LEONARD RESCHEDULES EUROPEAN PERFORMANCES DUE TO INJURY

[lightning]

Four to Six Months is a long time to heal an injury. Broken bones mend in six to eight weeks. Maybe somebody around here has some professional medical knowledge about why so long?

[Mollydog]

Thank you so much for the update, Marie.

Wow, what a relief! I'm sure Leonard is in a lot of pain, having suffered from back problems myself I know what it is like, but all week I have been imagining so many scenarios that are much more serious.

Take good care of yourself, Leonard. Marseille on your birthday....sounds good to me!

Mary

[Andrew (Darby)]

Along with everyone else, I wish Leonard as speedy and complete a recovery as possible

I also acknowledge the financial losses and inconvenience this rescheduling represents for some of you Forum friends and hope you can be compensated in some way or at least be able to arrange/gain something worthwhile out of this unforeseen set of circumstances.

Cheers,
Andrew

[leonardmtl]

Back pain is so pesky (one of Leonard's favorite words)...but Leonard can surely deal with it.....he does has some experience with pain in his time!!.And his Mt. Baldy learnings in the way of Zen will surely fortify him.

Surely the comeback will continue!

Leonard from Montreal

[Patrycja]

May the graces lift your spirits, sooth your pain and bring you comfort, Leonard. Sending warm thoughts for abounding health.

[donalagata]

Marie,
It is time to thank the messenger...
You have brought news to answer the questions and now all of the attention can be applied toward wishing Leonard a full recovery so we can once again see the bounce in his step and hear the passion in his voice as he sings his beautiful songs.
Thank You Marie,
donalagata

[donalagata]

A message to Leonard...

Listen to your body and rest...

We will be here when you return...

donalagata

[friscogrl]

Thanks Marie for the information. I am glad it's nothing too serious and here's wishing Leonard a speedy recovery. I do feel for the people who were inconvenienced by the changes and hopefully they will be able to attend some of the rescheduled shows. Marseilles is sounding pretty good to me too!

M

[kokenpere]

Thank you, Marie, for keeping us posted. We hope Leonard has a speedy recovery. Speedy at 75 is very different than recoveries at a younger age. Hopefully, Leonard will play in the aching places soon.

michael

[Evie B]

Though relieved to know Leonard's illness is not something more insidious, I am very sorry to know he is in pain. Anyone who has suffered lower back pain, knows how awful it is. Get well soon Leonard. If you find yourself in need of chicken soup, post a request on here and there will be legions of Jewish ladies with tried and tested family recipies to hand who can oblige. Sadly, my only offering could be Heinz variety, not being Jewish I lack the necessary genes to be able to come up with the goods.

I did giggle as as a re-read "Mr. Cohen is otherwise in terrific shape, thanks to years of exercise and careful diet" - we all suspect the nature of the years' of exercise Leonard has preferred (though he would protest he was alone thousands of nights) and I thought it was guaranteed to put your back out, but pleased to know tea and oranges that come all the way from China has now officially been recognised as beneficial diet for the health.

Get well Leonard, love you lots...

Evie B

[B4real]

Well, at last something concrete to end all the speculation. Not so much as an end for Leonard but a beginning.

Frankly, I don't know how he has coped so well anyway - the last two years would be absolutely gruelling for a man half his age! Let's hope he will mend properly and in the time frame mentioned.

Must be all that kneeling, deep bowing and moonwalking

Take Care Leonard

[bridger15]

This article basically repeats Kory's press release. But, I love the final line.
"Take your time but hurry up: the world still needs you, Mr. Cohen."

http://www.spinner.com/2010/02/05/leonard-cohen/

Leonard Cohen Suffers Lower-Back Injury, Postpones Tour

* Posted on Feb 5th 2010 9:36PM by Benjy Eisen

European fans of Leonard Cohen who are lucky enough to hold concert tickets for the European run of his current world tour are going to have to wait just a little bit longer: Cohen has been forced to reschedule the shows in the wake of a sports-related injury that he suffered while exercising recently.

Don't worry: Cohen, age 75, is on track to make a full recovery, but physicians have advised him to take it easy and follow a four to six month physical therapy plan for the compression injury that he sustained in his lower back. It's the same type of plan prescribed for athletes with similar injuries.

Postponing the run is just a small obstacle in an otherwise storybook comeback that began in May 2008 when Cohen returned to the stage after a prolonged absence. More than four decades into his enormously influential career, Cohen hushed the notoriously loud Coachella crowd last year with a spellbinding performance, proving that he's still on top of his game. More recently, the night before this year's Grammy Awards he was honored by the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences with a 2010 Lifetime Achievement Special Merit Award.

"Doctors have confirmed that Mr. Cohen is in otherwise terrific shape, thanks to years of exercise and careful diet," said his manager, Robert Kory, in a statement. "[He] simply needs appropriate time to recover from the lower back injury."

Take your time but hurry up: the world still needs you, Mr. Cohen.

[antipodean heart]

We wish Mr Cohen a complete recovery.

Thank you Marie and Robert for getting the news out so promptly.

Looks like we're planning a trip to France later this year! Hope that we'll be able to get tickets to the Marseille show, but tickets to any show will be wonderful.

J and greatsouthernlandfan

[mutti]

Marie please put me on the sign up list!!!
Thank you so much for the news today and thank you to Robert Kory and Jarkko.
I am so sorry Leonard is suffering and please send him lots of love and healing energy.
I hope he gets lots of chicken soup, massages, cranial sacrial sessions whatever it takes...and rest and time to record and write when he feels stronger
or just time to play with his family.
Take good care Leonard...we miss you and look forward to the next time....
Leslie (Mutti)

[sturgess66]

From Reuters -
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6150EN20100206

Of note!! - "Cohen, who is known to take years to craft a new song, has just finished writing a tune called "Different Sides," his musical collaborator, Sharon Robinson, told Reuters at the Grammy event. It was not known when the song would be released. Cohen released his last studio album in 2004."

Leonard Cohen Delays Europe Tour After Back Injury
LOS ANGELES
Sat Feb 6, 2010 12:51am EST


Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen performs at the Coachella Music Festival in Indio, California April 17, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Mario Anzuoni


LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen has postponed an upcoming European tour by six months after hurting his lower back while exercising, his representatives said Friday.

A statement said his doctors advised the 75-year-old to follow the same four- to six-month regimen of physical therapy as athletes do with similar injuries.

A spokeswoman declined to specify what Cohen was doing when he hurt himself. He appeared fairly nimble Saturday when he accepted a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in Los Angeles and recited his wry poem "Tower of Song" to the audience.

The nine-date tour, set to begin on March 1 in the French city of Caen, will now begin on September 15, with shows scheduled through October 7 in Moscow.

Cohen has played 191 shows around the world since returning to the concert trail in May 2008 after a 15-year absence. During his hiatus he became a Zen Buddhist monk at a mountain hideaway near Los Angeles. His comeback was necessitated by a former manager's mishandling of his finances.

Cohen, who is known to take years to craft a new song, has just finished writing a tune called "Different Sides," his musical collaborator, Sharon Robinson, told Reuters at the Grammy event. It was not known when the song would be released. Cohen released his last studio album in 2004.

(Reporting by Dean Goodman; Editing by Eric Beech)