BILLY Joel
takes to the stage at Old Trafford and starts to tinkle those piano ivories.
And would you believe the tune that starts to trickle out from the baby grand? What in these parts is known as Glory, Glory Man United - or at least that’s what the crowd lustily sing back to the tune he plays.
He gives a cheeky grin and then launches into one of his best loved hits, My Life.
It sets the tone for a Saturday night of witty ditties, Billy’s Bronx humour and some seriously spine-tingling music.
With a career spanning five decades and with 13 albums to pick from, it’s a night of fan favourites as well as some album gems, and covers of some of the artists that inspired him.
There’s also plenty of interaction - with Billy giving a raft of multi-choice options for the songs he will sing off various albums - with the loudest cheers winning.
Billy is in fine voice for the occasion, and what a voice it is. While he jokes about his appearance being ravaged by time, it has had little effect on the full-throttle perfection of his performance.
He is backed on stage by his full live band, while he performs masterfully at the piano that revolves from side to side during the show.
He jokes: “You’ve seen the special effects now - the piano goes this way the piano goes that way... but I’m still spending more than Elton”.
There is a thoroughly entertaining romp through some of the music of the Brit bands that inspired him as an artist. A week after the Rolling Stones rocked the same stadium, Billy does it again with his bluesy growl of their Honky Tonk Women; there’s a rousing rendition of Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love, a bouncing Beatles’ Hard Days Night and even a splash of Glad All Over.
He is absolutely mesmerising as he sings ‘one of my favourite songs’, The Beatles’ Day In The Life - which climaxes with dazzling strobe lighting.
But naturally, the truly magical moments for fans are when he launches into his own masterpieces. New York State of Mind grabs you in the gut with its opening piano shimmies, Joel’s voice resonating with affection for his home city, as photos of his three daughters are beamed onto the big screens.
She’s Always a Woman to Me really pulls on the heartstrings and the mobile phones light up the stadium as 50,000 sway along to the oompah beat of Piano Man to close the main show.
He returns with guitar for a rocking encore of We Didn’t Start The Fire with huge flames on the video screens, and of course he couldn’t leave Manchester without a reprise of his most iconic hit, 1983’s Uptown Girl. What a night for Billy Joel fans and what a night for Manchester. DIANNE BOURNE