SINGER Van Morrison is to donate the profits from his new collection of anti-lockdown songs to musicians who have suffered financial hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Belfast crooner (75) said he was concerned that without action, the music industry "will not survive".
It comes just days after the musician faced a angry backlash for his trio of protest songs calling for an end to rules aimed at stopping the spread of the virus.
Health minister Robin Swann described the songs as "dangerous" and later in a scathing opinion piece for Rolling Stone magazine, he challenged the singer to present his own scientific facts.
A Belfast councillor also called for Van Morrison's freedom of the city to be revoked.
But in a statement yesterday, the songwriter said money from downloads of the three songs, which also include Born To Be Free and As I Walked Out, would be distributed by his arts charity, the Van Morrison Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
In a statement, he said: "Lockdown is taking away people's jobs and freedoms across all sectors of society.
"I believe live music is essential, and I worry that without positive action it will not survive. Without live music the world would be a much poorer place.
"It makes a huge contribution to the economy and you cannot put a price on what music does for people's wellbeing."
debate to be had around whether lockdown is doing more harm than good."
Sir Van will debut the tracks this week during three consecutive and socially distant shows at the London Palladium. The first of the three songs, Born To Be Free, will be released tomorrow.
