Tony Bennett, at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester

THIS concert was a sell-out months ago - not bad when you have been in the business for 50 years!

But then the 90s have been particularly kind to Tony Bennett. Every album he has recorded has won a Grammy award and his popularity continues to rise across the generations.

Perhaps that is why Tony looked good and smiled widely as he returned to entertain another Manchester audience.

With long-time friend, musical director Ralph Sharon on piano, Bennett opened with The Best is Yet to Come - a promise for a brilliant evening ahead.

Falling Leaves delighted the audience and I Love a Piano had their feet tapping before on to the stage came the other members of Ralph Sharon's quartet, Grey Sargent on guitar, Paul Langosh on double bass and the late Sammy Davis' drummer Clayton Cameron.

Bennett's claim that he was the Madonna of his day - referring to the string of hit singles he had in the 50s and 60s - brought ripples of laughter.

I Wanna Be Around and I Left my Heart in San Francisco were brilliant.

The anecdotes were abundant too, including a death threat from a local gangster who was seated in the audience at an early Bennett show.

Bennett disposed of his microphone during Fly Me To The Moon, accompanied only by the guitar of Grey Sargent. This received a standing ovation. Another one came for The Music Never Ends. But as they say, all good things come to an end sometime.

JOHN VAUGHAN

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.