Van Morrison Fans Come From All Over The World for 70th Birthday Concerts

250 Van Morrison fans (called Vanatics) came from 18 different countries to join thousands of other fans attending two Morrison concerts on historic Cyprus Avenue in East Belfast, Northern Ireland August 31, 2015. Morrison performed two 90 minute concerts. He kicked his first show off with traditional openers ‘Celtic Swing’ and ‘Close Enough for Jazz’, before his recognizable ‘Moondance’…followed by duets with his 60’s peers PJ Proby and Chris Farlowe. Van dedicated an electrifying version of ‘Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child’ to former Beirut hostage and fellow Beersbridge Road man Brian Keenan who had spoken to BBC Radio announcer Ralph McLean before the concerts about how imagining Morrison’s music had buoyed his spirits during his captivity. Highlights were ‘Mystic of the East’, ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’, ‘Things I Used To Do’, ‘Ballerina’, ‘No Guru, No Method, To Teacher’, the Sonny Boy Williamson classic ‘Help Me’, and his show stopping ‘On Hanford Street.’