I DISCOVERED Leonard Cohen by accident.

I was sharing a cottage outside St Andrews with a friend, over a long summer break, before starting my final year at uni – and the previous tenants had left their records, for such they were, with the intention of returning to the cottage when term began in October.

It was like falling upon buried treasure! The depth, the richness and the poetry of his haunting voice and lyrics were powerful, touching and resonated with integrity. And so my love for his music was born – and it has stayed with me ever since.

I never dreamt I would ever get to see him sing live, but when he returned to the concert circuit, I mortgaged the house to get tickets for his performance at Edinburgh Castle: a great location and an unforgettable night of musical richness.

Indeed, I can honestly say that if I could only ever have been at one concert in my life, of all the ones I’ve been to, it would be that one. A real connection with his audience; a feast of musicality – and a depth of meaning that was profound and moving.

And now he is gone, though his voice will not be silent! Not as long as there are people who appreciate the power of poetry to winkle its way into our soul.

Some call his music melancholic, others see it as wise.

And for me, the thing that worked, the thing that makes the connection, is the same thing I need from preachers: he keeps it real. You always sense it comes from the heart and he is only saying these things because he needs to say them – because they are true, and he feels them in his heart!