Religious Cohen reschedules shows

Veteran singer Leonard Cohen has pulled out of two upcoming concerts due to religious reasons.

The "Hallelujah" hitmaker has rescheduled his gigs in Leeds, England and London for his upcoming British arena tour as they coincide with two holidays in the Jewish faith.

Cohen, who is Jewish by birth, was due to play in Leeds' First Direct Arena Sep 5 during the two-day Jewish New Year celebration Rosh Hashanah, but the concert has now been moved Sep 7, reports contactmusic.com.

His gig in the British capital's O2 Arena was scheduled Sep 14, which is known as the Jewish holy day of atonement Yom Kippur. But the gig will now take place the following day.

"We at Aeg, and Leonard, apologise deeply for the inconvenience this will cause, and we hope and trust that the reasons for the changes will be understood," said a statement from promoters Aeg.