Manchester Evening News Arena, Manchester, England

On stage; 8.13pm
Off stage; 9.54pm
Concert time; 1hr 41mnts.

Neil wore; Dark sparkling jacket, Black shirt with Silver pattern on collar cuffs & shoulders, Dark trousers with Silver pattern down sides.

Neil Diamond had Manchester in raptures tonight as he treated the SRO crowd in the magnificent arena to a solid gold performance in the first show of his 2 night engagement.

The legendary singer-songwriter first performed in the City way back in 1972 with a 2-shows in one night appearance in a much smaller venue; both he and this vibrant city have made huge strides since then and when Manchester was restored to the Diamondville tour circuit in 1996 Neil played 2 SRO shows at the huge arena (then called the Nynex) and repeated the double delight in 1999, 2002 & 2005

The impressive arena was busy with the merchandising stands doing great business from the time the doors opened and the crowd was already buzzing with excitement long before Neil hit the stage;

Again Neil opened with One more bite of the Apple but had to stand and wait as the crowd rose as one to cheer his arrival to the rafters! as the decibel levels grew he roared into the classic Holly Holy that simply grabbed the arena in a triumphant grip that he never surrendered for the rest of this stupendous show!

In his 5^th decade as a performer Neil knows how to work a crowd better than just about anyone and after thanking everyone for showing up he reminded himself and everyone else that this great city had opened its arms to him and his band many times in the past before a rousing Beautiful Noise made sure that this exceptional audience stayed tuned to his engaging story.

Showing his capacity to work out as well as anyone half his age Neil then issued the invite to rock and Manchester was up to the challenge as the arena bounced through Cherry Cherry during which he again paid generous tribute to his band as they strutted their stuff to the delight of all with Alan & Tom again leading the dancing!

Neil then ensured another huge ovation as he sang Hello Again almost exclusively to the behind the stage seats and to the side risers, both sections packed with hugely enthusiastic singing & dancing fans! Love on the Rocks followed and needed no introduction and was cheered to the rafters, to be followed by the exquisite 3 song segment from the beautiful new album, still riding high in the UK Top 10; first the superb title track Home Before Dark was received with reverential silence before being applauded wildly and then Don't Go There, and Pretty Amazing Grace followed, both enjoying great responses from a truly wonderful crowd that clearly knows a thing or two about wonderful music.

You could almost cut the anticipation when Neil talked of those heady days of Hot August Night and the Greek Theatre and simply everyone, even arena security personnel bounced around to the classic Crunchy Granola Suite that was swiftly followed by the fantastic Done Too Soon, each complimenting the other like champagne & caviar.

This top drawer performance was matched by the amazing audience who devoured every last moment of the great autobiographical set from the superlative Brooklyn Roads with the stunning video footage to the anthem that is the breathtaking I Am.. I Said.. and the early classic Solitary Man; a veritable feast to satisfy the deepest hunger!

Forever in Blue Jeans saw Ticketmaster’s Aidan strut his stuff as promised and no one sat down yet as Neil enthusiastically led the massed choirs through Sweet Caroline to yet another deafening ovation! You don’t bring me Flowers had another pre-song ovation before Neil sat at his smart little table, again with its all white tablecloth before joining Linda for their romantic dance before peaking to thunderous cheers.

Neil asked Linda to stay out front with him again as they led the crowd swaying back and forth through Song Sung Blue, being joined by Maxine & Julia and all three girls stayed up front to help Neil orchestrate another marathon aerobics class with I’m a Believer, during which Neil finally divested himself of his jacket and again paid generous attention to those fantastic behind- the- stage fans.

Man of God continues to ooze class and words cannot adequately describe the sensational Hell Yeah that clearly received a first class stamp of approval from this truly amazing crowd.

The ovation before the walk off was just about the loudest and longest of the 8 shows so far on this extraordinary tour and the beam on Neil’s face as he took the deserved acclaim said everything about his pleasure. When he returned wearing a fetching Plum coloured shirt with wonderful patterns down the chest and on the cuffs, a shirt that would grace any wardrobe, this magnificent arena simply took off into the stratosphere with, in my opinion the best Cracklin’ Rosie I have witnessed since Cologne, and that was directly attributable to the perfect blend between Neil and 20,000 of his people!

How to sign off such an awesome show? Quite simply, leave this stupendous audience wanting more, and Neil did just that as he granted us deliverance at the hands of the remarkable, majestic Brother Love’s Travelling Salvation Show!

The ovations for Neil were long and loud, and as he took his leave the cheers rang out equally generously for his remarkable band, with King once again resplendent in an amazing shirt; wonder if he wants to swap it for one of my more conservative daytime ones? And with Reine and Alan sporting equally wonderful matching shirts that resembled falling snow at midnight, it was a kaleidoscope of colour as they took their deserved bows.

As we made our way out of the magnificent arena into the cool night air of this great city everywhere was a sea of happy smiling faces and the great thing is that for many of us, tomorrow evening in Manchester will be just as fantastic, and it cannot arrive soon enough!

#1;One more bite of the Apple/Holly Holy; #2;Beautiful Noise; #3; Cherry Cherry (band intro/instrumental); #4; Hello Again; #5; Love on the Rocks; #6; Home Before Dark; #7; Don't go there; #8 Pretty Amazing Grace; #9; Crunchy Granola Suite; #10; Done Too Soon; #11; Brooklyn Roads; #12; I Am.. I Said..; #13; Solitary Man; #14; Forever in Blue Jeans; #15; Sweet Caroline; #16; You don't bring me Flowers; #17 Song Sung Blue; #18; I’m a Believer; #19; Man of God; #20; Hell Yeah; WALK-OFF; #21; Cracklin’ Rosie; #22; BROTHER LOVE'S TRAVELLING SALVATION SHOW; Final walk-off Band Walk-off