CityLife

Madonna cancels second city show

PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR IF YOU'RE COMING TO SEE ME IN MANC: Madonna

MEGASTAR Madonna has cancelled her second summer show in the city, it has been comfirmed.

The date was originally added after her first M.E.N. Arena show reportedly sold out in a matter of hours, despite prices ranging from £65 to a wallet-buckling £175.

Now the July 8 date has been pulled after a show was recently booked in Paris for July 9, which would have left little recovery time.

But CityLife wonders whether the Material Girl may have over estimated her pulling power in the north west, and decided one show here on her Sticky and Sweet (July 7) is more economically viable.

After all, it would have been hard to shelve if it too had sold out.

Considering the top ticket prices for Michael Jackson's O2 Arena run clock in at under £100 and it's the King Of Pop's first UK concerts in 12 years - Madonna's pricing policy does appear out of touch.

Ticket holders are advised to return to the point of purchase for a refund.

The Michigan-born megastar first played in the city at the Hacienda in 1984, making her British debut at the Hacienda in a performance which was filmed for Channel 4 music show The Tube.

She did not returned in until 2004, bringing her sell-out Re-Invention tour to the M.E.N. Arena for a massive sell-out show.

Hard Candy

The Sticky and Sweet world tour came to Europe last year but did not stop in Manchester. It was the biggest grossing tour in history for a solo artist, featuring tracks from her latest No 1 album, Hard Candy, alongside as well as old classics from her career.

Madonna became famous an international icon in the 1980s with hits Like a Virgin, Into the Groove, Like a Prayer and Vogue.

Her use of religious and sexual themes made her a controversial star, with critics including the late Pope John Paul II.

In the early '90s her singles did not chart as highly as her earlier material, but she starred in the films Body of Evidence and Evita.

In 1997 the album Ray of Light launched her back into the pop scene with the singles Music and Give it 2 Me becoming dancefloor classics, while her attempted adoption of another Malawian youngster and divorce from Brit film director Guy Ritchie have grabbed headlines.

Madonna plays the M.E.N. Arena on Tuesday, July 7. £65, £85, £110, £175. Call 0844 847 8000.