SCORES of fans missed the start of Van Morrison's performanace in York on Saturday night when the show started early.

But staff at the city's Barbican Centre say the change of time was entirely down to the veteran singer, who for personal reasons wanted to start and finish early.

The concert was advertised to start at 7.30pm, beginning with support act Chris Farlowe and the Norman Beaker Band.

But notices on the door informed concertgoers that it would be starting approximately ten minutes early.

One fan at the show said many people were still arriving when Van Morrison went on stage at 8.05pm.

David Nicholson, 50, of Grosvenor Terrace, York, said: "The time on the ticket said 7.30pm and if you timed your arrival for then you would find that the support band were already playing.

"And it wasn't just any old support band - Chris Farlowe is a legendary figure of 60s pop music.

"I go to see a lot of bands and if it says 7.30pm on the ticket, most of the time the show will start 40 minutes later and the main band will be an hour after the start.

"Van Morrison started at 8.05pm and people were still coming in then. It was a great concert, but that was not on."

Ann Bewley, marketing manager for the Barbican, said: "It was advertised at 7.30pm and it did start at 7.23pm. Van Morrison didn't come on until 8.05pm.

"That was earlier than we had expected and earlier than the night before, but Van Morrison himself gave a short notice that he wanted to bring his time of going on forward."

She said the change was made on Saturday afternoon. Barbican staff managed to inform 50 per cent of ticket-holders, and notices were also erected in the car park and around the building.

Updated: 12:42 Monday, January 13, 2003