Leonard Cohen will celebrate his birthday by returning to the stage after a fainting spell cut short his September 18 concert at Velódromo Luis Puig in Valencia, Spain.
The singer-songwriter collapsed part-way through his song “Bird on the Wire,” early in the night’s setlist, according to an Associated Press report out of Madrid. Cohen was seated on stage for an instrumental break in the song when he fainted.
Cohen is expected to resume his overseas performances tonight, September 21, which is also his 75th birthday. The show is booked for Palau Sant Jordi in Barcelona, Spain.
The Friday evening concert halted immediately as members of Cohen’s backing band rushed to his side. Though the world-renowned performer reportedly wished to continue with the show, he was instead taken to a Valencia hospital. Cohen was released from the hospital on Saturday after recovering from a reported bout of food poisoning.
The Valencia concert has since been cancelled. Concert-goers can request refunds for the show through Ticketmaster Spain.
Cohen will complete his overseas itinerary with a September 24 show at Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv, Israel. Palestinian rights groups have protested the charity concert, which benefits Israeli and Palestinian peace groups, causing Amnesty International to withdraw its involvement. However, the event’s promoter has said the sold-out show will go on, according to published reports.
The next time the celebrated musician and poet hits the stage, he’ll be back in the United States for a fall 2009 outing. The 15-city jaunt picks up October 17 at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise , FL, and concludes November 13 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA.
The fall outing is a follow-up to Cohen’s fast-selling spring tour of North America, which featured his first U.S. concerts in about 15 years.
