CityLife

Dianne Bourne's gigs of 2008

MUCH-LOVED IN MANC: Kylie

IT may have been the year of the credit crunch – but you’d never have guessed it from the flamboyant stage spectaculars that rolled into Manchester this year.

Things started as they meant to continue back in January when The Spice Girls’ comeback juggernaut steamed into town for a three-night run at the M.E.N. Arena.

It was the hottest ticket in town, and heck, if the girly fivesome’s glitz and kitsch weren’t enough to entertain you, just celebwatching in the crowds was enough of a treat with the likes of Hollywood star Eva Longoria, David Beckham and Take That’s Jason Orange among those taking their seats. with the rest of us.

Aussie pop pixie Kylie Minogue may have ditched the iconic corsets and feathers of her previous tours, but she was still the ultimate showgirl when she brought her Kylie X tour to the M.E.N. Arena for a six night run in July.

Fans were treated to her most flamboyant show yet, at a cost of a reported £10m, with costumes by Jean Paul Gaultier and eye-popping sets that even saw her atop a huge glittering skull for one spectacular vignette.

And who else but Miss Minogue could carry off a camper-than-camp dance-off of Barry Manilow’s Copacabana and still look effortlessly chic?

Well, apart from Barry himself of course – who did just that when he headed to town for a real guilty pleasure of a show in December.

The fans just love him, and the atmosphere was electric as Baz romped through his extensive back catalogue of feelgood hits – with that all-important feather-filled Copa finale.