Van Morrison Announces New Album ‘Roll With The Punches’, UK Tour Dates

Van Morrison has announced the release of his new, 15-track studio album Roll With The Punches, released through Caroline International on 22 September 2017.

 Roll With The Punches, the Belfast legend’s 37th album, sees him simultaneously hand-picking a selection of rhythm’n’blues classics (by the likes of Bo Diddley, Mose Allison, Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Lightnin’ Hopkins, among others) and recording a set of new self-written songs.

Songs including Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing’s ‘Goin’ To Chicago’, Bo Diddley’s ‘Ride On Josephine’ and Lightnin’ Hopkins’ ‘Automobile Blues’ are among Morrison’s raw, intimate reinterpretations of some of the cornerstones of rock’n’roll, alongside five original numbers including ‘Transformation’, ‘Fame’, ‘Ordinary People’ and the titular song, which is co-written with Don Black.

Roll With The Punches was produced by Van Morrison and recorded with an incredible team of studio collaborators including Chris Farlowe, Georgie Fame, Jeff Beck, Paul Jones and Jason Rebello.

Van commented: “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 and 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.

“The songs on Roll With The Punches – whether I’ve written them or not – they’re performance oriented,” he continues. “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.”

To celebrate the release of Roll With The Punches, Van Morrison plays a previously announced UK tour in the autumn. Read the full tour dates below, and order Roll With The Punches here.

6 November: Edinburgh, Playhouse
7 November: Glasgow, Royal Court
12 November: London, Eventim Apollo
13 November: Birmingham, Symphony Hall
15 November: Liverpool, Philharmonic Hall
20 November: Cardiff, St David’s Hall
21 November: Bristol, Colston Hall
4 November: Torquay, Princess Theatre
25 November: Plymouth, Pavilions
4 December:  Belfast, Europa Hotel
5 December: Belfast, Europa Hotel

Format: UK English