Music of 1983: Manilow Blenheim Palace gig

A balladeer from New York City, Barry Manilow had scored a string of UK hits from around the mid-1970s and was undeniably popular, despite his career coinciding with the era of punk and new wave, and despite his style being shamelessly 'middle-of-the-road'. His audience was definitely that of the older demographic, but his consistent success illustrated sharply that the music charts didn't belong exclusively to teenagers.

As a consequence, he was derided as 'uncool' by pretty much anyone under 30 who considered themselves a music fan, but this didn't affect his record sales, or his concert attendances. By 1983, he was sufficiently big to stage a huge summer outdoor concert in the UK. The location was a unusual one: the grounds of Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of the Duke of Marlborough was to be the setting. The Duke and Duchess were reportedly fans of Manilow themselves which made the arrangements possible.

An estimated 50,000 people attended the concert, and it was televised for transmission on BBC television. My memory of that transmission is that it seemed to be repeated over, and over again in a period of about six months following the concert! As a hard rock fan, and with only four TV channels to choose from at the time, that didn't go down at all well with my earlier self (!)

Manilow himself considered the concert to be a watershed moment, he hadn't realised just how big the audience was until later on in the show, when a sea of lighters, candles or torches were lit during one number. Overcome at the sight, he took a moment to compose himself.

Following this show he took some time away from the music scene; returning with an album more influenced by jazz rather than pop.

Barry Manilow is without doubt a 'Marmite' artist; someone you either love or hate. Whichever side you fall on, there was no doubt he was a hugely successful artist.  If you've read this far, you are likely to actually watch the clip posted below! :D


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