Singer Leonard Cohen has been awarded a lifetime achievement Grammy at the weekend’s awards ceremony in Los Angeles, alongside the late Michael Jackson.

The Hallelujah singer, 75, said he had never actually won a Grammy, the most high-profile American music award, for his recorded work, but had appeared on a Herbie Hancock CD that won Album of the Year in 2008.

In a typical dry response, Mr Cohen said: “As we make our way toward the finish line that some of us have already crossed, I never thought I'd get a Grammy award. In fact, I was always touched by the modesty of their interest.”

His award comes just after British Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy praised Mr Cohen, along with rock band the Artic Monkeys, for bridging the gap between pop and poetry.

“Cohen’s songs are poems,” she said.