One Night with Barry Manilow

Ladies and gentlemen,

the newest star for America, Mr Barry Manilow.

'When I first heard Barry's voice,'

it was like, you know, cream.

When I was a kid, I did not get Barry Manilow.

Barry's got those come-to-bed eyes.

-Didn't understand it. But now I do.

-He's just really perfect.

# I remember all my life

# Raining down as cold as ice

# Shadows of a man

# A face through a window

# Crying in the night

# The night goes into morning... #

-Mandy was my favourite, of course.

-It's a song everyone wants to hear.

-Personally, it was my mam's favourite song.

-I'd rather have a night out with Barry than...Brad Pitt.

# ..I see a memory

# I never realised how happy you made me

# Oh Mandy

# Well, you came and you gave without taking... #

-He's my Barry, as much as the next woman's Barry.

-I'm looking forward to it. Not as much as my wife, though.

He's just ever so slightly more MY Barry.

# ..Oh Mandy... #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

# Standing on the edge of time

# I've walked away when love was mine

# Caught up in a world of uphill climbing

# The tears are in my mind

# And nothing is rhyming Oh, Mandy

# Well you came and you gave without taking

# But I sent you away, oh Mandy

# You kissed me and stopped me from shaking

# And I need you today, oh Mandy

# Yesterday's a dream

# Now I face the morning crying on a breeze

# The pain is calling...

# Oh Mandy

# Well, you came and you gave without taking

# But I sent you away, oh Mandy

# Well, you kissed me and stopped me from shaking

# And I need you today, Mandy

# You came and you gave without taking

# But I sent you away, Mandy

# You kissed me and stopped me from shaking

# And I need you... #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Thanks!

Well, thanks! Good evening, everyone,

and welcome to One Night With Barry Manilow - my own TV special here on BBC One.

You guys... You guys are so fantastic.

I love being with all of you in the UK. You always make me feel so welcome.

You have everything -

you have gorgeous countryside, you have castles and palaces,

and tonight you have something that nobody else has. You have me!

CHEERING

And I have music for you, so...

Looks Like We Made It!

# There you are

# Lookin' just the same as you did last time I touched you

# Here I am

# Close to gettin' tangled up inside the thought of you

# Do you love him

# As much as I love her?

# And will that love be strong

# When old feelings start to stir?

# Looks like we made it

# We left each other on the way to another love

# Looks like we made it

# Or I thought so till today

# Until you were there, everywhere

# And all I could taste was love

# The way we made it

# Looks like we made it...

# So strange Playin' hide-and-seek with hearts

# And always hurtin'

# We're the fools

# Standin' close enough to touch those burnin' memories

# And if I hold you

# For the sake of all those times

# Love made us lose our minds

# Could I ever let you go?

# Oh no, we made it

# We left each other on the way to another love

# Looks like we made it

# Or I thought so till today

# Until you were there, everywhere

# And all I could taste was love the way we made it

# Oh, love...

# The way we made it...

# Looks like we made it

# We left each other on the way to another love

# Looks like we made it

# Or I thought so till today

# Until you were there, everywhere

# And all I could taste was love The way we made it...

# Looks like we made it...

# Oh girl

# We made it

# Looks like we made it... #

CHEERING AND WHISTLING

All right.

# Last night I waved goodbye

# Now it seems years

# I'm back in the city

# Where nothing is clear

# But thoughts of me holding you

# Bringing us near

# And tell me

# When will our eyes meet?

# When can I touch you?

# When will this strong yearning end?

# And when will I hold yo-u-u

# A-a-again

# Time in New England

# Took me away

# To long, rocky beaches

# And you by the bay

# We started a story

# Whose end must now wait

# And tell me

# When will our eyes meet?

# When can I touch you?

# When will this...

# Emptiness end?

# And when will I hold you again?

# I feel the change comin'

# I feel the wind blow

# I feel brave and daring

# And I feel my blood flow

# With you I could bring out

# All the love that I have

# With you there's a heaven

# So Earth ain't so ba-a-ad

# And tell me...

# When will our eyes meet?

# When can I touch you?

# When will this strong yearning end?

# And when will I hold you

# Again?

# Again...

# Hmm-mmm... #

I think, way in the beginning, my fans liked me because I stunk.

FANS SCREAM

I think they got the fact that I was talented, but had no idea what I was doing.

-Once you're a fan, you're a fan for ever.

-Followed him for 20 years!

My dad got me into him when I was 14.

I saw my mum, aunties, middle-aged women scream when a Barry Manilow song came on the radio.

They like that there is a guy up there,

struggling to communicate with them.

When I was doing Surprise, Surprise, Barry was great for us.

They saw me working and trying so hard to please them, and put a show together.

I would see groups of women - not just my mum's age, young as well -

with a "I love Barry" scarf stuck to the window!

I said, "Surprise, Surprise! You are going to see Barry Manilow at the Royal Albert Hall,

"and you are going to meet him."

He's got a charisma that you cannot write down. You can't capture it.

When he's on stage... There are 12,000 people here, and every one of them believes he's singing to them.

He dragged me up there too. It was lovely! The best Surprise I've done.

And I'm standing at the back of Wembley arena and, hand on my heart,

I realised then why he's so popular.

Doesn't this orchestra sound fantastic?

I love you! And as I look at you, there's one instrument missing.

And, um...it's an instrument

that I know how to play.

It just so happens that I do. I'm talking about the accordion.

-I happen to know...

-AUDIENCE LAUGHS

Sit! I'm not going to play! Promise! Just go back.

Go...

I would never play the accordion unless my audience demanded that I did.

AUDIENCE CHEERS

Well, it just so happens that I have my accordion here.

I carry this thing with me just in case somebody would like to hear it.

Would Sting do this? I ask you!

The problem with the accordion is that everything you play sounds like a polka, no matter what you play.

Even if you play anything...

For instance, here's Rod Stewart's Do You Think I'm Sexy? Ready?

Really...not too sexy, right?

And here's Madonna's Like A Virgin. Oh, you'll love this(!)

I think she would have stayed a virgin a little longer if she'd played it on the accordion.

Actually, if you play the right song on the accordion, it doesn't sound half bad. Like this...

# You know I can't smile without you

# I can't smile without you

# I can't laugh and I can't... #

Thanks!

# I'm finding it hard to do anything

# You see I feel sad when you're sad

# I feel glad when you're glad

# If you only knew what I'm going through

# I just can't smile without you... #

Well, that's not too bad, right?

# You came along... # Thanks!

# ..Just like a song

# And brightened my day

# Who'd have believed that you were part of a dream?

# Now it all seems light years away

-# And now you know I can't smile without you... #

-AUDIENCE CLAP ALONG

# Oh, I can't...

# I can't smile without you

# I can't laugh and I can't sing

# I'm finding it hard to do anything

# You see, I feel sad when you're sad

# Oh, I feel...

# I feel glad when you're glad

# If you only knew what I'm going through

# I just can't smile

# Now some people say

# Happiness takes so very long to find

# Well, I'm finding it hard

# Leaving your love behind me

# And you see I can't smile without you

# I can't smile without you

# I can't laugh and I can't sing

# I'm finding it hard to do anything

# Cos you see I feel sad when you're sad

# I feel glad when you're glad

# If you only knew what I'm going through

# I just can't smile

# Without you-u-u... #

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

OK, I'm going to sing you, um, a country song.

I know, you think of country music - Barry Manilow - right?

-AUDIENCE LAUGH

-But this is a great song.

You might know it, cos it was a hit record here a couple of years ago, but I recorded it before that.

It's written by the talented... the great talent Garth Brooks,

and it's got some great words of advice in it. So I thought you might enjoy this one. ..OK, let's do it.

# Sometimes late at night

# I lie awake and watch her sleeping

# She's lost in peaceful dreams

# So I turn out the light

# And lay there in the dark

# And the thought crosses my mind

# If I never wake up in the morning

# Would she ever doubt

# The way I feel about her in my heart

# If tomorrow never comes

# Will she know how much I loved her?

# Did I try in every way

# To show her every day

# That she's my only one?

# If my time on Earth were through

# And she must face this world without me

# Is the love I gave her in the past

# Gonna be enough to last

# If tomorrow never comes?

# Cos I've lost loved ones in my life

# Who never knew how much I loved them

# Now I live to feel regret

# That my true feelings for them never were revealed

# So I made a promise to myself

# To say each day how much she means to me

# And avoid that circumstance Where there's no second chance

# To tell her how I feel

# Cos if tomorrow never comes

# Will she know how much I loved her?

# Did I try in every way

# To show her every day

# That she's my only one?

# If my time on Earth were through

# And she must face this world without me

# Is the love I gave her in the past

# Gonna be enough to last

# If tomorrow never comes?

# If tomorrow never comes

# Will she know how much I loved her?

# Did I try in every way

# To show her every day

# That she's my only one?

# If my time on Earth were through

# And she must face this world without me

# Is the love I gave her in the past

# Gonna be enough to last

# If tomorrow never comes?

# So tell that someone that you love

# Just what you're thinking of

# If tomorrow never comes. #

I wrote this seven-minute song based on a Chopin prelude and I thought it was very passionate.

Could It Be Magic showed a depth early on in Barry Manilow's career

that very few artists have.

# Could this be the magic at last... #

Could It Be Magic is an interesting song because it does work both ways.

It works as a big passionate ballad for a singer like me who knows how to do that

and it works as a dance record too.

# Could it be magic... #

Take That did a cover version of Could It Be Magic...

..a lot of youngsters were into Take That. I remember going, "Hold on a second! Come and hear the original!"

When I was living in Germany, I had an afternoon when I was doing dishes.

I turned the radio on and Could It Be Magic came on, and it was...

# Spirits move me... #

And I just got chills and I didn't know then

that it was the precise moment my grandmother was passing away.

# Baby, I want you... #

It has a great place in my heart, and in my show. I still do it.

It might just go to prove that a good song can hold up.

AUDIENCE CHEERS AND APPLAUDS

That's the Chopin Prelude in C Minor.

I based a song called Could It Be Magic on that prelude.

AUDIENCE APPLAUDS

I recorded it on my first album, which we recorded in 1801(!)

And three people bought it...

and I thought that would be the end of that song. But I loved it so much.

# Spirit move me Every time I'm near you

# Whirling like a cyclone in my mind

# Sweet Melissa Angel of my lifetime

# Answer to all answers I can find

# Baby, I love you Co-ome

# Come, come into my arms

# Let me know the wonder of all of you

# Baby, I want you now

# Now, now and hold on fast

# Could this be the magic at last... #

I thought I would never hear that song again after nobody bought it.

-AUDIENCE STARTS TO CLAP IN TIME

-But I was in the UK a few years ago,

and there was a dance version of Could It Be Magic on the radio.

I wasn't sure I liked it, but then it went to the Number 1 spot, and I loved it!

It was sung by a group called Take That.

Take That has gone onto greener pastures,

but I still love this up-tempo version. So we do it. I do it because I still CAN!

So take that!

# Lady, take me

# High up on a hillside

# High up where the stallion meets the sun

# I could love you

# Build my world around you

# Never leave you till my life is done

# Baby, I love you

# Come, come

# Come into my arms

# Let me know the wonder of all of you

# And baby, I want you now

# Now

# Now and hold on fast

# Could this be the magic at last?

# Magic, magic

# Magic... Magic

-# Could it be magic?

-Could it be magic

-# Could it be magic?

-Could it be magic... #

OK! Don't look! Watch out!

# Come

# Come

# Come into my arms

# O, let me know the wonder of all of you

# Baby, I want you

# Now, now

# Now and hold on fast

# Could this be the magic at last?

# Could it be magic? Could it be magic?

# Could it be magic now?

# Magic

-# Could it be magic?

-Could it be magic?

-# Could it be magic?

-Could it be magic... #

Oh, no! Here it comes again! Watch out! Watch out!

# Come! Come!

# Come...

# Let me know the wonder of all of you

# Baby, I want you now

# O, now Now and hold on fast

# Could it be the magic at last?

# Could it be magic? Could it be magic?

# Could it be magic now? #

AUDIENCE CHEERS AND APPLAUDS

After the age of 50, this is how you sit down. Ohhhh!

I had the honour of recording songs written by some fantastic songwriters

and this particular one was written by Tom Snow and Cynthia Weil -

two of my favourite people and two of my favourite songwriters. ..OK.

# We had the right love at the wrong time

# Guess I always knew inside

# I wouldn't have you for a long time

# Those dreams of yours

# Are shining on distant shores

# And if they're calling you away

# I have no right to make you stay

# But somewhere down the road

# Our roads are gonna cross again

# It doesn't really matter when

# But somewhere down the road

# I know that heart of yours will come to see

# That you belong with me

# Sometimes goodbyes are not forever

# It doesn't matter if you're gone

# I still believe in us together

# I understand more than you think I can

# You have to go out on your own

# So you can find your way back home

# And somewhere down the road

# Our roads are gonna cross again

# It doesn't really matter where

# But somewhere down the road

# I know that heart of yours will come to see

# That you belong with me

# Letting go

# Is just another way to say

# I'll always love you so

# We had the right love at the wrong time

# Maybe we've only just begun

# Maybe the best is yet to come

# Cos somewhere down the road

# Our roads are gonna cross again

# It doesn't really matter when

# But somewhere down the road

# I know that heart of yours will come to see

# That you belo-ong

# With me-e. #

I do think that I learnt all of my tricks about orchestration and, um,

how to build a song

from the world of musicals, from the world of '50s pop

and the world of classical music. And jazz.

I might have been the first one to come up with the idea of a tinkling piano beginning a ballad

and then bringing in the groove and then bringing in this crazy rock'n'roll backbeat

and changing keys and taking it out to a big climax.

I sing this song these days...even though I recorded it many years ago. With the shape the world is in,

I sing it with the hope that one of these days I'll be able to sing it cos the words are true.

# We dreamers have our ways

# Of facing rainy days

# And somehow we survive

# We keep the feelings warm

# Protect them from the storm

# Until our time arrives

# Then one day the sun appears

# And we come shining through those lonely years

# I made it through the rain

# I kept my world protected

# I made it through the rain

# I kept my point of view

# I made it through the rain

# And found myself respected

# By the others who-o

# Got rained on too

# I made it through

# When friends are hard to find

# And life seems so unkind

# Sometimes you feel afraid

# Just aim beyond the clouds

# And rise above the crowds

# And start your own parade

# Cos when I'd chased my fears away

# That's when I knew that I could finally say

# I made it through the rain

# I kept my world protected

# I made it through the rain

# I kept my point of view

# I made it through the rain

# And found myself respected

# By the others who-o

# Got rained on too

# I made it through

# We made it through the rain

# We kept our world protected

# We made it through the rain

# We kept our point of view We made it through the rain

# And found ourselves respected By the others who

-# By the others who

-Got rained on too

# And made it through

# And made it through

# We made it

# Thro-ough

# Looks like we made i-it! #

Thank you.

This next song comes from my new musical Harmony.

LOUD CHEERING

It's a wonderful story and a wonderful musical. I'm very proud of it.

I'd like to sing you the love song from Harmony. Let me just set it up.

In our play, two of the leading characters are contemplating getting married.

She's having second thoughts about it and says to him, "Till death do us part. I take that seriously.

"If we make a mistake now, we'll regret it every day for the rest of our lives."

And he says, "We might be making a mistake.

"But I think we'd be making a worse mistake if we didn't get married."

And then he says...

# Every single day

# We'll remember what we do today

# Words we didn't say We'll remember every single day

# Then years go by

# To wonder why And wonder what we learned

# Was that the bridge we should've crossed?

# The one we burned?

# Every empty night

# To regret a life that could've been

# Maybe you were right

# Just forget that emptiness within

# So if you go before that moment's gone

# Look at me the way

# I'll remember every single day From now on

# You deserve

# I don't know what The man I'd love to be

# That's not the way it turned out

# No, you fell in love with me

# Everything you doubt

# I will fight for every single day

# Help me work it out

# Make it right for every single day

# But this I swear

# And stake my life upon

# If you go or stay

# I will love you as I do today

# And I love you

# Every single day

# From now on. #

Thank you.

Barry loves that board. He loves being on stage.

I think he enjoys getting a complete and immediate response.

You hear people go on about the "it" factor.

You can't buy that. You can't write about it...

He just oozes this presence on stage.

You buy his albums, you buy his records, and you listen to them and it's wonderful.

Then, you go and see his show, and you go, "Wow!" because he is a showman.

I think he has to be one of the finest pop writers of the last 30 years.

On my passport, it says... Where it says "Vocation",

it says "Musician". I don't put "Entertainer", I don't put "Singer" - I put "Musician".

In my heart, that's what I feel I am.

It's the quality of musicianship that goes along with him being musical.

He has this unbelievable ability to allow other people to shine, even in his midst.

But he does require that YOU come prepared, too.

I was doing a show with him recently, and he worked my buns off.

I mean, not enough, but he really is a hard worker.

When he's rehearsing, he cuts you no slack.

He is a perfectionist. So professional.

And, you know, a lot of talent helps!

There aren't those kind of performers today that have that kind of entertainment quality

where they tend to be all-rounders, and I think that's what he had.

I've gotta do this one!

# Her name is Lola She was a showgirl

# With yellow feathers in her hair and a dress cut down to there

# She would merengue and do the cha-cha

# And while she tried to be a star Tony always tended bar

# Across a crowded floor They worked from 8 till 4

# They were young and they had each other

# Who could ask for more?

-# At the Copa...

-Co!

-Copacabana...

-Copacabana

# The hottest spot north of Havana

-# At the Copa...

-Co!

-Copacabana

# Music and passion were always the fashion

# At the Copa

# They fell in love

# Copa... Copacabana

# His name was Rico He wore a diamond

# He was escorted to his chair He saw Lola dancin' there

# And when she finished He called her over

# But Rico went a bit too far Tony sailed across the bar

# And then the punches flew and chairs were smashed in two

# There was blood and a single gun shot

# But just who shot who? At the Copa

-# Copacabana...

-Copacabana

# The hottest spot north of Havana

-# At the Copa...

-Co!

-Copacabana

# Music and passion were always the fashion at the Copa Oh, no!

# She lost her love... #

That poor little thing.

-# ..Copa, Copacabana... #

-Let's listen to the band!

Great band! Help me say thank you to them, would you?

The wonderful singers... Yvonne! Monica!

Keeley! And Kai!

This fantastic orchestra, all conducted by Ron Walters!

Thank you, Ron!

Thanks, Ros. Thanks, Ian. Thanks, Mike. Thanks, Ron.

# Her name is Lola She was a showgirl

# But that was 30 years ago When they used to have a show

# Now it's a disco But not for Lola

# Still in the dress she used to wear, faded feathers in her hair

# She sits there so refined And drinks herself half-blind

# She lost her youth She lost her Tony

-# Now she's lost her mind! At the Copa...

-Co!

-Copacabana...

-Copacabana!

# The hottest spot north of Havana

-# At the Copa...

-Co!

-Copacabana

# Music and passion were always the fashion

# At the Copa

# Don't fall in love

# Don't fall in love

# Don't fall in love! #

Let's do it again!

I wanna do it again, but you've got to sing, OK?

I'll start it.

# A-A-A-t the-e-e-e...

# Copa Copacabana

-# The hottest spot...

-north of Havana

-# At the Copa...

-Co!

-Copacabana

# Music and passion were always the fashion

# At the Copa

# We fell in love

# We fell in love

# We fell in love

# Ole! #

# I've been alive forever

# And I wrote the very first song

# I put the words and the melodies together

# I am music And I write the songs

# I write the songs that make the whole world sing

# I write the songs of love and special things

# I write the songs that make the young girls cry

# I write the songs I write the songs

# My home lies deep within you

# And I've got my own place in your soul

# Now when I look out through your eyes

# I'm young again Even though I'm very old

# I write the songs that make the whole world sing

# I write the songs of love and special things

# I write the songs that make the young girls cry

# I write the songs I write the songs

# Oh, my music makes you dance And gets your spirit to take a chance

# And I wrote some rock'n'roll so you can move

# Music fills your heart

# Well, that's a real fine place to start

# It's from me, it's for you It's from you, it's for me

# It's a worldwide symphony

# I write the songs that make the whole world sing

# I write the songs of love and special things

# I write the songs that make the young girls cry

# I write the songs I write the songs

# I write the songs that make the whole world sing

# I write the songs of love and special things

# I write the songs that make the young girls cry

# I write the songs I write the songs

# I am music And I write the songs

# And I write the songs

# And I write the songs! #

He's a giant. He's up there. I mean, look how long he's been performing.

You can talk about the greats - Sinatra, Presley, Dean Martin - and he's up there with them.

If he never recorded another song, Barry Manilow would be part of the modern pop culture for years to come.

This has been great. Thank you so much for coming,

and thanks to all of you out there for tuning in.

I do, I love being in this room.

I wish we could just lock the doors and order a pizza, or something.

Out there, there's war and hatred and crisis,

and in here, we're all here for the same reasons -

to love me(!)

And I love you back!

# Hey, old friends Are you OK, old friends?

# What do you say, old friends?

# Are we? Or are we unique...? #

Yes!

# Time goes by Everything else keeps changing

# You and I, we get continued next week

# Most friends fade

# Or they don't make the grade

# New ones are quickly made

# And in a pinch, sure, they'll do

# But us, old friends

# What's to discuss, old friends?

# Here's to us

# Who's like us?

# Damn few. #

Thanks for tonight, and thanks for all the years, my friends. And to think...

# They said we'd never last

# A week, a month, a year

# They shook their head "Dream on," they said

# Cos dreamers disappear

# But here we are No matter what they say

# It's you and me

# Forever and a day

# We knew we had it right

# We knew we broke the mould

# They said have fun It's kiss and run

# Then back out in the cold

# I could have told them

# We were here to stay

# To you and me

# Forever and a day

# Didn't we show them?

# Aren't they blown away

# Cos whatever time they do

# Our love is true forever

# And once our hearts were full

# And once we felt the flame

# Such hunger then Much younger then

# But really we're the same

# And once the music played

# And once they lit the light

# And years ago we felt the glow

# So very like tonight

# And now I know

# It will always be this way

# For you, for me

# Forever and a day. #

Thank you, everybody.

Subtitles by BBC Broadcast - 2004

E-mail us at [email protected]