5 Things to Know About Van Morrison’s Contract Dispute Before Astral Weeks

A contract dispute with Bang Records trapped Van Morrison in early 1968. The label’s founder, Bert Berns, died suddenly, and his widow blamed Morrison for creative difficulties she believed contributed to Berns’s fatal heart attack.

Morrison could not record new music during the dispute. The widow’s hostility made it impossible for him to work with Bang Records or any other label.

Warner Bros. eventually intervened to free Morrison. The label negotiated a settlement that allowed him to leave Bang Records and begin recording Astral Weeks later that year.