I was the only person to photograph Leonard when he came to England in 2007. He was in Manchester to open his art exhibition at the Goodall Gallery.

I’ve shot rock stars all over the world but I have never met anyone quite like Leonard Cohen. He carried himself with a grace and quiet confidence I’d not seen in anyone before. In offering and making me a bagel and a cup of tea, it wasn’t a self deprecating statement, he just wanted one himself, didn’t expect anyone else to make it for him and wondered if I wanted one. And then we just stood around chatting for ages.

It wasn’t that he consciously put me at ease, it was just his default demeanor. Equally when he was talking about Bob, he wasn’t name dropping, and when I said, “Bob?” he just smiled and said, “Bob Dylan”, as if I should have known, and carried on talking.

This particular portrait was used on the cover of the limited edition of Book of Longing, shortly after he died in 2016. The book is now a collectors item.

It’s a beautiful, Fine art Gicée print on archival A3 paper. It’s an open edition, signed by myself.