Editing Van Morrison (section)

===Them: 1964–1966===
{{Main|Them (band)}}
The roots of Them, the band that first broke Morrison on the international scene, came in April 1964 when he responded to an advert for musicians to play at a new [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] club at the Maritime Hotel in College Square North&nbsp;– an old Belfast hostel frequented by sailors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.superseventies.com/ssvanmorrison.html|title=Van Morrison&nbsp;– In His Own Words|website=Superseventies.com|access-date=23 April 2009}}</ref><ref>[https://ulsterhistorycircle.org.uk/maritime-hotel/ 'The Maritime Hotel']. Ulster History Circle, 15 April 2015, retrieved 3 June 2022.</ref> The new club needed a band for its opening night. Morrison had left the Golden Eagles (the group with which he had been performing at the time), so he created a new band out of the Gamblers, an [[Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)|East Belfast]] group formed by Ronnie Millings, Billy Harrison and Alan Henderson in 1962. Morrison took the place of his friend, Bill Dunn, who left the band months earlier to become a pastor.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/rocker-turned-pastor-bill-dunn-to-me-van-morrison-is-a-giant-and-a-real-groundbreaker-for-northern-ireland-im-proud-to-know-him/42150242.html |title=Rocker-turned-pastor Bill Dunn: ‘To me, Van Morrison is a giant and a real groundbreaker for Northern Ireland... I’m proud to know him’ |work=Belfast Telegraph |last=Little |first=Ivan |date=17 November 2022 |access-date=22 April 2025 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="The rough guide">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=haEfq-nKqjgC&q=The+Gamblers+van+morrison&pg=RA1-PA424|title=The rough guide to rock – Google Book Search|access-date=24 April 2009|last=Buckley|first=Peter|isbn=978-1-84353-105-0|date=31 July 2002|publisher=Rough Guides }}</ref><ref name="The Belfast Blues">{{cite web|url=http://www.thembelfast.com/|title=THEM the Belfast Blues-Band|website=Thembelfast.com|access-date=24 April 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817111831/http://www.thembelfast.com/|archive-date=17 August 2009}}</ref> [[Eric Wrixon]], still a schoolboy, was the piano player and keyboardist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://music.aol.com/artist/eric-wrixon/biography/1166048|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121129141027/http://music.aol.com/artist/eric-wrixon/biography/1166048|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 November 2012|title=Eric Wrixon Biography&nbsp;– AOL Music|website=Music.aol.com|access-date=24 April 2009}}</ref> Morrison played saxophone and harmonica and shared vocals with Billy Harrison. They followed Eric Wrixon's suggestion for a new name, and the Gamblers morphed into [[Them (band)|Them]], their name taken from the 1954 horror movie ''[[Them!]]''<ref>Rogan (2006), pp. 79–83</ref>

The band's R&B performances at the Maritime attracted attention. Them performed without a routine and Morrison [[ad lib]]bed, creating his songs live as he performed.<ref name="HintonPage40">Hinton (1997), page 40.</ref> While the band did covers, they also played some of Morrison's early songs, such as "Could You Would You", which he had written in [[Camden Town]] while touring with the Manhattan Showband.<ref>Rogan (2006), page 76</ref> The debut of Morrison's "[[Gloria (Them song)|Gloria]]" took place on stage here. Sometimes, depending on his mood, the song could last up to twenty minutes. Morrison has said, "Them lived and died on the stage at the Maritime Hotel", believing the band did not manage to capture the spontaneity and energy of their live performances on their records.<ref name="TurnerPage44">Turner (1993), page 44.</ref> The statement also reflected the instability of the Them line-up, with numerous members passing through the ranks after the definitive Maritime period. Morrison and Henderson remained the only constants, and a less successful version of Them soldiered on after Morrison's departure.<ref>Heylin (2003), page 118</ref>

[[Dick Rowe]] of [[Decca Records]] became aware of the band's performances and signed Them to a standard two-year contract. In that period, they released two albums and ten singles, with two more singles released after Morrison departed the band. They had three [[record chart|chart]] hits, "[[Baby, Please Don't Go]]" (1964), "[[Here Comes the Night (Them song)|Here Comes the Night]]" (1965), and "[[Mystic Eyes]]" (1965),<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&q=Baby+Please+Don%27t+Go+/+Gloria&pg=PT1077|title=The rough guide to rock&nbsp;– Google Book Search|access-date=17 April 2009|last=Buckley|first=Peter|isbn=978-1-84353-105-0|year=2003|publisher=Rough Guides }}</ref> but it was the B-side of "Baby, Please Don't Go", the [[garage band]] classic "Gloria",<ref name="TurnerPage48-51">Turner (1993), pages 48–51</ref> that went on to become a rock standard covered by [[Patti Smith]], [[the Doors]], [[the Shadows of Knight]], [[Jimi Hendrix]] and many others.<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=song|id=t3122630|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=[[AllMusic]]|last=Janovitz |first=Bill|title=Gloria: Them – song review|access-date=21 May 2010}}</ref>
{{listen
 |filename = Gloria - Them.ogg|
 |title=Gloria|description=Morrison's garage rock classic was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. As described by [[Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! creator)|Paul Williams]]: "Van Morrison's voice a fierce beacon in the darkness, the lighthouse at the end of the world. Resulting in one of the most perfect rock anthems known to humankind."<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Williams (Crawdaddy! creator)|last2=Berryhill |first2=Cindy Lee|title=Rock and Roll: The 100 Best Singles|edition=Hardcover|date=December 1993|publisher=Entwhistle Books|location=United States|isbn=978-0-934558-41-9|pages=71–72|chapter=Baby Please Don't Go / Gloria&nbsp;– Them (1964)}}</ref>
}}

Building on the success of their singles in the United States, and riding on the back of the [[British Invasion]], Them undertook a two-month tour of America in May and June 1966 that included a residency from 30 May to 18 June at the [[Whisky a Go Go]] in Los Angeles.<ref name="TurnerPage65">Turner (1993), pages 65 – 66.</ref> [[The Doors]] were the supporting act on the last week,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.waiting-forthe-sun.net/Pages/Venues/whisky_them.html|last=Lawrence |first=Paul |date=2002|title=The Doors and Them: twin Morrisons of different mothers|website=Waiting-forthe-sun.net|access-date=7 July 2008}}</ref> and Morrison's influence on the Doors singer [[Jim Morrison]] was noted by [[John Densmore]] in his book ''Riders on the Storm''. [[Brian Hinton]] relates how "Jim Morrison learned quickly from his near namesake's stagecraft, his apparent recklessness, his air of subdued menace, the way he would improvise poetry to a rock beat, even his habit of crouching down by the bass drum during instrumental breaks."<ref name="HintonPage67">Hinton (1997), page 67.</ref> On the final night, the two Morrisons and the two bands jammed together on "Gloria".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chickenonaunicycle.com/Whisky-A-Go-Go%20History.htm|author=Arnold, Corry|date=23 January 2006|title=The History of the Whisky-A-Go-Go|website=Chickenonaunicyle.com|access-date=30 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323010118/http://www.chickenonaunicycle.com/Whisky-A-Go-Go%20History.htm|archive-date=23 March 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="VanM">{{cite web|url=http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/~hayward/van/glossary/doors.html|title=Glossary entry for The Doors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310195120/http://www.harbour.sfu.ca/~hayward/van/glossary/doors.html|archive-date=10 March 2007}} from Van Morrison website. Photo of both Morrisons on stage. Access date 26 May 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.doorshistory.com/doors1966.html|title=Doors 1966 – June 1966|website=Doorshistory.com|access-date=13 October 2008}}</ref>

Toward the end of the tour the band members became involved in a dispute with their manager, Decca Records' [[Phil Solomon (music executive)|Phil Solomon]], over the revenues paid to them; that, coupled with the expiry of their work visas, meant the band returned from America dejected. After two more concerts in Ireland, Them split up. Morrison concentrated on writing some of the songs that would appear on ''[[Astral Weeks]]'', while the remnants of the band reformed in 1967 and relocated to America.<ref name="TurnerPage72-73">Turner (1993), pages 72–73.</ref>