Leonard Cohen at MEN Arena, 30th November 2008

After four sell-out trailblazer concerts for Manchester International Festival this June, Leonard Cohen announces he will return to the city for one more show.

For four decades, the Canadian songwriter and poet has been documenting a changing world. His tales of emotional battles, spirituality, power struggles and religion lay out the range of human experience with wit and emotional power, earning him critical accolades and a legion of fans. However, perhaps the greatest testament to his success is the level to which his influence can be seen in the work of others, with over a thousand renditions of his work now in the ether. Perhaps the most famous of these is Jeff Buckley’s cover of Hallelujah, which brought Cohen a whole new generation of fans in the 90’s.

Cohen stepped back from the limelight in 1983, and though he continued to release books and albums he was not seen in public again until he decided to appear at a bookstore in 2003. The news spread among his fans and soon 3,000 people turned up, causing a roadblock. Following this, the news that Cohen's former manager had stolen $5million from his retirement fund led the 73-year-old to embark on a final tour.

Perhaps the tour was born of financial necessity, but within hours of its announcement it was clear that Cohen's fans (who had not expected to see him perform live again) were delighted. Alongside the tour, Cohen agreed to do four intimate trailblazer concerts for Manchester International Festival 2008, so hotly anticipated that tickets were exchanging for up to £400 on eBay before the concerts. This story has been repeated over and over again as Cohen tours around Europe, and the tour has now been extended for a second time. With the news of his return to Manchester just announced, this final chance to see one of the most influential songwriters of our time is not to be missed.