Barry Manilow Shares Lung Cancer Update: UK Tour Is On But Vegas Dates Scrapped

Barry Manilow has told fans he will go ahead with his UK arena tour in June but will miss his scheduled Las Vegas shows in May, after doctors advised the 82-year-old singer he is not yet ready to return to his long-running residency while recovering from lung cancer surgery.

The update from Barry Manilow came after months of uncertainty around his live schedule. At the end of last year, doctors discovered a cancerous spot on his left lung, and the American star was subsequently diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer.

The tumour was removed and Manilow cancelled performances while he recovered, including his spring dates at the Westgate Las Vegas where he has built a kind of second home on stage.

In a new message to fans, Manilow struck a typically wry tone, mixing reassurance with a dose of showman bravado. He said he had seen his doctor 'yesterday' and had been told he was 'making great progress' and looked 'great,' before joking, 'Well of course I do! Thank you very much! All the training and exercising I've put in is paying off.'

That upbeat assessment came with a blunt caveat. According to Manilow, his medical team have ruled out a return to Las Vegas for now, meaning his planned May run at the Westgate will not go ahead. He told followers, 'He did say, however, that I'm not quite ready for Vegas. That means I won't be able to return for our May shows at @WestgateVegas.'

Barry Manilow Puts UK Tour Ahead Of Vegas Return

For fans in Britain, the Barry Manilow update is far more optimistic. The veteran performer said the same doctor had cleared him to proceed with his June arena shows in the UK, describing them as the target he is now working towards.

'But the good news is he said I will be ready for my June arena shows in the UK,' Manilow wrote, before adding, 'It's going to be great to see you all in the UK.'

The tour is due to open at Glasgow's OVO Hydro on 9 June. Over eight days, he is scheduled to play Leeds, Liverpool, Cardiff, Birmingham and London, in what is being framed as a major run for a man who has already been on the road, in one form or another, for more than half a century.

There was also a nod of loyalty to his Las Vegas base, which has brought him a new generation of fans as well as steady box office. Calling Westgate Las Vegas his 'home away from home,' Manilow promised he would be back there in July, once he has made it through the UK dates and been given further clearance by his doctors.

In the meantime, he had a familiar salesman's pitch for those still weighing up whether to see him live, 'Come to the UK! We'll be there in June and hope you will be too! See you then... Barry.'

Barry Manilow Reflects On 'Pure Luck' Of Early Cancer Discovery

Barry Manilow first disclosed his cancer diagnosis publicly in December, explaining that the discovery of the lung spot had come about almost by accident, after what looked like a run of routine illness.

He told fans he had suffered six weeks of bronchitis, followed by what he called a relapse lasting another five weeks.

Although he said he had recovered sufficiently to get back on stage at the Westgate, his doctor ordered an MRI 'just to make sure that everything was OK.'

That scan, Manilow wrote, 'discovered a cancerous spot on my left lung that needs to be removed'. He described the timing as 'pure luck (and a great doctor)' and stressed that it had been found early.

According to his December statement, specialists believed the disease had not spread and were running tests to confirm that diagnosis. On their advice, Manilow said his treatment would not include chemotherapy or radiotherapy. 'So that's it. No chemo. No radiation. Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns,' he told supporters at the time.

The surgery meant sacrificing his A Very Barry Christmas dates, billed as Christmas Gift Of Love concerts, so he could go into hospital once the festive run was complete. That decision appears to have set up the relatively positive news he is now able to share.

Even so, at an age when most performers have long since retreated from the road, Manilow is once again gamely circling tour dates in his diary and talking up arena crowds.

For now, the great chronicler of broken hearts and glittering dancefloors seems set on returning to both, starting in Glasgow rather than Las Vegas.