This the most whispery interview in the history of the BBC.

You can tell Van is tired from travel. He's a musical genius. No one like him. He's still productive at 76. Saw him in Chicago May 2022. He still has it. Always a great band accompanying his soulful voice.. His catalog of songs are only rivaled by Dylan, but his voice is way better. The Belfast cowboy still rides.

Oh my! A young Van, shy and soft spoken. He looks good but tired, I've never seen him interviewed with others from his band before! This video is a Gem!!

When Whispering Bob met Muttering Van...

The Minstrel boy The Bard The Troubadour The Philosopher The Singer The Poet The Composer The Genius... The Man.... Sir Van Morrison!!!

I love Van Morrison at any of his age. He is eternal. ❤

I’m so glad this video exists. I love VM ❤️

What a good interviewer Bob Harris is. Van was notoriously hostile to interviews but Bob mellows everything out!

The interviewer seems so gentle bless him and I think he draws Van out as I have always said Van is not standoffish but pretty shy and he expresses himself through his music.

"Just digging the scene, ya know." VM

I love this interview. They all are sweet, thoughtful, beautiful, quiet and enjoyable to listen to.❤❤❤

Thanks! I love seeing the young Van in this interview. In ‘73 we were all young and pretty lol

Bob Harris was an absolute legend in the UK . If he interviewed you , you knew it was the beginning of something great .

If you close your eyes Van Morrison sounds just as he does today.His singing voice is remarkably strong still.Hes quite something.☘️

I enjoy contrasting the younger Van with the elder Van and noting the variances between the two. Morrison is one of the most fascinating reservoirs of musical creativity in our time. Transitions from the earlier Van to the later Van can be very informative regarding his music as a whole.

So nice and gentle. Why can't this mindset be applied today? Especially for 'sensitive' artists like Van so obviously is? Let's go back to the future!!

This reminds me of they old videos from the 40’s/50’s you get of doctors interviewing psychiatric patients

Watching and listening to Van Morrison in his most creative period is so interesting, so thanks for sharing this interview!

Only 10 hours for astral weeks!? That is something special

Van is a unique artist - so soulful- sheer class 🤟🏼

A GOD onstage. A shy kid offstage. A genius, no matter how, when and where.

This is a terrific ASMR video!

Great artist (calls himself a worker btw), great interviewer, deep mutual respect, interesting outcome, the equation is simple and rewarding for everybody for God's sake.

I love the literal tongue-in-cheek move after speaking the name of Bert Berns. There were things he wanted to say and did/could not, I'd wager.

Good interviewer. Van the young man!

Thank YOU Woolhall. for sharing this, appears relaxed interview, among all four people. Very enjoyable to listen to with Van Morrison and his Friends..

A musical genius for over five decades........

The double album It's too late to stop now is a joyous masterpiece, I recall seeing it on BBC2 sight and sound in concert in 1974 and was capivated, love it still.

bob harris nearly hypnotized his interview subjects and to do what he did here with van, well it's groundbreaking psychoanalysis

VAN MORRISON'S SENSITIVITY AS A PERSON AND ARTIST SHINES THROUGH IN THIS INTERVIEW

Van has so many records I love. Of course Astral Weeks, an unprecedented work of genius. I also love the rocking stuff he did, like Wild Night always gets me going. Bottom line is I love Van.

The best interviwer ever, so nice and gentel and humbele Whispering Bob Harris :)

This interview was quite tense yet quite soothing at the same time...

LMFAO - so fkn high!! VAN THE MAN!! Does not seem to be terribly interested in the line of questioning!! And yes, the American audiences are much more rowdy!

❤ ☘ ❤ Van Morrison 😘 🥰 "minutes ago" or months ago.. Love them for years! ❤ Great one.. Woolhall 👍 Thank you ..🌻

Bob Harris, the parent to all musicians.

I love Van and the band and always have.... but yes, hyper-quiet, I slumped into my whiskey!

I was in my mothers womb at the time this was filmed fighting with my twin brother no doubt - who would’ve thought that I would end up a van nut. He went over to Ireland on the 20th Oct 73 to travel all over his homeland - the day I was born

David Hayes is one of the greatest bass players ever !

intersting how Irish accent blends into American so quickly, part of where it came from.

1973 - The era of the intense television close up.

Wow.... they actually recorded some of the tracks for 'It's Too Late To Stop Now' later that day!

Is this a frickin’ whispering competition?

I would like if people would stop picking on my Celtic 1st cousin, some people find fault his personality, they miss a very important point by a million miles, Van is a music man, a storyteller a poet, he not here to explain every word he ever wrote down, he is not here to give you false pretense, he leaves it to you to make up your own mind, he knows what he knows and gets on with his music and life, you never hear Van asking other people questions like explain who you are and what you do, Van has more important things to do like making brilliant music which as fresh as a daisy all those years later and still make stunning great music and playing never to me forgotten shows

Thanks Woolhall. A very lovely interview

Yes every interviewers dream ! But when he does talk ,it seems just right .

Thank you very much for posting this! Especially considering how there aren't too many van interviews online, also this was the year he released Hard Nose The Highway which I think is his third best album behind astral weeks and moondance. Great video

At what Library was this interview filmed ?

My God, I LOVE this man.

From what I've heard the Astral Weeks album was recorded with studio musicians who had never heard any of the songs before and just busked their way through all the songs. This is what ended up on the released album.

Nice , anybody remember early 80's when Mtv had just started , they used to play Van and the Orchestra doing Moondance live with the strings, , any way it was just quality and quantity sheer perfection , i haven't seen that video in ages and would love to see it again...possibly name and date? I know it wasn't the rainbow connection , maybe warner brothers is saving it for something... anyway , cheers

... When you’re really stoned, and you come home at 2am, and your mom starts asking you questions in that sharp whispery voice...

Lol Woolhall..not many will catch it or get it..73..lol.. Love this clip..you're cool man

Nice video. Thanks.

Van is funny. He’s just not able to talk in interviews. He does his talking via the music - a very real musician!

Van,s actions spoke louder than his words,,, Thanks Woolhall! 💚☘️💚

"How are you finding British audiences?" He asks for directions to the theater!

It's April 2023, Van was young, so very very young. (The Street Only Knew Your Name).

Van has that far away eyes look!

God I love this man…

He mostly let the music do the talking...

he's quieter than whispering bob!

Well, one of the best singer and songwriters that ever lived doesn’t necessarily need to have a silver tongue in interviews too.

Van taking them piss by whispering even more then whispering bob lol

Van the Man 2023!!!

What he actually says at the beginning is not 'two or three minutes' but 'two or three months' but it sounds like 'minutes'. If you go to 2.00 he talks about going back to the States a second time 'about four months later' and it sounds like he's saying 'minutes' there as well. It's just his accent and the way he pronounces 'months'.

I don't know how the cameraman on the show didn't pass out on the floor from being so relaxed

How does this interview end? I can’t seem to get beyond 2 minutes without dozing off!

We called this cool back in the day

Van at his taciturn best.

Boomers are a chilled generation not like the ‘look at me’ generations down the track.

Great stuff! Always enjoyed Whispering Bob's interviews. Did this interview go out on the Whistle Test or was it kept in the archives? I don't ever recall seeing Van on any OGWT ever. Also good on Van for his stance on the scamdemic. More power to him. His new album's out in May I hear.

I was in my mom belly glad to be here 💋👠🎧

Like pulling teeth for poor old Bob

We were all young once but Van Morrison has as I see it a very intense look that tends to leave people questioning his person. Musicians / writers are a bit stand offish it is their talent that brings people to them not the flamboyant vocabulary.

His incredible

That's the way a genius should be, all action no talk.

I just learned that he's from Ireland. I love the accent!

Oh my God. Whispering Bob

omg this is amazing

Lets whisper quietly together in case someone overhears us. 😂

It's like drawing blood from a turnip.

Adorable and genius

This interview make me Feelike am in a Library

Have just finished watching this video. It's taken 5 hours cause I kept falling asleep, a bit like reading a book in bed at night, you know when it takes 5 mins to read one line, cause you keep going unconscious, well that sort of thing. Listened for 30 seconds or so and the same phenomenon happened. I'm a Belfast man myself, still love Van the Man nonetheless 🤣

Old Grey Whistle Test

Van at an interview : “What’s with all these questions ?”. “How about you answer them.”

Tone is like a therapy session. I think they may have smoked weed beforehand.

Exciting stuff

That accent is shockin. You're from East Belfast ya goose.

Even then, his accent was Americanized.

Whispering Bob as you may know Van is a real soul shouter so he may turn up the volume a wee bit 😉!

Old grey whistle test.

“Diggin’ the scene…” 🤔 😉

30 tunes recorded for Hard Nose? Where are they???

Will be spoken about in 200 years

Thanks A!

I couldn't help but notice that Platania and Hayes were hoping for a 30 year career with Van, but he wasn't having it.

anyone else notice how bizarrely the subtitles are for this? It's pretty crazy how they've mistranslated simple words.

I swear to God the interview reminds me of Soul Train and not American Bandstand.... just a low-key interview quite a good- looker back then.... I like the fact that Van was just a strong man with his height just like me and probably you.. Tom Jones and Van Morrison sometimes we cry put it on your repertoire