Saturday 18/11/06 George Michael @ MEN Arena, Manchester

Life’s a game of numbers for George. After a 15 year sabbatical he’s still keeping us guessing, and waiting. He’s late - twenty minutes in fact. The ‘big tease’ knows what he’s doing, just like his fervent fans crammed into the arena. He‘s also got a new ‘best of’ album to plug – ‘Twentyfive’. There’s the long-suffering fans to please as well. The numbers eventually whittle down – now there’s only one man in town - George Michael, and he’s all ours for an expected two-and-a-half hours. The MEN is packed to the rafters, obviously. We’re all excited. Who wouldn’t be?

A little group of us is guessing what song will open the show. ‘Fastlove’? ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go’? The former is favourite, but it’s not the one. The never ending classical music is providing the perfect dramatic countdown. Lights go down, and he’s still not there. He’s singing a ballad off-stage. The set doors slowly open and eventually he’s on and we’re up. The place explodes to a standing ovation. This hack has never seen this kind of thing before, ever. The noise is seriously deafening. Michael-mania’s arrived – screams, flashbulbs engulf the arena. He’s finally with us in a smart shimmering black suit, black shirt and shoes complete with shades, slicked-backed hair, and yes, designer stubble, which he created.  Down to business, we get, “Hey Manchester, how are you? It’s Saturday night. Let’s go... 1, 2, 3”, and into ‘Fastlove’ (we were nearly right). In seconds a pair white of knickers hit the stage, but he’s unfazed and cruising the stage from side to side with a huge beam. He’s happy, and so are we. His brilliant 15 piece band is rocking each side of scaffolding-like gantry. His voice is still sounding great, and he’s out to show it off.