Leonard Cohen rolled back the years at the Wembley Arena in London over the weekend, playing both September 8th and 9th. However, the veteran crooner was initially supposed to be performing the shows at Hop Farm in Kent, and had some pretty stern words for the organisers who announced only last month that the venue would be getting switched into the UK capital.
Midway through his set, The Press Association reports that Cohen apologised to the crowd in attendance over the change of venue. He said: "I want you to know I learned about it the same time you did. There are unseen hands that manipulate the marketplace. Hands that I never get to see, or crush." Continuing, he referred to a line from his latest album Old Songs, and claimed that the decision had been made by "a lazy b****** living in a suit".
However, if the crowd themselves were disgruntled at the move then they didn't show it. Cohen was greeted like the superstar that he is, the still-sprightly 77 year-old finding firm favour with a hit-packed set including favourites such as Suzanne, Hallelujah and So Long, Marianne. The old showstopper has a long list of dates yet to complete for the rest of the year, heading around the rest of Europe before returning to America and finishing up on December 20th in New York.