Bob Dylan Dusts off Little-Known Van Morrison Gem at Belfast Show—and It Was the Stuff of Legends

Despite Van Morrison’s insistence that he and Bob Dylan are “worlds apart,” the two folk singer-songwriters just can’t shake the comparisons. Dylan often pays homage to the Northern Irish legend, playing classics like “Into the Mystic” and “Tupelo Honey” during his stage shows. At a recent show in Morrison’s hometown of Belfast, the “Blowin’ in the Wind” singer delighted the crowd with a surprise performance of one of his old friend’s more obscure tracks.

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On Thursday (Nov. 20), Bob Dylan took his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour to Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, the same place where Van Morrison celebrated his 80th birthday in September. And while Dylan, 84, could have stayed in well-trod territory with songs like “Brown Eyed Girl” or “Moondance,” the 10-time Grammy Award winner unsurprisingly went with a far less predictable choice.

Released in September 2016, Keep Me Singing marked Morrison’s highest-charting U.S. project and third top 10 album in the States. His first release of original material since 2012’s Born to Sing: No Plan B, the album consisted of 12 brand-new tracks, including “Going Down to Bangor.”

Only the most stringent Van Morrison fans are likely aware of this song, as Morrison has only performed “Going Down to Bangor” live 14 times. Last night, Bob Dylan closed out his show in Van Morrison’s hometown with a twangy rendition of the tune.

“Tip of the hat from one genius to another,” remarked one YouTube user. While Dylan has a strict no-phones policy at his shows, at least one audience member managed to capture the audio recording below.

Van Morrison on the First Time He Heard Bob Dylan

In 1967, Van Morrison left behind the London music scene and headed to Woodstock, New York, hoping to befriend Bob Dylan. The notoriously prickly Hall of Famer “thought Dylan was the only contemporary worthy of his attention,” according to Morrison’s then-wife, Janet Rigsbee.

[RELATED: The Story Behind “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” by Bob Dylan and How It Continued His Series of Farewell Songs]

In 2000, Morrison recalled hearing The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan for the first time in a Smith Street record shop in London. He was instantly captivated.

“And I just thought it was just incredible that this guy’s not singing about ‘moon in June’ and he’s getting away with it… The subject matter wasn’t pop songs, ya know, and I thought this kind of opens the whole thing up,” Morrison said.

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