Van Morrison has announced details of a new studio album and a UK tour for the autumn.
Roll With The Punches will be the singer’s 37th studio album and it’ll be released on September 22. Featuring his own songs, the album will also contain cover versions of songs by blues legends Bo Diddley, Mose Allison, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Lightnin’ Hopkins among others.
Speaking of the album, Van Morrison said: "From a very early age, I connected with the blues. The thing about the blues is you don’t dissect it – you just do it. I’ve never over-analysed what I do; I just do it. Music has to be about just doing it and that’s the way the blues works – it’s an attitude. I was lucky to have met people who were the real thing – people like John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Witherspoon, Bo Diddley, Little Walter & Mose Allison. I got to hang out with them and absorb what they did. They were people with no ego whatsoever and they helped me learn a lot."
He continued: ”The songs on Roll With The Punches - whether I’ve written them or not - they’re performance oriented. Each song is like a story and I’m performing that story. That’s been forgotten over years because people over-analyse things. I was a performer before I started writing songs and I’ve always felt like that’s what I do.”
Van Morrison plays:
NOVEMBER
06 - Edinburgh, Playhouse
07 - Glasgow, Royal Concert Hall
12 - London, Hammersmith Eventim Apollo
13 - Birmingham, Symphony Hall
15 - Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall
20 - Cardiff, St David's Hall
21 - Bristol, Colston Hall
24 - Torquay, Princess Theatre
25 - Plymouth, Pavilions
DECEMBER
04/05 - Belfast Europa Hotel
