An incomer to the tight-knit town, he spent most of his time at the local record shop and the walk there, from his home on campus at Magee University College, inspired one of his earliest stories, "Delinquent in Derry".

He left the city to attend the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle upon Tyne in England, then moved to London.

When reviewing a rough mix of the Who's rock opera Tommy, he told the group members that the album lacked a hit single.

[3] It has long been rumoured that Cohn's novel I Am Still the Greatest Says Johnny Angelo was an inspiration for David Bowie's album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.

[1] In 1996, Cohn revealed the article to have been a complete fabrication, based only on clubgoers he knew from his native England.