As a self confessed indie girl my idea of musical heaven would probably be watching an as yet undiscovered band in a Camden pub. So never did I think I would find myself queuing up at the AO Arena to watch Barry Manilow.
But as it was one of only two acts on my mum's 'bucket list', there was no way I was passing by an opportunity to go with her and make it happen, even if it meant reviewing by proxy. As Manilow made his entrance, in a red sparkly jacket and black pants with sparkles down the side I was impressed with a 78-year-old man being so trim and so uber energetic.
It became clear why Manilow has been labelled as 'the showman of our generation' as his charm, charisma and comedic quality was as abundant as his sequined blazers. The atmosphere at the AO Arena was as warm as the beautiful summer night and Manilow may have been on to something when he said: "England has so much in common with America. They both love freedom, they both love democracy......and they both love me."
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There was certainly a whole lot of love in the arena and Manilow cranked up the nostalgia and the sentimentality as on the screen behind him appeared images of past album covers and pictures of him in his younger days.
Barry Manilow's career encompasses performing, composing, arranging and producing. With worldwide record sales exceeding 85 million, he is ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time with over 50 Top 40 hits including 12 no 1s and 27 Top 10 Hits.
The audience listened, gripped, to his sweet story of his grandfather taking him as a small child to a booth where for 25 cents you could make your own record - and trying to get him to sing. A reluctant Manilow was captured on record being coerced by his grandfather who later led Manilow's first standing ovation at the Carnegie Hall - just feet away from the booth, and played out to the audience before he launched in to a song in his memory: This One's For You.
The GRAMMY®, TONY®, and EMMY® Award-winning musician’s career skyrocketed to superstardom when his mega hit song, Mandy, topped the charts in 1975 and the audience watched footage of a young Manilow in a pale blue shirt singing the hit at the piano, before Manilow took to the piano on stage, wearing a jacket of the same colour, to perform it live all these years later. The nostalgia and emotion had my mum in floods of tears.
Other highlights included Could It Be Magic, Can't Smile Without You and Dancin' In The Aisles and Manilow continued to engage with the audience, cracking jokes, telling stories - including the time he met The Queen - and declaring himself "Smitten with Britain." He also thanked the audience for being there not just following his career since the 70s but for returning to see him after Covid had delayed his planned performances.
As the show drew to a close three flags dropped down - the American flag, a Union Jack and the Ukrainian flag - to cheers from the crowd.
Everyone was up on their feet dancing for the finale song of Copa Cocabana, complete with backing singers wearing yellow feather boas and Manilow in a glittering orange jacket with Copa emblazoned on the back. My mum, singing away, said she had loved every minute and never thought she would ever have been watching Barry Manilow.
Neither did I....but I am glad I did.
This was Manilow's first concert at Manchester AO Arena on June 16 and will be followed by Birmingham, London, Cardiff, Newcastle, Glasgow and Leeds on June 25.
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