Barry Manilow review – mellow master glides through his hits with grace
On his final tour, the 80-year-old gives fans a slick but satisfying treatment of his pleasantly cheesy oeuvre
November 2023
Harmony review – Barry Manilow’s Broadway musical lacks magic
Barry Manilow says secret relationship ‘saved my life’ during his rise to fame
November 2021
Honest playlist
‘I know all the words to Copacabana’: Katy Wix’s honest playlist
The comedian on her love of Mahler’s Symphony No 5 – and the folk song from Georgia that she sings in the shower
August 2020
'Music is as good as gold or oil': meet the man spending billions on old hits
Could it be magic? Barry Manilow song rights sold to Hipgnosis
May 2019
Names in the news
Barry Manilow: glad to be gay, without trying to sell something
Rebecca Nicholson
For some stars, their sexuality is now a commodity that can be traded
September 2018
Dionne Warwick review – old-school legacy show soars and bores
Barry Manilow review – fine, funny farewell to a titan of schmaltz
August 2018
Ranked
Barry Manilow – all his greatest songs ranked!
As the bouffanted Brooklynite tours the UK, possibly for the last time, we cast an eye over his musical achievements
June 2018
There are good reasons why poor British children struggle in school
Barbara Ellen
Let’s congratulate migrant success, but the ‘indigenous’ poor deal with a hard legacy
April 2017
Did you come out later in life?
Barry Manilow reveals he is gay
March 2017
Rest in no peace: the creepiest duets with dead singers
While Faith Evans’ new album of duets with the Notorious BIG might be a fitting tribute, other artists haven’t been quite so respectful with the dead
June 2016
A brush with greatness
The time I met Margaret Thatcher and Barry Manilow – together
When Simon Booker worked for the TV chat show Aspel & Co, he somehow managed to book the prime minister and the flamboyant American singer on to the same eye-catching line-up
May 2016
Family life
Family life: A new young mum, Mandy by Barry Manilow, Eggs Benedict
Readers’ favourite photographs, songs and recipes
March 2016
Pass notes
Do giant gas bubbles explain the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle?
Researchers say methane rising to the surface of the ocean could explain the sudden loss of ships in the western North Atlantic. And anywhere else, for that matter
December 2015
Viral video chart
Viral video: Foo Fighters, Doctor Who and Batman v Superman
Dave Grohl has a drum off against The Muppets’ Animal, Piers Morgan is helped to find love, and Peter Capaldi influences Peter Jackson
August 2015
Readers recommend
Readers recommend: songs so bad, they're good – results
From Rappy McRapperson to Ghostface Killah, the Macarena to Yes Sir, I Can Boogie, RR owns up to loving a selection of tunes from last week’s topic
February 2015
A look back
From the Observer archive, 29 January 1984: I’ve seen Manilow mania, but I don’t understand it
The great American crooner’s inimitable brand of schmaltz proves a big hit at the Super Bowl, writes a bemused Clive James
