Apollo

Having survived a life threatening operation to remove your pancreas, where the odds of survival were 2-1 against, you have the right to live life the way you want to. Chris Rea chose to record the album he wanted to. Dancing Down The Stony Road. An offering of the Delta Blues played immaculately by a small band of musicians who have been with Rea for donkeys years. While the £10.99 handed over to www.cd-wow.com for this superb double album is money well spent, I also chose to part with over £50 for two tickets to see Rea at Manchester's intimate Carling Apollo venue. A venue I far prefer to the impersonal arenas that dominate indoor concerts. ...

It is some years since I visited The Manchester Apollo and I knew I would get lost. The last time I was there I was going to see Bros! Remember them? They hadn't hit the big time yet but I thought they were gorgeous all the same. I managed to persuade a friend of mine to tag along and the concert was actually pretty good. I had this vague recollection of the building and the seats being like those you get in a cinema but the memory isn't what it used to be and we are going back a few years. You may be questioning my taste in music at this point and believe me it is rather bizarre. I have records from ranging from The Damned to Barry Manilow and ...