When you think of Barry Manilow, the first word that springs to mind tends not to be 'hip'. 'Cheesy', maybe, 'Responsible For Cover Versions That Make Us Die A Little Inside', perhaps, but hip? Barry Manilow?
Well get used to it, because if today's reports are to be believed, Barry Manilow is now both new and hip. No, wait, we got that wrong – Barry Manilow is going to have some new hip surgery. Whoops, our mistake. Serves him right for doing all that jumping, shouting and boogieing, anyway.
Say what you like about Barry Manilow, you have to admit that the creepy-eyed big-nosed fool is a survivor. Far from just dining out on his big hits like Copacabana and Mandy, Barry Manilow has constantly reinvented himself with albums like Barry Manilow's Greatest Hits, Barry Manilow's Greatest Hits Vol II, The Manilow Collection, Manilow, Barry Manilow, Ultimate Manilow and The Essential Manilow. It's this dedication to pushing the musical envelope which has won Barry Manilow all his legions of dumpy middle-aged women fans who constantly push him to do more concerts. And this relentless performing is likely to be responsible for Barry Manilow's knackered hip.
According to reports, Barry Manilow suffers from torn cartilage on his hip that needs to be operated on if he wants to continue doing all his lucrative Las Vegas performances. But, despite being in constant agonising pain, Barry Manilow is determined to still perform at the Emmy Awards at the end of the month before he heads in for the hip surgery. He says:
"I'm anxious to make it through the Emmy Awards and then right to the hospital… The doctors have promised me that I'll come back even better than before."
Wouldn't take much. Barry Manilow's knackered hip means that he has to cancel around 20 of his concerts while he recuperates from the surgery, although he is expected to make his big comeback by the end of October when he unleashes his new album The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties, the follow-up to his number one album The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties.
We hope Barry Manilow makes a full and speedy recovery from his hip surgery, but only because we can't wait for the inevitable Greatest Hits Of The Eighties album – and who wouldn't want to hear Barry Manilow belting through Rock Me Amadeus, Sussudio and Star Trekkin' by The Firm?
Read more:
Manilow Having Hip Surgery – E! Online
[story by Stuart Heritage]