Leonard Cohen: The Bird On A Wire Concerts (2024)

In honour of Leonard Cohen's birthday, we are screening this new film featuring previously unreleased material from the famous 1974 concert film ‘Bird On A Wire’, restored by the film's original director Tony Palmer. After the film, we will also screen the original again at 21:00. Separate tickets are on sale for this.

Yet more archive film has been found from the famous 1972 tour, which formed the basis of the best-selling 2010 DVD Bird On A Wire. Concert material from the concerts in Stockholm, Paris and the Albert Hall, with Cohen at the height of his powers performing Marianne, Susanne, Joan of Arc, The Story of Isaac, The Dealer and many other songs, has now been edited together by Tony Palmer, who shot the original material. This is interspersed with more backstage film of the band on tour, and even some fresh interviews with Cohen himself, together, with some previously unreleased sound recordings of his early masterpieces. This will all add considerably to footage of the early part of Cohen’s career, for which there is an increasing need since, apart from the film Bird On A Wire, there is comparatively little widely available.

Melkweg often hosts different types of programmes at the same time, such as concerts, club nights and films. Please note that there may occasionally be some noise pollution from other programmes during the screening.