He's come a long way from 'Brown Eyed Girl'...

Van Morrison is set to release anti-lockdown music, where he calls on the UK government to stop "enslaving" the public with safety measures. The Belfast-born artist has accused the UK government of "taking our freedom" in three new songs that protest against the coronavirus lockdown. One of the lyrics he sings is: "The new normal, is not normal. We were born to be free." In another song, the 75-year-old sings: "No more taking of our freedom. And our God given rights. Pretending it's for our safety. When it's really to enslave." It is not the first time that he has been critical of the reaction to Covid-19 either. He recently said that social distancing gigs would not be a financially sound option for performers, and called on his fellow artists to stand up to the "pseudoscience" being pushed by governments. He said: "I call on my fellow singers, musicians, writers, producers, promoters and others in the industry to fight with me on this. Come forward, stand up, fight the pseudo-science and speak up." The writer of 'Brown Eyed Girl' and countless other classics said that his controversial new songs would be released at two-week intervals with the first, 'Born To Be Free', arriving on 25 September.