Cohen, who turns 75 tomorrow, fainted on stage during a rendition of one of his best-known songs, Bird on the Wire, during a gig in Valencia, southeast Spain, late on Friday.
The concert was stopped as fellow band members and others rushed to his aid. After regaining consciousness, the singer hoped to resume his performance, but he suffered continued stomach cramps.
Cohen was taken to the Nueve de Octubre hospital by ambulance but was discharged at 4am yesterday. A spokesman for his tour said Cohen had been suffering from food poisoning.
http://entertainment.timesonline.co....cle6841318.ece
September 20, 2009
Leonard Cohen collapses on stage during Spanish concertDaniel Foggo
LEONARD COHEN, the septuagenarian singer-songwriter enjoying a late flowering of his career, has been taken to hospital after collapsing during a concert.
Cohen, who turns 75 tomorrow, fainted on stage during a rendition of one of his best-known songs, Bird on the Wire, during a gig in Valencia, southeast Spain, late on Friday.
The concert was stopped as fellow band members and others rushed to his aid. After regaining consciousness, the singer hoped to resume his performance, but he suffered continued stomach cramps.
Cohen was taken to the Nueve de Octubre hospital by ambulance but was discharged at 4am yesterday. A spokesman for his tour said Cohen had been suffering from food poisoning.
Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah: A perfect fit in words and music
A video, showing Cohen kneeling down several times during his performance and then keeling over sideways during a saxophone solo, has been placed on the internet by a fan.
Cohen had been due to perform the last show of his Spanish tour at the Palau Sant Jordi concert hall in Barcelona tomorrow before heading to America for a string of dates next month. Last night it appeared he was planning to honour this commitment despite his collapse. Lorries carrying equipment for the show arrived at the hall yesterday morning and were due to set up as normal, said a spokesman for the venue.
Canadian-born Cohen’s career took off in the 1960s with songs such as Suzanne. It has been revitalised recently, helped by a series of acclaimed concerts at London’s O2 arena last year and the success of separate cover versions by Alexandra Burke and Jeff Buckley of his song Hallelujah, which took the number one and two slots in last year’s Christmas charts.
Cohen’s fans include the Prince of Wales. He has many detractors, however, who find his ballads, often about doomed love, downbeat and droning. His album of greatest hits was once voted the most depressing ever by a British magazine.
Conducting an arduous world tour in his mid-70s had not been part of Cohen’s original career plan. At one stage he became a Buddhist monk under the name Jikan and lived in retreat on Mount Baldy, California.
He was forced out of retirement after discovering in 2005 that $5m (£3.1m) of his pension fund had disappeared.
Cohen became embroiled in costly lawsuits and despite winning a £5.5m judgment against his former manager, has reportedly been unable to collect the money.
A need for fresh funds led him to announce his world tour early last year and his performances have included an appearance at the Glastonbury festival.