Barbra Streisand

[mariana44]

Hi Terence--your story of Barbra Streisand in Dublin, reminded me of a time we were seeing Johnny Mathis in New England--we had booked for a Chinese meal earlier, were badly delayed-there was no way we would get to the theatre in time for the start of the show, so Jo [our President,at that time] phoned through to the theatre---and Johnny Mathis waited for our coach to arrive before he started the show !!!

[Marian]

There can't be too many so called "stars" who would be prepared to do that.. Well done Johnny! At least the rest of the fans waiting had comfy seats to sit it.
Marian

[Terence Lee]

Hi Marian

I am very impressed to learn that Johnny Mathis actually waited for your coach to arrive before starting the concert.

It truly reflects that he values his fans.

[mariana44]

I suspect that many big stars have little stories like this --they are just not often heard about.

[Terence Lee]

Despite nearly missing the start of her own concert due to traffic conditions, Barbra appeared onstage with an Umbrella at the beginning of her first ever Irish concert date on Saturday night in Dublin.

"While the majority of 17,000 fans who saw the legendary Barbra Streisand in concert enjoyed the show, promoters regret that some ticket holders were unable to have a great experience at this once in a lifetime event," the organisers said. "This was primarily due to adverse weather conditions, the worst in 100 years which added an extra dynamic to the already difficult driving conditions as a result of major road works on the M50/N4."

Barbra sang "I've Dreamed Of You" as her first encore, for the first time since 2000. Barbra first heard the melody in Ireland, and was recorded by Barbra on her 1999 album 'A Love Like Ours'.

During "Ask Barbra" -- an audience member asked "If you could go back in your life and change anything, would you?". Barbra replied "The truth is, I wouldn't change a thing".

This followed her historic performance in Germany where she signed Berlin's prestigious Guest Book at the Waldbuhne in the presence of the Lord Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit. The Guest Book remained in the City Hall and had never before in its history been moved from its resting place. A special exception was granted for Barbra Streisand.

The remaining dates for the Barbra Streisand European Tour are:


18 July London The O2 Arena
22 July London The O2 Arena
25 July London The O2 Arena

[ROBERT M.]

Wouldn't Barbra have wished to have met James Brolin earlier in her lifetime

[Terence Lee]

STREISAND SHOCKS STAFF WITH DIVA DEMANDS

BARBRA STREISAND has shocked hotel staff in a top London hotel by issuing a long list of demands during her stay in the British capital. The diva is staying in a GBP6,000 ($12,000)-a-night suite in the city's Dorchester Hotel, and has reportedly issued employees with strict rules - including a demand not to look the singer in the eye. A source tells London's Evening Standard, "We were given a list of requirements that had to be met. Her manager said she needed certain things to make her feel like she was at home. "She is using her own security team and will hardly set foot in the main areas of the hotel. It is easy to enter and exit the hotel from her suite without ever being seen. A source from the Dorchester Hotel adds, "We are used to famous people here, but Miss Streisand is almost on a different level. Johnny Depp was here a few weeks ago, but was very low key. He just sat with friends in the bar. He was drinking a GBP600 ($1,200) bottle of wine, but he did not expect any special treatment. "But we are expecting everything to be different for her." Streisand begins a series of live dates at The O2 in London on Wednesday (18Jul07).

[ROBERT M.]

No wonder her ticket prices are soooo expensive

[Terence Lee]

She is hardly known for her common touch.

So when Barbra Streisand professed a love of gristle-filled black puddings her northern audience looked baffled.

Between torch songs she assured them she'd spent the afternoon in the local chip shop and just loved those puddings. Frankly, they didn't believe her and laughter broke out among the 14,000 fans in Manchester.

Nobody who charges £600 a ticket and makes outrageous backstage demands, they reckoned, is going to settle for something that goes down well with tripe.

And yesterday the diva's shallow insistence on being one of the common people backfired when it emerged that flunkeys had researched local lore so she could thread it through her stage act.

Miss Streisand, 65, assured them she also liked CUMBERLAND sausage. This may be true but they're made 100 miles away.

She then claimed one of her favourite spots in the whole world was a local park so obscure that few in the audience had heard of it.

What the fans rapidly noticed was that 'improvised' patter about her local jaunts was being read from an autocue suspended from the roof of the MEN Arena where she was performing.

Then she truly put her foot in her mouth, referring to Manchester United as 'the world's most popular football club' when at least half her audience would have been fans of deadly rivals Manchester City and Liverpool.

Yesterday it emerged that Richard Alexander, a member of her production team, had researched local references to buoy her performance.

'Although she was spot on in referring to Manchester as the first industrialised city, her references to sausages and black pudding, which is made from pigs' blood, were highly unlikely considering her Jewish background. 'Her claim to have visited a chippy raised eyebrows and had people laughing for all the wrong reasons.'

[Marian]

There was some discussion about Barbra's performance last night in London, on tv this morning.
Some of the audience saying it was the best £500 they'd ever spent, others not too happy. One man said he would have paid £10,000 for a seat. Lucky for those that can!
Many were disappointed she didn't sing "Woman in Love," but included Lloyd Webber songs, and Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers.
Evidently, the programmes cost £25 too!
Marian

[jon]

Seems strange that she would have to say such things to "buoy" her performance when surely the music itself should be enough.

[Lena & Harry Smith]

In our opinion the idiotic man who would have paid £10,000 for a seat should save some of it for a much needed brain operation.
Theatre seats are mostly badly upholstered crappy seats anyway and are stuffed with cheap polyester foam and straw.

[Terence Lee]

Barbra doesn't sound so good on her pop songs sung live. For instance on the One Voice DVD, her live renditions of Guilty & What Kind Of Fool pale in comparison to the hit studio versions although Barry Gibb was on hand to duet with her.

Barbra has never attempted to sing Woman In Love or Memory live although these are the 2 songs I most want to hear her croon in a live setting. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber was in the audience last night and I wish she had sung it for him. Joan Collins was also spotted amongst the celebritles as well as Richard E Grant.

I also wonder what Tell Him will sound like live if Celine Dion lends a hand.

Last night in the London concert, Barbra talked about Funny Girl in London in 1965 and how she found out she was pregnant on opening night! She mentioned that Princess Diana let her take the first bow at the royal premiere of the Prince Of Tides against protocol. She said she will never forget that and how lovely the princess was. She said she had started her 1994 tour in London and was now finishing this tour in London - so it has sort of gone full circle. Someone shouted about Manchester's black pudding and she retorted "It's not as nice as your mushy peas". I wonder if any research was needed for that last answer!!

In truth, there was more to forgive, not least a succession of tent dresses Streisand had apparently designed with Donna Karan, but which looked like something she had exchanged for a few Barbara Taylor Bradford paperbacks at her local thrift store. A shame, since when the acres of fabric billowed appropriately, they revealed the 65-year-old still has a pair of finely turned ankles.

And what a truly remarkable coincidence it was that Streisand's brief question-and answer session (allegedly ticket holders were invited to write questions as they went in; nobody asked me) yielded exactly the same obscure question and snappy answer about her playing prostitutes on film as it did in Manchester a few days ago.

So was it worth it? Objectively? No. As an experience? Priceless.

[Terence Lee]

Barbra Streisand is a big deal, and until last night I wasn`t quite sure why - it was probably something which happened before we were all born, I thought.
I knew she was considered to have one of the best voices in the world, is the biggest selling female artist ever, has won awards for everything you can win an award for, but after seeing her live it all suddenly began to make sense.
Last night she played to a packed house of open-mouthed adoring fans.
The double-Oscar winner played a set largely comprised of theatre and movie standards. Sadly, she skipped her biggest pop classics Guilty, No More Tears (Enough Is Enough) and her only number one UK single Woman in Love. But it didn`t matter in the slightest. Her moving renditions of The Way We Were, People, You Don`t Bring Me Flowers and breathtaking Somewhere left some fans cheering while others were dumbstruck with tears streaming down their cheeks.
Overall it was lovely, gentle and pleasantly sentimental and, credit where it`s due, Babs,65, could wring emotion out of the Sheila`s Wheels advert.
This was the first London date of Streisand`s farewell tour which marks her first appearance in the UK for 13 years, but despite costing between £100 - 500, tickets for last night`s concert sold out in 20 minutes.
Barbra will play again at The O2 on Sunday and Wednesday nex week. We suggest you rob, sneak or lie your way in.
Malcolm MacKenzie

[Terence Lee]

It's my first Streisand experience and I'm impressed by the banter until I spot the tele-prompters (or 'blankets' as she calls them). Now, I'm all for assistance for lyrics but draw the line at chit chat. A friend is positioned behind the stage and his verdict soon hits my mobile phone "This is the most expensive karaoke session I've ever been to". If the songs themselves weren't so good I'd agree.

She is a funny woman, there's no doubt about it - and it's a side to her I wasn't aware of. It's almost easy to believe she's just one of us... a woman with a lifetime of memories and a life full of ups and downs. Maybe she is... she's just one of the few who truly made the big time. The man in front of me dabs at his eyes as she launches into 'The Way We Were'. We're sitting in a room full of lengthy lifetimes and I can almost feel the Babs-induced memories buzzing about the room.

"This is for those memories"

I grind a halt in my own memory department when four strapping male singers hit the stage. Her "Friends from Broadway" are here to plug the gap while Barbra takes a break and I take it as a cue to follow suit. If only I'd known there'd be a break of epic proportions straight afterwards. I guess changing designer outfits takes time. Maybe she needed to call in a crane to life the jewellery over her barnet.

Concert moment of the night goes to the lucky Australian who travelled all the way to the UK to see their idol. "When I saw you in America you didn't play 'You Don't Bring Me Flowers'. Please sing it again". Babs delivers - and one fanatic's lifetime is made within a few short minutes of song.

"Somewhere" seals the deal and through the cloud if ticket price disbelief, I feel an overwhelming amount of respect. Her voice is faultless, she is beautiful and she has the O2 Arena in a trance. Wherever I look, there are faces masked in an expression of respect and adoration; how do you argue with that?

Earlier in the evening, I sent a text message to an answer service. It read:
"WHY ARE BARBRA STREISAND TICKETS SO EXPENSIVE?"

As I leave the O2 Arena my pocket starts buzzing. They've found an answer, maybe my job is done. I hastily open the phone for the verdict:

"THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR THE COST OF BARBRA STREISAND TICKETS. SHE IS UNLIKELY TO TOUR THE UK ANY TIME SOON THOUGH, SO CAN GET AWAY WITH CHARGING LOTS."

There you have it. Somehow, I don't think the crowd need justification. After all, you can't cash in a memory. I'm a new fan... and this is one new memory I'm glad to have.