Leonard Cohen: Last News

They start handing out Emmys next weekend with back-to-back Creative Arts ceremonies, followed on Monday, September 12 with the Primetime Emmys on NBC. But even as the TV awards season still has a couple of weeks to go before becoming history, the Oscar season is officially getting underway.

PJ Harvey has shared a haunting new cover of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Who By Fire’ – listen to it below.The song was recorded with composer Tim Phillips for the new Apple TV+ series, Bad Sisters.The first two episodes of Bad Sisters are available on Apple TV+ now, with new episodes debuting each Friday until October 14.In a press release, Harvey said of the cover: “It was a very enjoyable day spent recording the version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Who by Fire’ for Bad Sisters. I had spoken to Sharon Horgan in advance of the recording session, so I understood why she felt the song’s lyric was so perfect for the series, but also understood what nuances of Leonard’s performance she most loved, and therefore what to try and recapture but in my own way.“Tim Phillips and I worked together on my performance for the song. I found Tim to be an inspiring and exciting work partner which made the whole experience flow.”Listen to the cover here:Sharon Horgan, executive producer and star of the show, also added: “I thought of the words of ‘Who by Fire’ soon after the series was picked up and thought how perfect it would be.

Darius Campbell Danesh surprised a fan with a heartwarming performance – which would turn out to be his final one – just months before his tragic death aged 41. Darius, who won hearts around the world when he appeared on Pop Idol in 2001, was found "unresponsive" in his Minnesota, US, apartment on 11 August – although the cause of death remains unknown.Tributes have been flooding in for the singer, from the likes of Simon Cowell, who called him "charismatic", and his former Pop Idol contestant Gareth Gates who described him as "a soul that lit up every room", and Darius certainly displayed those qualities when he put on a surprise performance for Phones 4U boss John Cauldwell's elderly mother.

Any day now the renovated Chelsea Hotel will fully reopen, capping a drawn out process that has seen the grand edifice on the west side of Manhattan shrouded in netting and defaced by scaffolding for over a decade.

Leonard Cohen is on the way later this year.Blue Note Records will release ‘Here It Is: A Tribute To Leonard Cohen’ on October 14. It will feature covers from the likes of Norah Jones, James Taylor, Nathaniel Rateliff, Peter Gabriel, Iggy Pop, Mavis Staples and more. It’s been produced by Larry Klein.The album will feature 12 tracks from across his career – including ones from his 1967 debut ‘Songs Of Leonard Cohen’, and ones from his last album, ‘You Want It Darker’, which was released in 2016.Today, Taylor’s take on ‘Coming Back To You’ from Cohen’s ‘Various Positions’ (1984) was shared – listen to it below.‘Here It Is: A Tribute to Leonard Cohen’ Track List:1.

Andrea Bocelli's daughter first performed with him in December 2020 when she was just 8-years-old. Virginia Bocelli joined her father on stage for his virtual Believe in Christmas concert during the pandemic. The rising star joined the Italian maestro on stage at the Teatro Regio di Parma, handing him an acoustic guitar before starting their goosebump-inducing duet.

NME about collaborating with PJ Harvey for her forthcoming Apple TV+ show Bad Sisters – revealing that the iconic singer-songwriter has recorded a version of Leonard Cohen’s 1974 track ‘Who by Fire’ as its theme tune.Horgan, the acclaimed writer and actor known for creating and starring in the Channel 4 sitcom Catastrophe and BBC comedy Pulling, has adapted the Flemish series Clan for the 10-part series – due to premiere in August.Having revealed that Harvey had composed the theme tune and co-written its soundtrack in NME’s recent interview with her, now she has provided further details about the team-up. As well as featuring her rendition of ‘Who by Fire’, the dark family drama also sees Harvey open her archive to contribute previously-unheard material.The idea of reaching out to Harvey, who has previously composed scores for a number of projects including Shane Meadows’ 2019 miniseries The Virtues, first came about while discussing ideas for working with indie musicians on the show with Bad Sisters’ score composer Tim Phillips, whom Horgan had previously worked with on the 2022 Courtney Cox-starring horror-comedy series, Shining Vale.

“Born in the U.S.A.,” “Purple Rain” and “Like a Virgin,” respectively — there was another classic that never saw the light of day.Leonard Cohen’s towering tune “Hallelujah” was rejected — along with the rest of his “Various Positions” album — by then-CBS Records head Walter Yetnikoff. “He said, ‘Leonard, we know you’re great, but we don’t know if you’re any good,’ ” recalls the late singer-songwriter in the new documentary “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song,” which opens in theaters Friday.But that would turn out to be only a “minor fall” in the song’s long ascent to the pantheon of iconic tunes.

First Aid Kit have returned with their first new music in three years in the form of new single, ‘Angel’ – listen to it below.The last original track the Swedish duo – comprising Johanna and Klara Söderberg – put out was 2019’s ‘Strange Beauty’, a tribute to the late David Berman. Their last studio album was ‘Ruins’ in 2018.‘Angel’, which showcases the Söderberg sisters’s signature harmonies, was written in the wake of major global events the past couple years.“It feels special to release a song after such a long hiatus,” the duo said in a statement.

Plans are in the works to launch a new documentary film festival in Washington, D.C. in June 2023, with a launch event to take place later this month.

Alan Light If Leonard Cohen built a tower of just one song, it was “Hallelujah” — the subject of a film that hits theaters in July,  “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song.” That documentary is inspired by music journalist Alan Light’s much-acclaimed book, “The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of ‘Hallelujah’,” originally published in 2012 and being reissued June 7 with substantial additions that have Light bringing the history of one of the 20th century’s most remarkably enduring songs forward into its arguably most impactful years yet.In this excerpt from the afterward, exclusive to Variety, Light explores some of the unlikely lives that “Hallelujah” has taken on in recent years — starting with its adaptation into a country song, and especially focusing on how it’s become a favorite pick for singers to include on their Christmas albums, as a holiday hymn… quite a contrast to the more carnal connotations that many associate with the original lyrics. (Pre-order the new edition of Light’s book here.) Our excerpt has Light picking up the song’s story in the 2010s:“Hallelujah” continued making inroads into other genres of music.

Justin Timberlake has sold his song catalogue to Hipgnosis Song Management, in a deal that gives the company all the rights to the artist’s previously released music.Hipgnosis Song Management have bought 100 per cent of Timberlake’s rights, including to tracks like ‘SexyBack’, ‘Rock Your Body’, and ‘Can’t Stop The Feeling’. The deal pertains to Timberlake’s publishing rights but not his recording rights, which means songs that he either wrote or co-wrote.As he wasn’t a songwriter on some of NSYNC’s best-known hits such as ‘Bye Bye Bye’ and ‘It’s Gonna Be Me’, these are not included in the sale but the majority of his solo work will be included.

Shirley Halperin Executive Editor, MusicVeteran music promoter, filmmaker and venue owner Peter Shapiro is lifting the curtain on a career that spans 10,000 concerts. “The Music Never Stops: What Putting on 10,000 Shows Has Taught Me About Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Magic,” will be released by Hachette Books on August 2.Described as “perhaps the most notable independent concert promoter since Bill Graham,” a sentiment shared by Steven Van Zandt and others in advanced praise for the book, Shapiro is known for his long-standing relationship with the Grateful Dead and its myriad offshoot projects.His roots in the scene go back to when he acquired and ran jam band destination the Wetlands in downtown Manhattan — while still in his 20s — to opening Brooklyn Bowl and expanding the franchise to Las Vegas, Philadelphia and Nashville, to staging the Grateful Dead’s 50th anniversary “Fare Thee Well” tour, featuring the co-founders Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann with Phish’s Trey Anastasio.

Not many songs have been covered by so many artists like Leonard Cohen’s song “Hallelujah.” First recorded in 1984 on the underwhelmingly received Various Positions album, “Hallelujah” received little success upon its release but eventually found fame when Jeff Buckley and John Cale covered the song. However, many people know the song from the Dreamworks’ movie, “Shrek,” covered by Rufus Wainwright.

Florence Welch has revealed that Nick Cave and Iggy Pop influenced the vocals on her new album ‘Dance Fever’. Watch a clip from the interview below.During a conversation with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1, the Florence + The Machine frontwoman discussed embodying her favourite male vocalists like Leonard Cohen, Iggy Pop and Cave for album opener, ‘King‘.“I was like, ‘I’ll never write a song again, I can’t do anything,'” Welch said of writing the record’s lead single.

Former X factor winner and mother-to-be, Alexandra Burke, has gushed over her boyfriend, Darren Rudolph, in a sweet Instagram post, declaring: “You are my world”. The 33 year old beauty posted a number of loved-up snaps of the couple, who are expecting their first child later on this year. She penned a lengthy caption to her beau, who she called her ‘King’, to celebrate his 35th birthday.

Nicolina Bozzo kicked things up a notch with a high-energy performance on Monday’s “American Idol”.

EXCLUSIVE: The Eurovision brand continues its North American expansion. Leading Canadian producer Insight Productions, a Boat Rocker company, has teamed with Eurovision Canada rights owners and ASC, Inc., one of the companies behind NBC’s music reality competition series American Song Contest, to debut the first-ever Eurovision Canada in 2023.

Nicolina Bozzo was back with another stunning performance on Sunday’s “American Idol”.

Deadline has hired Jesse Whittock as International TV Co-Editor, based in London.

EXCLUSIVE: Leonard Cohen’s relationship with muse Marianne Ihlen is going under the microscope in a 1960s-set drama co-production for Norwegian broadcaster NRK.