performing today if it were not for his father’s record collection.
Looking back on a career that has lasted for decades, the 80 year old singer credited his early exposure to jazz as a key influence, explaining how growing up in Belfast helped shape both his sound and his creative mindset.
His father, who worked as an electrician at the Harland Wolff shipyard, regularly played jazz records at home, surrounding him with music that later influenced his mix of soul, blues and folk.
He also spoke to The Times about why he avoids repeating himself when performing live.
When asked if he would still be on stage without that early musical influence, Van said: “Probably not. That was a huge influence. I was hearing jazz when I was a very young kid.
“My father played jazz records day in and day out. Skiffle came out of jazz, blues came out of jazz, so it was interconnected.”
Van went on to describe performing as something that feels spontaneous and ever changing.
He added: “If everything's coming together I can take off and they can follow me.”
His latest album Remembering Now from 2025 comes during what he described as a particularly active period, following criticism he faced during the Covid pandemic when he released the track No More Lockdown.
He explained that the project marked a shift in direction after the reaction to his earlier material: “I was getting quite a lot of negative feedback so myself and the musicians just wanted to do something that was going to be fun.”
His deep connection to jazz was recently recognised with a lifetime achievement award at the Jazz FM awards.
Reflecting on past honours, including being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Van said: “That was actually more to do with rock than rock'n'roll, which was a bit confusing. Rock got no roll.”
Opening up about his personality, Van shared: “Look up the word introvert and you'll get me. I'm an introvert working in an extrovert world.”
He continued: “The person on stage, that’s a role I'm playing.
"I’m splitting myself up into two. I couldn’t do the job as myself, I have to pretend to be somebody else."
And when asked if performing is where he feels happiest, he replied: "No, no, no. Whatever emotion is happening up there, sadness, anger, joy, I’m acting it out.”
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