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Episode details

Radio Ulster,14 Sep 2025,57 mins

Van Morrison - Avalon Sunset

Long Player with Steven Rainey

Available for 14 days

In 1980, Van Morrison released Common One, a challenging album full of meditative and spiritual power. His position as a seventies rock superstar seemed in the past, and throughout the rest of the decade, he made some of his most personal and searching music yet, music that took him away from the mainstream, but found him embarking on a spiritual journey. But by 1989, it seemed like his quest had yielded some answers, and he surprised critics and audiences alike by staging a major commercial comeback with 1989's Avalon Sunset. Exploring the Northern Ireland of his youth, looking for answers from religion, and exhorting the pure power of love, this was one of the most lush collections of songs he'd ever put his name to, a high watermark in a career of incredible peaks. In this episode of Long Player, Steven Rainey delves into Van Morrison's most enigmatic records, putting this album in context with the work he created in the 80s, music that still stands the test of time.

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