Van Morrison has insisted he and Bob Dylan are "worlds apart".

The two musicians have often been compared but the 'Brown Eyed Girl' hitmaker, 78, insists what they do is different because the 'Mr. Tambourine Man' hitmaker, 82, is a "songwriter who sings" and he is a singer first.

He told Vintage Rock magazine: "Well, I'm just nothing like Bob Dylan, so I guess what I was trying to say was, like, I'm coming from the place that I'm a singer first. I'm a singer. Right? And I write songs.

So Bob Dylan and I are, like, worlds apart.

What he does and what I do, you know, it's nowhere near."

He continued: "I am a singer who writes songs, so I was comparing myself more to the singer who writes songs, rather than a songwriter who sings."

Van's latest project is the covers album 'Accentuate the Positive', and he insists he is only motivated to do things that inspire him, not what other people want him to do.

He said: "I'm not interested in what other people want me to do or what they expect. I think if you're successful, then you should be able to do what you want. So I enjoy doing this music. I have always enjoyed it... I just do what I like with music that inspires me and has always inspired me. So there's no particular reason. It's just what I want to do.

I can do it, you know?"