January 18, 2012 St. James's Palace, London, ENG

By Martin Chilton, Telegraph Digital Culture Editor January 19, 2012

Van Morrison has played his share of different venues in nearly 55 years as a musician but performing in the magnificent Picture Gallery State Room at St James's Palace must have been one of the most memorable.

Morrison was the star guest at an evening to promote Northern Ireland - as a thriving cultural location and a tourist destination.

It was a fascinating evening all round. This is a new age for Northern Ireland and it was summed up by the sight of Sinn Féin's Martin McGuiness, the present deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, walking through the magnificent Armoury Room in the home of the royal family since the 1530s.

Belfast-born Morrison, a world-class musician, was introduced by Eamonn Holmes as 'Van The Legend Man' and the singer was in great form. John Peel once described Morrison as "a short man with a face like a member of the post-war Labour Government, all unforgiving eyes and down-turned mouth, radiating solemn purpose."

The solemn purpose was definitely there but the eyes were hidden behind the John Lee Hooker-style dark shades and black hat, a look Morrison has sported for the past decade.

Backed by a seven-man band - including a brass section with trumpet, trombone and saxophone - 66-year-old Morrison looked to be struggling with a cold but, fortified by puffs of his inhaler, he gamely sang and played saxophone and harmonica. His nine-song set included crowd-pleasing classics such as Moondance, Brown Eyed Girl, Gloria and Here Comes The Night but the highlights were a punchy version of Precious Time, a rollicking bluesy take on Big Joe Williams's Baby Please Don't Go and a fast-paced revival of the Sonny Boy Williamson song Help Me. With a nod to his homeland, the man known in the 1970s as The Belfast Cowboy also sang, at quite a canter, the old Irish ballad Star Of The County Down.

Among those who gave Morrison a standing ovation was Simon Callow. The actor, who had studied at The Queen's University Of Belfast, was described as an "honourary Irishman" and he gave a delightful reading on behalf of his old friend and former tutor Seamus Heaney. The poet from County Derry, who won the Nobel Prize For Literature in 1995, is now 72 and in his absence Callow read aloud Heaney's exquisite poem The Peninsula:

The glazed foreshore and silhouetted log. That rock where breakers shredded into rags, The leggy birds stilted on their own legs, Islands riding themselves out into the fog.

Perhaps the most eloquent moment of the evening was provided by Music Theatre 4 Youth. St James's Palace houses Mortlake tapestries ordered by Charles I and a range of Royal portraits from the time of Henry VIII, including works by Mytens, Van Somer and Wissing but the positive message from the musical youngsters was that history needn't weigh us down. The future can be brighter.

Watched by First Minister Peter Robinson, Christine Bleakley and Barry McGuigan they sang Be The Change, written by Musical Director Tim Sutton as a tribute to Vernon Mound, who did so much to encourage youngsters from the region before his death from cancer. It's an exciting time for Northern Ireland. The Irish Open golf will be held at Royal Portrush this year and the Titanic Belfast, the world's largest Titanic visitor experience which opens on 31 March, will attract crowds from all over the globe. As Van The Man once sang: From the dark and lonely street. To the bright side of the road.