Leonard Cohen

Steve Taylor-Bryant mourns the loss of Leonard Cohen...



Devastated doesn't quite sum up how I feel this morning but I'm at a loss for words, not a great place to be when writing is task. The news of Leonard Cohen's passing has left me feeling lost and alone.



There is often an outpouring of grief when a popular entertainer dies and, let's face it, 2016 has tested that theory. However, whilst I miss Bowie, Prince, even Terry Wogan, the loss of Cohen is a personal one for me. During my darkest times his music was the crutch that allowed me to function. He was never the best singer or a world class performer like some of the leading lights gone this year but his gravelly voice, deep and hard hitting poetic style lifted my darkness like no one else could. It's only in the last few years, with my life in some kind of stable place, that I've realised quite how powerful his songs were in my recovery. I don't have a favourite, they all played their own part in allowing me to move on from the pit of despair I seemed to be in so I can't put my finger on one particular tune and state 'this one saved my life' by I can tell you that without Leonard Cohen I wouldn't be here today and so my loss is a personal one, like an important part of me has died.



Rest in peace good sir and thank you for always being there for me.

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