Van Morrison to take Astral Weeks to the UK stage

Multi-award winning musical legend Van Morrison will take to the concert stage to play Astral Weeks, his classic album, at two landmark concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall on Saturday 18 April and Sunday 19 April. Tickets for these historic concerts are on-sale from 9 am on Friday 20 February.

The two concerts will be the very first time that Van Morrison has performed his revered 1968 album, Astral Weeks, in the UK. He will also perform many of his classic hits. The UK concerts follow last November's sell-out, rave reviewed performances at LA's Hollywood Bowl. The album of these shows, 'Van Morrison's Astral Weeks: Live At The Hollywood Bowl' was released in February 2009 on Morrison's new label, Listen To The Lion Records/EMI, to huge critical acclaim.

Van Morrison has over 150 songs featured in major motion pictures--with the latest being featured in the Scorsese film 'The Departed".

Joining Van Morrison on stage in April will be an orchestral string section and a band of world-class musicians, some of whom played with Van Morrison on the original 'Astral Weeks' recording sessions some 40 years ago. Concert-goers will get to hear new live arrangements of the album's classic songs such as,'Astral Weeks/I Believe I've Transcended', 'Beside You', 'Slim, Slow Slider'/I Start Breaking Down', 'Sweet Thing', 'The Way Young Lovers Do' and 'Ballerina':

Van Morrison commented: "These concerts have given me the opportunity to perform these songs the way I originally intended them to be. There are certain dynamics you can get when performing songs live that you cannot get in a studio. These songs are timeless and as fresh today as the day they were written, actually even more so."

Tickets on-line from: www.livenation.co.uk
Credit cards: 0844 576 5483 (24 hrs)
www.vanmorrison.com