Van Morrison has warned of the dangers of fame as he opened up about his own efforts to stay out of the spotlight.
The veteran singer-songwriter, who was knighted as Sir Ivan Morrison last year for his services to the music industry, hit out at a system “trying to goad you into doing something that you’re not” ahead of the release of his 38th studio album, Versatile, this week.
The 72-year-old told the Press Association the notion of fame being a good thing is sold to people all the time, adding: “But it’s not actually great to be famous, unless that’s what you want and that’s what you’re all about.
“Then there are people who do that and who want that, and that’s probably great for them. I don’t know.
“But it kills a lot of people, but nobody addresses that fact. It ruins their lives. Nobody addresses that.”
[ Full interview here.Opens in new window ]
On his own efforts to avoid mainstream attention, he said: “I’m not doing that, because I’m not seeking approval.”
The Northern Irish singer – whose career has spanned more than five decades – described himself as a “company director” of his deluge of musical output.
“The buck stops here so I delegate to people but they have to run it past me, because I’m the one that’s got their name in lights … there’s emails going back and forth all the time, so even if I didn’t do gigs there’s still business going on,” he said.
He added: “I have a lot of product out there so there’s a lot of product to manage at this point.
“The message is don’t be successful and then you’ll have an easier life.”
Asked about the political situation in Northern Ireland, he said: “I’m not really in touch with a lot of what’s going on, whether it be Belfast or the UK or anywhere for that matter.
“I’m just getting on with what I do and my contribution is obviously music and songs and performing.
“I’m busy making my contribution so I don’t really know on that level what’s going on.
“I’m not really into that. I’m apolitical. I’ve got nothing to say about politics whatsoever. I’m not going to start now.”
:: Versatile is out on Friday December 1.
