Leonard Cohen Performs On ‘Austin City Limits’ In 1988

On Halloween night in 1988 Leonard Cohen taped a performance for the live concert television program Austin City Limits. Cohen passed away Thursday at the age of 82 and the long-running PBS series has shared his full episode that originally aired in 1989.

Recorded during Cohen’s I’m Your Man Tour, his debut ACL appearance featured “First We Take Manhattan,” “Joan Of Arc,” “Take This Waltz,” “Tower Of Song,” “Everybody Knows” and several other of his well-known compositions. Cohen was backed by an ensemble featuring guitarist Bob Metzger, keyboardist/violinist Bob Furgo, drummer Steve Meador, bassist Steve Zirkel, oud player John Bilezikjian, keyboardist Tom McMorran and vocalists Julie Christensen and Perla Batalla.

Here’s how ACL Executive Producer Terry Lickona described the events from 28 years ago:

Leonard was not much aware of ACL until his Austin friends and cohorts convinced him to do the show. The band played a late show in L.A. the night before and took the red-eye straight to Austin, arriving just in time for rehearsal. They were all wearing the same clothes (Leonard never did change), and his only request was for a bottle of tequila, which the band easily dispensed with. The show was mesmerizing, as was the reaction from viewers who had never heard or seen anything quite like him. Leonard told me some years later that that Austin City Limits performance ‘saved his career in America’ at a time when he had all but been forgotten.

Watch the performance from October 31, 1988 below:

Setlist

First We Take Manhattan, Tower Of Song, Everybody Knows, Ain’t No Cure For Love, The Partisan, Joan Of Arc, Jazz Police, If It Be Your Will, Take This Waltz