Barry Manilow opens up about 'scary' lung cancer battle ahead of UK tour

26 May 2026, 12:29

The ‘Mandy’ singer has had to postpone several shows as a result of his recent cancer treatment.

Barry Manilow is looking forward to getting back to performing after his recent “scary” lung cancer diagnosis.

Speaking with The Guardian ahead of the release of his next album What a Time and his upcoming UK tour, the ‘Once Before I Go’ singer explained how his mother’s history with the disease galvanised him to fight it.

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“Edna, my mother, died of lung cancer,” the 82-year-old told the newspaper. “I thought: ‘No. I’m not going to let this happen.’ And I was right. They got rid of it, and they threw it in the garbage.”

The cancerous spot on Barry’s lung was discovered early, while his doctor was checking his lung health following a bout of bronchitis.

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“I was lucky because no chemo and no radiation. All those horrible things that I could have had,” he reflected.

However, the ‘Copacabana’ performer’s recovery was complicated by him developing pneumonia after his surgery, and he was forced to postpone more shows in February, March and April on doctor’s orders.

It appears Barry is ready to get back on stage for his UK arena tour this June, though.

“I’m back. I feel fine,” he told The Guardian, although he added: “I’m not sure my voice feels fine yet, but I don’t want to cancel this tour.

“I’m so looking forward to it. So, I’m going to do it whether I can sing or not.”

During the in-depth profile, Barry opened up about his varied musical career as well as his personal life.

On the subject of finding fame as a singer with his hit song ‘Mandy’, the Brooklyn-born star admitted: “I was hoping it would go away, because it just was not what I was planning on doing with my life.”

This echoes the same sentiment Barry shared with Smooth’s Paul Phear when the two caught up and chatted about his career last year.

“I know it sounds weird, but I don’t consider myself a singer... I consider myself a musician,” Barry told Paul.

“That’s what I wanted to do with my life... [be] an arranger, a songwriter, anything – but singing? On a stage? For an audience? That was crazy!” he reflected.