Journale 36

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My Weekly - June 17 , 2006

LISTEN to Barry Manilow and step back in time - not because Barry belongs to yesterday but because the success of his recent Greatest Songs of the Fifties album earned him a place in the record books only previously graced by Elvis and Ray Charles. Barry went straight to No 1 in the Billboard top  200 album charts for the first time since 1977 and that was a cause for celebration. "I was stunned and really grateful that such a thing should happen to me, " says Barry. "Elvis and Ray did it before me but they'd sadly died before their second time round achievement. I'm not only thankful to all those wonderful people who have bought the album but I'rn also thankful to be alive!" Barry was born on June 17, 1946 so this year he has the landmark age of 60 to celebrate but don't expect him to fade away gently, he is busier than ever and starring in a long season in Las Vegas. I'm contracted to Las Vegas Hilton for a couple of years but that doesn't mean I can't appear elsewhere on my free days or that I can't organise a world tour when my contract comes to an end," he says. I'm leaving oll my options open but in the meantime I know there are a lot of fans planning holiday trips to Vegas to come to see me and that is just so good. Imagine people jumping into a plane and travelling thousands of miles just to come to see my show. I'm really amazed by that and a big thank you to all of them." Barry has never drifted from his fans. He knows what it's like to be a fan himself, coming as he does from humble beginnings. "I was a Brooklyn kid from a typically Jewish family," he says. "We all loved music and we sang and played instruments. In those days you just had to play the accordion, it was almost a tradition and I was no different. "It was my grandfather, Joe Manilow, who got me into recording when I was just five years old. We used to have recording booths in shops in those days and he used to take me each week to make a recording of me playing the accordion. "I loved those occasions but it didn't give me any great ambitions towards show business. I was just an average kid. I got average grades at school and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I just took each day as it arrived and thought something would turn up that I might like." When Barry was 13, his mother married on Irishman named Willie Murphy who also loved music. At Barry's bar mitzvah his new dad gave him a celebratory present of a piano ond thus unwittingly began a journey into the exciting world of show business. Playing the accordion helped because I knew my way around a keyboard," says Barry. "I took to the piano very quickly and actually began giving recitals. I was hooked on music and I knew there was only one life for me. "Performing was not the first option. I studied music and became a musical director. That was really how it all started. I was still a teenager and doing some arranging and accompanying people on piano. Then one day I had a real break when I was asked to accompany Bette Midler and from then on we worked together on tours and even though we were both strong characters who wanted to get their own way, we worked well together. "It's history now that I began to do more numbers and got a good reaction trom the audience and that was it. Barry Manilow was doing his own thing. Bette and I are still friends and never rule out doing more together. The Barry Manilow story has gone from one massive success to another.

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He is the first to admit that he has left the needy days of Brooklyn behind long ago but remains adamant that his music is the most important thing in his life. "I have a life away from recording and performing of course and I love to spend time with my dogs, I enjoy cooking and going to the movies, all the usual things that people do in their spare time. I'm not a workaholic but I enjoy what I do so much that it's the most important thing to me. I also go shopping for CDs and have a huge collection of all kinds of music. "My passion for music has  obliterated just about everything in its path in my entire life. "Whenever there was a choice between music and anything else, music won hands down every time. No one person or material thing could come close to the feeling I get when the music is right." The result of his dedication has been a career that has brought hirn the luxuries of life without spoiling his approach to other people and especially his huge army of fans with whom he has a very special relationship. "They matter to me so much," he says. "I especially want to say hello to my British fans. Many come over to the Las Vegas Hilton to see the show and they really let me know they are there. They are wonderful. I still also vividly remember a special moment in August 1983 when I was performing at the lovely Blenheim Palace. There were 40,000 people there, it was fantastic. "As part of on encore I sang We'll Meet Again. I sang the first line and the all lit candles at once. It was a shock to see. When they all lit candies I realised I had only been seeing half the crowd picked up by the spotlights. I hadn't realised there were so many people there. The experience took my breath away and I couldn't sing the next line. That was a moment I have always cherished." Even though he is unlikely to be touring in Britain for a year or two because of his long season in Las Vegas, Barry is still recording and has plans for more albums. "Being sixty doesn't mean I'm going to give up on everything. I feel great and I'm good for another twenty years or more yet. I take care of myself but I don't punish myself. "We're looking at different options for new albums. The new material is now for the younger ones making their mark in music. When we selected the songs for The Greatest Songs of the Fifties album we chose numbers which were loved and which l could sing without changing them too much. People don't want their favourite songs changed so we recorded them as near as possible to the originals with just a little Barry Manilow style thrown in. "We're thinking about a similar album of music from the 1960s but it's early days yet. At the moment I'm just enjoying myself in Las Vegas. We have a great show and it's wonderful to have time to chat to people and to sing the songs they love as much as I do. I'm enjoying myself so much and all because of music." So it seems that even at 60 Barry's candle is burning as brightly as ever. •

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