YORK Barbican is to reopen next week with two concerts by veteran songwriter and anti-lockdown campaigner Van Morrison.

The entertainment venue has lain closed and silent for 16 months, since the first lockdown was imposed in March last year as the pandemic spread.

A spokesman said: "This will be our first show at York Barbican since March 2020.

"In line with government guidance, our Van Morrison concerts will be taking place at York Barbican and we can’t wait to welcome customers back for these events. All ticket holders will be sent event information ahead of their visit to the venue."

The musician brought out a series of anti-lockdown songs last year. One song went: "No more taking our freedom / And our God-given rights / Pretending it’s for our safety / When it’s really to enslave.” Another referred to 'Imperial College scientists making up crooked facts.'

Asked if it was purely coincidental that the venue's first concerts after lockdown, which take place on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, should feature such a musician, the spokesperson said Van Morrison’s first show was originally planned for May 25 but had been rescheduled to next Tuesday following Covid-19 government guidance.

He said his second show, originally due for May 26, had been moved to next Wednesday, and people's tickets were valid for the new dates.

Morrison first found fame with his Top 40 pop hit ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ (1967), and has gained a Brit, an OBE, an Ivor Novello, 6 Grammys, honourary doctorates from Queen’s University Belfast and the University of Ulster, and entry into The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame and the French Ordres Des Artes Et Des Lettres.

Other stars due to appear at York Barbican later this year include Grayson Perry, Fisherman's Friends, Hawkwind, Riverdance, Manic Street Preachers, Scouting for Girls, Belinda Carlisle, Daniel O'Donnell, Jimmy Carr, Jools Holland, Russell Watson, Gabrielle and Sarah Millican.

The UK Snooker Championship is also due to return in late November and early December.