It could have been the pop show of the decade, but for many in Manchester their Saturday night ended in tears as Kylie pulled short her 2nd date of 6 night residency at the MEN Arena.

Struggling throughout Kylie valiantly tried to sing on, although it was clear to many she was not going to make it through the rest of the show. "Better The Devil You Know" was followed by "In Your Eyes" before launching into the Scissor Sisters penned "White Diamond". "Some of you may already have heard, but im not feeling my best tonight" Kylie announced before trying to deflect from the situation by pointing out that Will Young was in attendance. "I bet he knows a few of these songs tonight" she added  before completing the first part of the show with an ambient house version of "On A Night Like This".

Leaving the stage for over 5 minutes it was then the whispers began to spread around the arena about a possible cancellation, however "Shocked", "What Do I Have To Do" and "Spinning Around" performed in a medley led many to believe that after the short delay the rest of the show was to run as normal.

It was after "Red Blooded Woman" and "Slow" that Kylie finally gave up and announced that she'd never had to do this in her entire career, but this was sadly to be her last song. Genuinely choked Kylie looked on the verge of tears as she walked around looking at home-made banners, shaking hands of the audience members and asking what song people wanted to hear. "Got To Be Certain" won out from her Stock Aitken & Waterman days and an impromptu abridged version was played which admittedly brought us the best vocal of the night with the last breaths of emotion pulling her through.

For "Kids" sister Dannii joined on vocals with the younger sibling taking over the Robbie Williams sections. As soon as they left the stage the house lights came up with final realization that this was the end of an expected two and half hour performance.

By the time we went to press message board discussions have hinted that fans were booing and jeering as she announced her last song, although Designer Magazine can confirm this was not the case with fans speechless and in a state of shock rather than any initial vocal reaction. It was until fans started to leave the Arena that reactions started to build up with one fan overheard as saying "This was my first ever concert and I only got to hear 6 songs". Other fans were more extreme suggesting that "she's done just enough to avoid giving refunds".

Overall though the message was one of support with the overall feeling that Kylie has to take care of herself following her recovery from breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with in May 2005.

People are advised to check the MEN Arena website or their point of purchase for further details of whether the show will be rescheduled or refunds will be available

Alex McCann