CityLife

Streisand fever hits town

YOU'D only have to sneak a peak at Barbra Streisand's trophy cabinet to understand her impact on popular music.

Two Oscars, eight Grammys, nine Golden Globes, four Emmys and a Légion d'honneur: she's amassed some collection since she started singing nearly 50 years ago, and her status as America's biggest selling female solo artist only confirms the scale of success she's achieved.

And yet, little Barbra Joan was far from encouraged into a life in the spotlight.

Her mother thought she wasn't pretty enough for the fame game, but Barbra followed her heart and began singing in nightclubs in her teens.

By 20, she was performing on Broadway, signing her first major record contract and scooping her first two Grammys.

She's also hit the headlines for rumoured romantic links with some of Hollywood's finest - Steve McQueen, Warren Beatty, Jon Voight, Don Johnson, producer Jon Peters, as well as tennis player Andre Agassi and musician Kris Kristofferson - suggesting her mother might have underestimated her daughter's charms after all.

Catalogue

Of course, Barbra is now officially a pensioner, having turned 65 this year, but she's still busy adding to her 60-album back catalogue and the 17 film credits on her CV.

Age hasn't slowed her down, nor has it curbed her outspoken streak.

Streisand has actively thrown her opinions in the ring on several topics currently bothering the US public, including gun ownership, global warming and the war in Iraq.

She's also criticised the American administration, suggesting more should have been done to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, which left over 2,500 people dead or missing and £40bn worth of damage.

And yet, for all her enthusiasm for public life, she's kept a low profile outside her native US. She's been away from these shores for more than 10 years, her last visit to Europe back in 1994.

Manchester will be the first British city to welcome her back to Blighty, where she'll play the M.E.N. Arena on Tuesday in front of 16,000 adorning fans.

We've every confidence it'll prove well worth the wait.

Barbra Streisand plays the M.E.N. Arena on Tuesday, July 10. Tickets are £75 - £550. Click here to book.

YOU can read a review of her new LP, here .