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Updated at 12.50pm
CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER Justin Trudeau has been leading tributes to Leonard Cohen, following the singer-songwriter’s death overnight at the age of 82.
Other figures from the worlds of music, film and politics have also been sharing their memories and paying tribute to the Canadian musician, whose death was announced via his official Facebook page in the early hours of the morning Irish time.
“It is with deep sorrow that I learned today of the death of the legendary Leonard Cohen,” said Trudeau, whose father Pierre – also a Canadian prime minister – was a friend of the singer.
“A most remarkable Montrealer, Leonard Cohen managed to reach the highest of artistic achievement, both as an acclaimed poet and a world-renowned singer-songwriter. He will be fondly remembered for his gruff vocals, his self-deprecating humour and the haunting lyrics that made his songs the perennial favourite of so many generations.
“Leonard Cohen is as relevant today as he was in the 1960s. His ability to conjure the vast array of human emotion made him one of the most influential and enduring musicians ever. His style transcended the vagaries of fashion.”
Trudeau’s long statement continued:
Leonard Cohen was made a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2003 and received many artistic honours during his lifetime, including being inducted into the Canadian Music hall of fame, the Canadian Songwriters hall of fame, and the American Rock and Roll hall of fame.
He received a lifetime achievement Grammy in 2010 and was awarded the Glenn Gould prize for lifetime achievement in the arts in 2011. In 2013, with a career already spanning more than fifty years, he won Junos as Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year for his 2012 album Old Ideas. His music had withstood the test of time.
On behalf of all Canadians, Sophie and I wish to express our deepest sympathies to Leonard Cohen’s family, friends, colleagues and many, many fans.
Leonard, no other artist’s poetry and music felt or sounded quite like yours. We’ll miss you.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre ordered the city’s flags to fly at half-mast, saying the city had lost one of its greatest ambassadors.
President Higgins has been leading the Irish tributes. The following statement was released shortly after the singer’s death, early this morning.
It is with great sadness that I have learnt of the death of Leonard Cohen, author, painter, poet and singer.
In his timeless songs, Leonard Cohen captured not just feelings of loneliness and loss, but also the essence of human life: love, beauty, humour, as well as social and political engagement.
His vast and diverse music repertoire has been widely recognised, receiving awards and critical acclaim, and gaining him fans around the world. Leonard Cohen has left a lasting legacy and his work will continue to inspire current and future generations.
He was deeply influenced by William Butler Yeats and he made a very warm connection with his Irish audiences – a fact that he valued and emphasised to me when I met him in Dublin.
May I convey my deepest condolences to his family, his son Adam and daughter Lorca, his friends, colleagues in music, and to all those who share an appreciation of Leonard Cohen’s impressive body of work.
‘A songwriting legend’
Arts Minister Heather Humphreys has also been paying tribute to the Canadian singer – as have politicians from across the political divide, from Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams to conservative senator Rónán Mullen.
“He was a songwriting legend, and my own personal favourite singer songwriter,” Humphreys, the Cavan-Monaghan Fine Gael TD, said.
“Cohen’s music had an ability to reach into your soul and speak to your inner thoughts, your hopes and your fears.
“His music brought solace and joy to so many.
The world has lost one of its true music legends and indeed one of its greatest modern poets.
Joan Burton, the Labour TD and former party leader, said Cohen’s concert in Kilmainham in Dublin in 2008 “was one of the best of my life, and an evening I will never forget”.
“Through his music and lyrics, Leonard Cohen touched so many people, and with his great love of WB Yeats, he had a special affinity with Ireland. His thousands of Irish fans will remember fondly his concerts at Lissadell House in Sligo in 2010, held just a short distance from the birthplace of the poet.”
Her statement concluded:
Sleep well Leonard, you were one of the people who made the world better.
Final album
Cohen began as a poet before branching out into music – reluctantly at first – writing some of his generation’s most reflective songs, including the spiritual ‘Hallelujah’, which has been covered countless times.
He released his final album ‘You Want It Darker’ just last month.
“My father passed away peacefully at his home in Los Angeles with the knowledge that he had completed what he felt was one of his greatest records,” Cohen’s son Adam told Rolling Stone.
He was writing up until his last moments with his unique brand of humour.
His manager Robert Kory told the US magazine that Cohen was “a true visionary whose voice will be sorely missed”.
I was blessed to call him a friend, and for me to serve that bold artistic spirit firsthand, was a privilege and great gift. He leaves behind a legacy of work that will bring insight, inspiration and healing for generations to come.
Impromptu tributes have been left at the Chelsea Hotel in New York overnight – the setting for one of the singer’s more notorious songs, from his 1974 album New Skin for the Old Ceremony.
Andrew Kirell / Twitter
Andrew Kirell / Twitter / Twitter
Fellow musicians, including Alanis Morissette, Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and Cohen’s contemporary Carole King have been paying tribute on Twitter.
Carole King / Twitter
Carole King / Twitter / Twitter
Alanis Morissette / Twitter
Alanis Morissette / Twitter / Twitter
Tributes are also being paid by other well-known figures.
josh groban / Twitter
josh groban / Twitter / Twitter
benjamin folds / Twitter
benjamin folds / Twitter / Twitter
Sarah Silverman / Twitter
Sarah Silverman / Twitter / Twitter
It’s planned a memorial service will be held in Cohen’s honour, according the Facebook post announcing his death.
“A memorial will take place in Los Angeles at a later date,” it said.
The family requests privacy during their time of grief.
- with reporting from AFP
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Would you like to dance ?
No.
Sorry I think you misheard me I said your arse looks fat in that dress……….
Irish women know that most Irish men are lacking somewhat when it comes to pleasing them so they have to be more picky.
From the man’s point – its the female’s apparent hatred of hygiene. Wearing purple and pink – and thinking that Bono is cool.
And saying – I have to be up for mass tomorrow……
@Will. I’m not inclined to believe anybody that especially the hygiene bit…
Hi show us your tits.
Any of…
You are such a troll
Had a woman tell me one night, in coppers no less ” get away outta that there’s a smell of bengy off ye” that was about 15 years ago and I still have no idea what bengy is… It was Lynx Africa I told her!!
Benjy was a character in The Riordans, they were farmers, just in case you are serious.
This was a Zig and Zag joke for years. It’s a reference to Benjy from the Riordans many years ago.
GET IN THE VAN NOW! usually works
I’m Jimmy Saville works as good as that?
Can’t beat the chase of the Irish girls … the rejection. Great craic!
There are lines other than “will ya meet me mate over there?”?? huh…
I’ve lived in a few countries and Dublin women are definitely the most obnoxious and stuck up. I’ve seen a lot of my mates (no they weren’t hammered) get laughed at/told to p off by groups of very average looking women when they could have had a bit of banter or politely decline.
Thankfully I’ve never suffered it myself as I’m deadly looking but Dublin girls really need to up their game. Poland and Czech Republic have the hottest and least up themselves women. Great combo.
I love Irish men, once I get chatting to them that is, but in a nightclub Irish men can be aggressive messes (drunk, leering and just grab you) and at this point you just want to get away!
Honestly some nights the only thing you want to do is chat to your mates, have a few drinks and dance without anyone bothering you.
Also no one has brought this up but groping? How many women have been groped simply as a come on as they move through a night club or the dance floor? Not so much in Dublin but down the country! New Years Eve in Carlow was traumatic.
Headed out sat night, need to find my stick. I’ll be beating them off all night
They will probably have their own sticks……and dogs :)
My favourite chat-up line is Jimmy Carr’s “can you hold my pint while I go for a sh!t” or “here, does this rag smell like Rohypnol?”
Do you grass?
No!
Your the first cow I met that doesn’t
No woman likes a man who is hammered off his face. …. and they tend to be just that on a night out. Most chat up lines are either immensely cheesy, which is a pukefest, or immenseley vulgar… same outcome! If a guy stayed half sober I imagine he’d get a lot further :)
That may just be the ones I have come across, of course :)
Two simple steps to make sure you are never ever rejected by Mrs Shalakalananaka-
1. Ask the DJ to put on YMCA
2. Stand in front of her and dance to the whole song
Alternatively, be Benedict Cumberbatch, but my 2 step programme works as well too.
Will ya have a dance?
WHA?
Sorry, I think you misheard. I said you look fat in those pants.
Al, beat you too it ;)
You remind me of a movie star…..Mickey Rooney
Ask me sister I’m sweatin
You hav to do the Carlton from fresh prince, approach them like.. haaaaayyy..!! Then do the shuffle..
Jerseys and bad breath,no thanks
And that’s just the women…
Would you like to marry me?
I’d rather have a frontal lobotomy, a week in Cork – and three of my arms severed by a werewolf from Balinrobe….,…
Nothing has changed since the 60′s so!
Any women who spend the first 17-18 years of their lives in a convent are bound to hold certain prejudices. But because it’s so common in Ireland it’s often overlooked.
That’s a very 20th century point of view.
I’d always be up for a bit of banter because some guys can be very funny with their chat up lines. There was an awkward moment where a guy sidled up and attempted flirtation while the husband was standing beside me. We all had a laugh about it and chatted throughout the night. If a guy chances his arm and keeps it respectful, don’t tell him to F off, take it as a compliment and if you’re not interested don’t be a cow about it. I don’t like when a guy gets aggressive or messy and then threatening and abusive when you decline his sweaty, groping advances.
Your eyes are like spanners love, every time I look into them they tighten my nuts…..
Does this rag smell like chloroform to you?
Rohypnol you mean?
This site seems to really hate any form humour??? But they seem to back the clowns in government without knowing “taylor rules” within the E.U. structure for here?
Does this skirt make me look fat, no dear it is just the fat?
In ireland its always the pub,if you see a woman you like on wednesday at the petrol pumps ask her out,women arent always in the pub to meet men,they go out sometimes to just dance and dont want a man
“Me friend wants to know will you go with me” ah the innocence!
Because they are rotten with drink or have small wallets lol.
Eat grass
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