In the M.E.N\u2019s review of the show,<\/a> it was also described how one of the singer\u2019s backing singers told the crowd, at 9.50pm, that \u2018Erykah Badu is on her way\u2019. This came about 25 minutes after her eight-piece band had first taken to the stage for an \u2018improvised jam\u2019 session.<\/p>\n\u201cPersonally, I find it quite arrogant,\u201d the one concertgoer told the M.E.N. of the singer’s time-keeping. \u201cIt\u2019s unprofessional. They\u2019re basically just saying that their time is more important than the paying audience. That\u2019s the reality of it, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n
The concertgoer said that because of the late start, it meant the show was also \u2018cut short\u2019. After the 11pm curfew, they said management could be seen off stage trying to end the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first thing they did was put the floor lights on in the audience,\u201d they explained. \u201cShe kept asking if she could have four or eight more minutes, and they initially let her carry on. Then they cut her mic.<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_AMR_MEN_271025_EB_03.jpg\")
The show marked Erykah’s first in Manchester in over two decades(Image: Ryan Hill)<\/p>\n
\u201cShe just kept going on, but she\u2019s 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\u2019t performed, either.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfterwards, a message came on the screen saying \u2018bloody w*****s\u2019. I don\u2019t know who it was about, but I don\u2019t think it was aimed at the audience!\u201d<\/p>\n
The show was also reported to have been met with a disturbance in the crowd during the singer\u2019s rendition of Bag Lady. Video on social media showed a group of people being led out of the auditorium by members of security.<\/p>\n
Posting about the incident, one person wrote: \u201clike why are we having a scrap in a Erykah Badu show. This music is not the type of music that makes u mad?\u201d<\/p>\n
One other wrote: \u201cWhat is going through Erykah Badu\u2019s mind to think it\u2019s a good idea to keep 3,500 people waiting for us to grace her with her presence? It\u2019s simply arrogant and unprofessional. People are already leaving!\u201d<\/p>\n
They added: \u201cFighting in the audience. People frustrated and bored. I\u2019ve never seen so many people check their emails during a concert. Kicked off after just over an hour. Poor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another commented: \u201cThere were people fainting, fighting, but Eryka Badu was serene throughout – if a tad fashionably late.\u201d<\/p>\n
The M.E.N. has reached out to the Manchester Apollo on numerous occasions today.<\/p>\n
Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group <\/strong>HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Erykah Badu played the O2 Apollo in Manchester 17:46, 27 Oct 2025Updated 18:04, 27 Oct 2025 A major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,61764,696,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-531660","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-manchester-apollo","13":"tag-manchester-music","14":"tag-uk","15":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115447644332181292","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0_amr_men_271025_eb2JPG.jpg\")
A major US singer was criticised for being late for her Manchester show, whilst some in the crowd also got involved in a disturbance<\/p>\n![\"Erykah](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1_AMR_MEN_271025_EB_04.jpg\")
Erykah Badu has been touring the UK for the 25th anniversary celebration of her second album, Mama\u2019s Gun(Image: Ryan Hill)<\/p>\n