Barry Manilow Reveals How The Beatles Helped Him Cope With Lung Cancer at First Show Since Surgery

Barry Manilow returned to the stage for the first time in six months after being diagnosed with lung cancer, and an audience member exclusively tells Closer he revealed that The Beatles played a big role in his road to recovery.

“Unless you have been living under a rock you will know I have been in hospital for a couple of months,” Manilow, 82, told the audience at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro Arena on Tuesday, June 9.

The “Mandy” singer said learning that he had a tumor in his lung came as a shock, something he assumed anyone learning about a cancer diagnosis was familiar with.

“So, after I got over the shock, you know what I did?” he continued. “I blasted The Beatles albums over and over and over, I did, until [husband] Garry Kief said he was gonna leave me if I didn’t stop. The dogs were howling!”

However, the Fab Four weren’t the only people who helped Manilow get through his recovery.

“I was very lucky. No chemo, no radiation, and you know what they did with that tumor? They threw that [expletive] thing in the garbage. But it’s still a long ride. You know what got me through?” the “Copacabana” artist asked the crowd. “Hundreds and hundreds of notes and texts and letters from people all over the world telling me they were thinking of me, wishing me well, praying for me. And if you were one of those beautiful people, really, it was you that got me through those scary, scary times. I thank you.”

Manilow was diagnosed with lung cancer in November 2025, and he’s been open about the situation. As Closer previously reported, he even revealed a scary moment when doctors worried he might not survive his lung cancer surgery due to other complications.

“It was supposed to be a no-brainer — it hadn’t spread yet, thank goodness,” he explained during a May 27 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “But then my AFib kicked in and acid reflux kicked in and pneumonia kicked in. They rushed me to the ICU for seven days.”

The “Can’t Smile Without You” singer added, “I didn’t hear them say this but I heard that they did say it — ‘We don’t want to lose him.’ It’s all a total blur now. When they finally brought me back to my lovely room at the Eisenhower [medical center], I weighed 128 pounds.”