Michael Eavis might have said his goal was to “get the young people back” at this year’s Glastonbury Festival – but it was veteran singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen who most impressed the 72-year-old organiser at this year’s bash.
Speaking to ‘The Independent’ today (Tuesday July 1), Eavis, who watched Cohen’s Pyramid Stage set from the side of the stage on Sunday June 29, hailed the entire festival as a success, but singled the 73-year-old Canadian legend out for particular praise:
“Leonard Cohen was so polite and such a gentleman. He took his hat off every time he finished a song, and bowed to the audience.”
Predictably, the best-received song in Cohen‘s set was ‘Hallelujah’, the track which originally appeared on his 1984 album Various Positions, and gained a new lease of life when Jeff Buckley covered it on his acclaimed 1994 album ‘Grace’.
Beginning the song just as the sun was setting, Cohen delighted the crowd by changing the lyric, “I told the truth, I didn’t come here to fool ya” to “I told the truth, I didn’t come to Glastonbury
Cohen’s set-list was:
‘Dance Me To The End Of Love’
‘The Future’
‘Ain’t No Cure For Love’
‘Bird On A Wire’
‘Everybody Knows’
‘Who By Fire’
‘Hey, That’s No Way To Say Goodbye’
‘So Long, Marianne’
‘Tower Of Song’
‘Suzanne’
‘Hallelujah’
‘Democracy’
‘I’m Your Man’
‘Closing Time’
‘Anthem’
‘First We Take Manhattan’