Ham Roll with the Punches
PRICKLY music legend Van Morrison is best known for notching up scores of best-selling albums. Astral
Weeks, Moondance and Tupelo Honey each showcased his uncompromising musical style. And it appears that the Belfast-born curmudgeon is just as uncompromising when it comes to his choice of meat, after the singer was last week spotted in Sainsbury’s buying two packs of the supermarket’s luxury-branded ‘The Very Best’ Wiltshire Cured ham.
Speculation has since grown around the significance of the purchase, with music experts suggesting the Baby, Please Don’t Go singer may well have been preparing to make some sandwiches.
“Van may be one of the most respected musicians of the last fifty years, but he still enjoys a ham sandwich,” explained NME editor Bill Sinkhole. “So I suspect that he would have been buying that ham with a view to making a sarnie or two, most likely for his lunch or perhaps as a snack to have between recording sessions.”
And Van’s choice of the more expensive ‘The Very Best’branded ham, as opposed to the supermarket chain’s ‘Stanford Street’ value range, came as no surprise to record industry insiders.
“Van has been a very successful singer for sixty-odd years now,” said music producer Tony Visconti. “He can certainly afford the finer things in life, such as fast cars, luxury watches and ‘The Very Best’ branded ham.”
However, supermarket witnesses say that although the Brown Eyed Girl singer took the ham to the checkout, he didn’t buy any bread, throwing the sandwich theory into some doubt. But music journalist Hibbert Toms believes he has an explanation. “It could be that Van already had a few slices of bread in the bread bin at one of his homes in London, Ireland or the States,” he said. “Or maybe he was going to get a loaf at Lidl, where the bread’s a bit cheaper but still quite nice.”