Van Morrison has garnered a tricky reputation. On the one hand, he’s considered a musical genius. On the other, he’s considered to be petty and just plain rude. Look, it’s not the first time a talented musician has rubbed people the wrong way (just think of Nick Cave, for instance). But when it comes to Van, the artist from Belfast, Ireland, there’s something different, special… peculiar.
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To give you an idea of what he was (and still is) like, take this story, recalled by The Doors’ drummer John Densmore. He has a story or two to tell about Van Morrison. In 1966, on the night that Them, the Irish band fronted by Van Morrison (aka the “boys from Belfast”), debuted at the Whiskey a Go-Go, The Doors opened for them. They were admittedly nervous, as they were still just coming up….