Barry Manilow has shared an update with fans after abruptly bringing one of his shows to a close after just two songs, and cancelling another.
Over the summer, the legendary crooner told his followers that he would be taking a “quick break” from live performing after “pushing a little too hard” during a previous run of shows.
Last week, the 83-year-old returned to the stage with a string of concerts in Las Vegas, but after Thursday’s went off without incident, Friday’s was brought to a close after just two numbers.
Initially, Barry joked to the crowd that they should “talk amongst yourselves” while he recuperated backstage, but failed to return to the stage.
His team then confirmed that the following night’s performance had been cancelled.
“After a triumphant welcome back concert on Thursday, Barry got hit with bronchitis and had to cancel his Friday and Saturday shows,” a spokesperson said.
Towards the end of last year, the Grammy winner underwent surgery to have part of his lung removed, after being diagnosed with stage one lung cancer.
“You just don’t even think about [how fragile life is]. And suddenly, you have lung cancer,” Barry said during a People magazine interview published in March. “But I’m still here.
“I’m not all here; there’s part of me that isn’t here – they took out a part of me, and now I’ve got to figure out, ‘What do I do?’.”
The Mandy singer added that beating cancer had “really made me take a stock of my life”, sharing: “This made me stop and think about: Have I done what I wanted to do, and have I made people happy? Have I been a good friend?
“All of those cornball things that I’ve read for all of my life, I started to think about that, too. It really did stop me in my tracks.”
Earlier this year, Barry performed what were billed as his “last last” shows in the UK, including a well-received show at London’s O2 Arena.
