The second coming: Leonard Cohen's timeless appeal and his resurgence in 2008
Since 2008, when he resurfaced after a lengthy period of inactivity, he has been a regular visitor to these shores. Cohen’s comeback was inspired by financial worries — his manager had siphoned off his pension fund — but his continued touring cannot surely be motivated by money; he earned more in 2008/09 alone than he had earned in all the years before.
What has kept Cohen on the road is the reception he has had around the world. In 2008, he doubted there would be an audience for a singer/songwriter in his mid-seventies who had foresworn the spotlight for a six-year sojourn as a Buddhist monk. No one seemed more surprised than he by the wave of warmth that greeted him when he ran on stage in Kilmainham in June that year. That wave has not abated since.
