English rock musicians Van Morrison and Eric Clapton were both born in 1945, the year that World War II ended. If your history teacher ever gets back on line, he or she will confirm my statement that the war was tough on Britain, and caused tremendous suffering and sacrifice among the British people. Just as here in the US, the depredations and atrocities wrought by Hitler, Tojo, and Mussolini caused death and destruction, but we, as the British, got through by sacrificing for the common good. Meats, sugar, tobacco, all sorts of products were rationed, and no one marched in the streets with picket signs demanding an extra stick of butter, or called radio shows to proclaim that their governor was a fascist. That was probably because they knew what a fascist was, and wasn't.
All this comes to mind now as Clapton and Morrison (sounds like the name of a bakery that makes scones) are putting out a new “anti-lockdown” song. Cities all over the world are finding it necessary to impose stay-home regulations again because of the current alarming climb in COVID-19 cases, and these two can only fret about the fate of live music. So Morrison wrote this "Stand and Deliver” song to support his campaign called "Save Live Music." Clapton will do the performing honors, because he has so much time on his hands.
Old Van is really on a kick these days, having already put out three “anti-lockdown” songs earlier this fall, including “Born to Be Free,” “As I Walked Out,” and the subtle “No More Lockdown.” If anyone buys this new record, proceeds are supposed to go to Morrison’s Lockdown Financial Hardship Fund for the benefit of musicians.
“There are many of us who support Van and his endeavors to save live music; he is an inspiration,” Clapton said in a statement Friday. “We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The alternative is not worth thinking about. Live music might never recover.”
Many people regard Clapton as some sort of guitar God, as if no one ever played the six strings as well as he. It's like people forget how racist he is/was/used to be. If you're new to this, just point yourself here and see his remarks from 1976, the least disgusting of which was, "Keep Britain White." The end of his sentence was, "I used to be into dope. Now I’m into racism.”
What a nice man!
Sure, he tried to come back from that disgrace by blaming his racism on addiction and self-loathing. But he's not doing his image any favors by getting involved with this science-denying lunacy in the name of commerce.
Here are some people who are sharing a positive message:
And the Health Minister of Northern Ireland, Robin Swann, said "the country expected better" of Morrison. “Van Morrison is going way beyond raising questions,” he said. “He is singing about ‘fascist bullies’ and claiming governments are deceiving people and wanting to ‘enslave’. It’s actually a smear on all those involved in the public health response to a virus that has taken lives on a massive scale.”
While Clapton and Morrison wail, "We must stand up and be counted because we need to find a way out of this mess. The alternative is not worth thinking about. Live music might never recover.”
Listen, guys, there are far more important industries to worry about than music, I'm sorry to say. But if we don't get a grip on this virus, by whatever means, there won't be many live people around to sit and listen to Van Morrison perform his beloved "Moondance" or Clapton's treacly "Wonderful Tonight."
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