Poet and performer Leonard Cohen recovering after collpsing onstage in Spain

Poet/performer Cohen recovering from collapse

MADRID — Leonard Cohen is recovering after collapsing onstage while on tour in eastern Spain, his music company said Saturday.

The veteran poet and performer has been released from hospital after suffering from a stomach complaint, Doctor Music Concerts said in a statement.

Cohen was part-way through his “Bird on the Wire” song in Valencia when he fainted, causing the band to stop playing to rush to his aid as concertgoers watched. The concert was stopped.

A video showing Cohen kneeling down several times during the performance and then keeling over sideways during a saxophone solo has been placed on YouTube on the Web by a fan.

The Canadian-born musician, who will be 75 years-old on Monday, was taken in an ambulance to the Nueve de Octubre hospital in Valencia but released early Sunday, Barcelona-based Doctor Music Concerts said.

Cohen was due to perform the last show of his Spanish tour at the Palau Sant Jordi concert hall in northeastern Barcelona on Monday. Trucks carrying Cohen’s show had arrived at the hall on Saturday morning and were to set up as normal, a spokesman for the concert hall said.

Cohen had to come out of retirement five years ago when he discovered that most of his retirement fund had disappeared in a disputed case of mismanagement.

After leaving Spain Cohen was due to perform next at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida on Oct. 17, his Web site said.