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Fans attending a Manchester show of a huge American singer have claimed they felt ‘disrespected’ after waiting over 90 minutes for the show to start and being faced with disruptive crowds. On Sunday night (October 26), Erykah Badu played the O2 Apollo as part of a 25th anniversary tour to coincide with the 2000 release of her second album, Mama’s Gun. It marked her first show in Manchester in over two decades. The pioneering musician and producer has been dubbed the 'Queen of Neo Soul' and has also been cited as an inspiration for artists including Beyonce, Janella Monae and SZA. Those who attended the sold-out Manchester show on Sunday night said the artist had been set to take to the stage at 8.30pm, but audiences were left ‘waiting’ almost 90 minutes until the singer first appeared at close to 10pm. Stay connected with our City Life newsletter here “It’s a little bit to be expected from her, apparently,” one concertgoer, who wished to remain anonymous, told the M.E.N. of the singer. “I have heard she has a tendency to come on quite late. “But, the doors had opened at 7pm so people had been hanging around for about three hours. The sad thing is that the energy at 8.30pm was fantastic, but by 10pm, it had waned. People were getting restless.” In the M.E.N’s review of the show, it was also described how one of the singer’s backing singers told the crowd, at 9.50pm, that ‘Erykah Badu is on her way’. This came about 25 minutes after her eight-piece band had first taken to the stage for an ‘improvised jam’ session. “Personally, I find it quite arrogant,” the one concertgoer told the M.E.N. of the singer's time-keeping. “It’s unprofessional. They’re basically just saying that their time is more important than the paying audience. That’s the reality of it, isn’t it?” The concertgoer said that because of the late start, it meant the show was also ‘cut short’. After the 11pm curfew, they said management could be seen off stage trying to end the show. “The first thing they did was put the floor lights on in the audience,” they explained. “She kept asking if she could have four or eight more minutes, and they initially let her carry on. Then they cut her mic. “She just kept going on, but she’s singing and no one could hear her. Then they all just left the stage. There were some of her big hits that she still hadn’t performed, either. “Afterwards, a message came on the screen saying ‘bloody w*****s’. I don’t know who it was about, but I don’t think it was aimed at the audience!” The show was also reported to have been met with a disturbance in the crowd during the singer’s rendition of Bag Lady. Video on social media showed a group of people being led out of the auditorium by members of security. Posting about the incident, one person wrote: “like why are we having a scrap in a Erykah Badu show. This music is not the type of music that makes u mad?” One other wrote: “What is going through Erykah Badu’s mind to think it’s a good idea to keep 3,500 people waiting for us to grace her with her presence? It’s simply arrogant and unprofessional. People are already leaving!” They added: “Fighting in the audience. People frustrated and bored. I’ve never seen so many people check their emails during a concert. Kicked off after just over an hour. Poor.” Another commented: “There were people fainting, fighting, but Eryka Badu was serene throughout - if a tad fashionably late.” The M.E.N. has reached out to the Manchester Apollo on numerous occasions today. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE
