Leonard Cohen: Last News

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Françoise Hardy, a French singer, actor and model whose classical beauty and often melancholy music combined to transfix fans internationally in the 1960s and beyond, has died at age 80. Her son, Thomas Dutronc, also a musician, reported the death on his Instagram account, posting a baby photo of himself with his mother and writing: “Maman est partie.” Or, mom is gone.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic Feeling angry about Apple’s ranking of the 100 best albums of all time, are you? Good. (From their point of view.) That’s exactly how you’re supposed to feel, given a list that aspires less toward any semblance of an informed or authoritative voice than a seeming sense of randomness that can only be explained away as rage bait.

David Gilmour has announced a residency at the Royal Albert Hall in London, marking his first live shows in eight years. Find all the details below.The soloist and former Pink Floyd guitarist will play six concerts at the historic venue this October in support of his fifth album ‘Luck And Strange’, which is released on September 6 via Sony.Tickets go on general sale at 10am BST next Friday (May 10) – you’ll be able to buy yours here.

David Gilmour has announced his plans to tour for the first time in eight years.The former Pink Floyd guitarist made the comments in a new interview with Uncut (via Far Out and Neptune Pink Floyd), where he discussed potentially touring his upcoming album ‘Luck and Strange‘. It is set for release on September 6.Speaking to the outlet, Gilmour said there was “an unwillingness to revisit the Pink Floyd of the ‘70s”, but would be more likely to perform songs from other decades: “Yeah, they might be better represented. I mean, at least one from the ’60s.

Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic It would be hard to imagine a more actually polarizing set — as in, splitting real fans into roughly even, truly diametrically opposed camps — than the headlining show Eric Church delivered to round out the first night of Stagecoach in California. The 70,000 festival attendees will definitely not lack for anything to talk, or argue, about for the rest of the weekend, and the debate will also continue among the many more fans who watched the livestream on Prime Video and Amazon’s Twitch channel.

Nick Cave has recalled making peace with the artists that have “disappointed” him, explaining that he is willing to look beyond their personal decisions if the art they make is “authentic”.The Bad Seeds frontman discussed the topic in a new update on his blog, The Red Hand Files, after a fan got in touch with him to question him about his “religious turn” and asked if he ever feels like he is “letting down [his] queer and female fans”.Responding, Cave went on to share his own experience of being disappointed by artists he once admired and explained how he was able to look beyond their personal choices and enjoy their artwork for what it is.“When I think of the artists that I truly admire, those that I have stuck with over the years, at some point in their lengthy careers they have all disappointed me,” he began.“Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Nina Simone, Kanye, Van Morrison, Morrissey, Brian Eno, Leonard Cohen, Patti Smith – these are artists that, for me, form a kind of confederacy of excellence, but at one time or another they have each alienated, confounded or displeased me. They have often not travelled in the direction I would have hoped or wished for, instead following their own confounding paths (damn them!) to their own truths.“In the course of this I have sometimes been discomforted by things they have done, disagreed with things they have said, or not liked a particular record they have made.

Callum McLennan U.K. distribution powerhouse DCD Rights is announcing strong pre-sales for its musical legend laden slate at MipTV. The remastered release of “David Bowie: Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders from Mars” in stunning 4K leads the pack with a pre-sale to NHK Japan already in place.

St Vincent has said talent show covers of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ are “the worst thing in the world”.In a new interview with Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2 that you watch below, the musician talked about her love of Cohen’s”masterpiece” and how much she disliked covers of the song which were popular on shows like American Idol and X Factor. St Vincent explained: “Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ is one of the best songs ever written, period.

Annette Bening‘s first major TV series role has won the five-time Oscar nominee the Best Actress prize at this year’s Series Mania.

EXCLUSIVE: Leonard Cohen had a huge impact on generations of fans, and So Long, Marianne star Alex Wolff is no different.

John Hopewell Chief International Correspondent “I sacrificed my love on the altars of fame,” Leonard Cohen said in the ‘70s,” “So Long, Marianne” showrunner Øystein Karlsen notes. Cohen was referring of course to his ‘60s decade-long relationship with Norway’s Marianne Ilhen, which shaped him for life.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Fifty may be the new forty in some areas of life, but popular music isn’t one of them. With very few exceptions, pop musicians make their most vital work in their twenties and early thirties, and even if they continue to perform to sold-out arenas into their eighties, as the Rolling Stones have, the fans are largely indifferent to their new music and just want to hear the hits — leading to the seemingly counterintuitive situation of artists with sold-out tours connected to new albums that are, comparatively anyway, flops.

Éric Cantona has announced the release of his first ever live album, ‘Cantona Sings Éric – First Tour Ever’, to be released on March 29.The football icon made his debut tour in 2023, and this live album will draw 17 tracks from multiple dates of the run of shows, and will feature many of the songs from his debut EP, as well as ‘I Love You So Much’, his love letter to Manchester United fans. Pre-order the album here.The album’s lead single is ‘The Friends We Lost’, recorded live at the Alhambra in Geneva in March 2023.

A friend of King Charles has shared that "boredom will be one of the hardest things" for the monarch following his cancer diagnosis. His Majesty, 75, has had to cancel all his public duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Monday.

Eric Cantona has announced more live shows for the spring as he continues the launch of his musical career – see the new dates below.The retired Manchester United legend first teased a career in music last year, going on to release debut EP ‘I’ll Make My Own Heaven’ and play his first live shows.Now, he will return to the stage in April for gigs beginning in Dublin and ending in Manchester 10 days later.The run will include a London gig at Shepherd’s Bush Empire and shows in Newcastle, Leeds and more.See the full run of dates below. Tickets go on sale here from 10am GMT on Friday, January 26.APRIL 202410 – Dublin, Liberty Hall 12 – Glasgow, O2 Academy 13 – Aberdeen, Music Hall 14 – Newcastle, O2 City Hall 16 – Leeds, O2 Academy 17 – London, O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire 18 – Wolverhampton, Wulfrun Hall 20 – Manchester, Palace TheatreComprised of four songs, Cantona’s debut EP sees the former footballer channel inspiration from music heavyweights including Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen.“J’écris pour exister car il n’existe que moi pour écrire ainsi…writing is a way for me to exist, as only my existence can result in writing this way,” he said of the release.“Music has always been a part of my life.

For editorial inquiries, please contact Peter Caranicas at peter.caranicas@variety.com and Sharareh Drury at sdrury@variety.com. PartnerStubbs Alderton & Markiles Besides advising a host of A-listers in their business transactions, Akselrud is known as a go-to corporate dealmaker.

K.J. Yossman “Degrassi” fans have a reason to celebrate: a three-part documentary series is in the works about the iconic Canadian teen soap.

Boygenius are musing about what they did and didn’t intend to accomplish when they went into the studio to make “The Record.” The six Grammy nominations they just collectively reeled in for their first full-length album together? Not actually part of the master plan. Neither was establishing themselves as role models for a much-needed sense of community across a swath of young America.

Tim Minchin announced his mother’s death during a recent show in Sydney.The musical comedy star was performing at the State Theatre on Friday (November 10) for his show, An Unfunny Evening With Tim Minchin And His Piano when he told the crowd of his loss.“My mum died yesterday,” he explained to the audience before he went on to say that he felt he must go ahead with the performance despite the tragic loss, and then launched into his tune ‘White Wine In The Sun’, according to news.com.au.According to the outlet, his voice also briefly faltered as he sang, “I’ll be seeing my dad, my brother and sisters, my gran and my mum… they’ll be drinking white wine in the sun.”Earlier in the show, he had revealed that his mother, Ros, had been diagnosed with terminal blood cancer back in 2020.He closed the show with a cover of Leonard Cohen‘s ‘Hallelujah’, which saw the audience singing along to the track.A post shared by Tim Minchin (@timminchin)Following the show, Minchin shared a photograph of his mother on Instagram, simply captioned: “So it goes.”He frequently previously discussed his parents in both his comedy and his songwriting.“Mum and Dad had high expectations of us as human beings – it wasn’t just about education,” Minchin told The Guardian in a 2017 interview.“It’s a fantastic way to go about parenting, and I aspire to that.

Strictly Come Dancing has moved its fans to tears during its Remembrance Day results show, with the professional cast paying tribute with a special routine.Tonight's show opened up with a performance set to a slow version of Belinda Carlisle's Heaven Is A Place on Earth, starring Kai Widdrington and Lauren Oakley as a World War II couple separated by the war. Fans took to social media to share their thoughts on the routine, with some revealing that the dance marking Remembrance Day made them well up.

EXCLUSIVE: Black Bear’s management arm has signed the Swedish actor and model Simon Lööf for representation.