The veteran songwriter Van Morrison had some unique requests on his tour rider, including detailed notes on stage lighting.
Morrison will be touring later this year, supporting Neil Young and the Chrome Hearts on several upcoming tour dates. The Northern Irish songwriter will also be releasing new album, Remembering Now, which features his Academy Award-nominated single, Down to Joy. A contract detailing his tour rider from 1992 has since been shared to the r/VanMorrison subreddit, with many surprised at its contents. The contracts, according to the user in possession of them, relate to a series of tours in the Netherlands between 1988 and 1995. The fan added: “There’s some pretty interesting stuff in them from salary for the show, food and beverage riders, to lighting and stage setups. These pages are just a small portion of this one contract.”
Inside the contract are specifics for food, lighting, and attending to the crew. A few unusual details were noted inside the contract, with Morrison highlighting changes to lighting and a selection of food items that should be included in a “cold buffet”. A set of requests for Morrison’s dressing room is featured on the rider, which includes a basket of fruit and “cold buffet”.
It reads: “One litre still mineral water. One litre Perrier water. Six cans Diet Coke. One litre grapefruit juice. Cold buffet for two people to include: chicken, cheese, salads, prawns, bread and butter. One basket of fresh fruit. Fresh filter coffee machine. Tea and coffee must be available at all times. All usual condiments including plates, glasses, crockery, etc.”
Further in the contract are requests for lagers and wine in the band room, while the crew required a “full ‘English style’ breakfast” and assorted salad, meats, and cheeses for lunch. The last page of the shared document has a series of specific lighting requests, with Morrison ruling out the use of “spotlights”.
His requests read: “The lighting system must be of sufficient strength to illuminate the stage for any one point in the venue. No spotlights are to be used. No sudden changes or chases to be used. No blackouts between songs. Please keep the lighting very simple.”
Fans of Morrison have since praised the contract holder for sharing the documents. One wrote: “Sometimes you think the artist just gets up on stage and plays music, and that’s it, but this really helps show some of the behind-the-scenes stuff that goes into it. Pretty cool. Thanks.”
The original poster has since claimed there was a page detailing Morrison’s refusal to do an intermission. They wrote: “Yeah, nothing crazy, but there’s one folder that has a fax where the venue was trying to force Van to have an intermission or there would be a penalty, the management company writes back “…and getting Van to agree to an intermission will be very similar to being struck by lightning (twice).”
Another recalled seeing Morrison perform live and called him a “perfectionist”. They wrote: “Remember seeing Van at Bob Carr Auditorium in Florida. Georgie Fame came out and played, with full band, for two long tunes.
“Van walked around the stage, listening to every instrument. Then, he walked out to the soundboard and adjusted the whole sound. The guy was a perfectionist and knew his shit. I was very impressed and the concert was perfection!”
