Morrison was born in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, where he was surrounded by the influence of his parents' record collection; his mother was a fan of soul while his father enjoyed listening to folk and country.[5] He began playing guitar when his uncle Joe showed him how to play a blues riff.[6] As a teenager he started busking when he lived in Porth, Newquay, Cornwall, in a local pub called the Phoenix, Watergate Bay. He used to practice playing his guitar on the promenade looking over Porth beach. He took GCSE music at Treviglas Community College. After some years of covering other musicians' songs, he eventually started to write his own. He attributes his distinctive voice to a severe bout of whooping cough that nearly killed him when he was a baby.[7]
Morrison has alluded to an unhappy childhood affected by poverty and illness; he said of his hometown "the best thing is I've got memories of being a kid there and the worst thing is I've got memories of being a kid there."[5] When Morrison was only a few weeks old, he contracted whooping cough and was given a 30% chance of survival from doctors, who believed that if he survived, he would be severely brain damaged.[8] He states that he "went blue and stopped breathing and [doctors] had to resuscitate me four times."[8] After the experience, his parents divorced when he was four years old and he suffered from low self esteem at school, where he was ostracized for being involved in music rather than sports. He finally gained confidence when he moved to Cornwall as a teenager, where people were more accepting of his musical inclinations.[8]
According to Morrison, he was influenced by music from a very young age, listening to artists such as Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, Van Morrison and Al Green. Morrison said that the first time he heard Stevie Wonder's voice he was close to tears, and has since been fascinated by the way he utilizes his voice.[9]
Working in Derby, Morrison found an Irish bar called "Ryan's" which runs an open mic night on Wednesdays and Sundays. Morrison met Kev Andrews, who later produced Morrison's demo tape