Barry Manilow At MEN Arena 8th December 2008

MEN Arena gets the Las Vegas treatment when king of easy listening, Barry Manilow, takes to the stage.

Barry Manilow gets a rough ride. Radio stations have attracted new audiences on the premise that they won’t play his songs. Australian officials have played his music on the streets to clear them of youths. His name has become a byword for gloopy, schmaltzy ballads.

Barry Manilow may be a laughing stock in certain circles, but we very much doubt that he cares. You may be surprised by how many of his songs you know. Mandy, Weekend in New England, One Voice, Could It Be Magic and, of course, Copacabana have all sold in their millions. And then there are collaborations, or songs he has written and produced for other people – most notably Bette Midler and Dionne Warwick – and the hundreds of jingles, theme tunes and musical scores that bear his name. Check out his show at MEN Arena: we guarantee you’ll know more songs than you thought.

So we don’t feel too bad for Barry. With over 75million record sales to his name, a career that is surpassed only by the likes of Cliff Richard and Elvis Presley in terms of fame and longevity, and fans paying up to $1000 a head for front row tickets at his Las Vegas Hilton shows and a handshake, Barry Manilow is probably laughing all the way to the bank.