Manchester Ritz, UK - December 14, 2012 - REPORTS / PICTURES / VIDEOS

I was so anxious and nervous about going to Mika's show for first time on my own without a support worker companying me and wasn't gonna go support worker who had earlier in the day even cancelled hotel for me but later in the afternoon suddenly thought can't let my anxiety get better of me so got on train and went to show. actually got to front which was great as I'm a petite 5ft 2 and could actually see properly Mika was great and was a fun show. waited outside to meet him and was a quick signing as he needed to go London for the morning show but managed to speak to him. told him I had moved out supported living and he smiled and congualated me which was sweet of him then said I had 2 dogs and would he like a 2nd dog but he said one dog was a enough for him lol I was so nervous just said first thing came to mind. got to speak to Mika's crew after he went I was being nosy and watching stuff getting put in a stage truck and they were getting in another van and got talking to them a lady seemed nice gave me a hug. I then had to go for train but missed last train home to Liverpool so had to get a coach bus home waited 2 hours for that and didn't get home until 4am even my basset hound dog Penny barked at me when came home lol but was worth it was a great show and hope he does more shows in the UK sometime next year.

I'm so glad you enjoyed the gig! It was a great show

Can I just say I looove the action figures?! Lol!

Me and Nina have been laughing for hours at the hilarious vids and pics from this fun and unusual show.

That was soooo funny - we saw it form the side but this is just fabulous!!

It did work!! It doesn't start from the beginning and is quite far away but it does start with Mika unravelling himself from me!!

 

I'd love to see that close up!

 

Also, a close up one of Popular when he shares his mic with John.

 

I'm just so impatient for videos!!!!!

The videos are wonderful! I just love seeing US!

This is mine, I recorded it off my blackberry so that's why it's so bad. Look on my channel as well, there's some more brief videos

Thank you - all are good!!! Esp when the choir are in them!!

I'm following this because I feel cheated at not being there. I did have a good time at the M.E.N. Arena but now you're saying he won't have UK dates for a very long time, it's very sad. Still it looks as if most of you had a great time. Well done to the PD choir. I'm really surprised that there were only 7 of you. I thought they'd do shift because of the numbers from Glasgow. I hope there weren't too many who missed out.

 

Vicky, you were soooo lucky. If the e-mail hadn't come in time, you might have been in the air to the wrong city! So glad you had the chance to be on stage. From the first vids I watched I thought there were only 4 of you.

 

You too, Liz; I wonder how many of us have done the big-girl/choir double act?

 

I was delighted when I saw the smiling faces in the front row in Munich, but it was even better when I looked further back and saw everyone was smiling or singing or both :-)

 

Brilliant! Well done you, I'm so glad you went, delighted that you enjoyed the show, really pleased to hear that you had a chance to talk to Mika and relieved that you coped with the problem of getting home and arrived back safely

Yes Ruth i WAS VERY LUCKY! The timing was just mad! If i had got back to edinburgh i never could have got back to Manchester in time!! Not everyone was able to be in the choir and it was a real shame as i especially wanted Rose to be there with us - it was so sad that not all who apply can be in it but this stage was VERY small and TBH even the 7 of us was tight!

Yes Ruth i WAS VERY LUCKY! The timing was just mad! If i had got back to edinburgh i never could have got back to Manchester in time!! Not everyone was able to be in the choir and it was a real shame as i especially wanted Rose to be there with us - it was so sad that not all who apply can be in it but this stage was VERY small and TBH even the 7 of us was tight!

A night to remember indeed

thanks x and yeah was a fun show I liked Mika being in the silly mood

has anyone got photos of the show and of Mika coming out to sign stuff as I only toke a few as phone died

Here's some photos of the fun Polka Dot gang.

Group Shot (Melody's missing though)

Yulia & Vicky

Me, Melody, Yulia & Vicky

Me & Yulia

Liz & Her Toyboy

Love the photos Lara:wink2:

I know you feel really sad that we didn't see him after, and i know it can make a difference to the experience and the night for us, but i can't feel bad about it -- that's just me and i want to explain why a bit more as i know people keep saying how sad it was.

Of course it was disappointing - who wouldn't be as it is more or less pretty standard procedure BUT there were quite clear reasons as far as i'm concerned and i certainly don't think it was that he didn't want to meet us Per se.

I think one of the main reasons was the fact Alex wasn't there TBH

She is key to these thing and i know if she'd been there she would of looked after us at the end and made sure we at least got a quick pic - as in London as luvin mika 4 eva repsorts in the London thread - she organises and liases a lot of this - as she had done with us by email all day re the meeting at the venue at night. At least i would have been asking her anyway!

The room we were in was in an odd place - we were kind of hidden away and TBH when i suggested that we move out - everyone said we should stay there and wait for him to come to us! I think a big mistake TBH! We needed to be much more visible and proactive ( i know form previous exp in Sheffield 2010 when we nearly got herded out after being on stage)!!

Even the guy who was showing us up and down the steps said we should have come round, and if we thought we should have stayed in that room on our own - we were the first lot of fans ever to do so?!

These UK dates have been difficult for him i think and the fact he was not doing Glasgow the next night as planned was a source of disappointment to him ( well i know it was after i spoke to him in London) maybe this also had a bearing as many people feel these 2 UK dates have been more rushed and difficult for him ....I dunno but i honestly believe it was a set of circumstances that meant we just didn't see him after THIS time - but it was just that and not a concious on Mika's part - oh i don't want to meet this choir!

Well i certianly got very posotive feelings and vibes form him on stage - as we all did i think, and he interacted with us very well:wink2:

I think we expect so much now and let's face it most of us in the choir all have met him before - several times - had nice moments with him - been treated very well by him and been offered things above and beyond what any fan should normally expect....

The whole experience of being on stage and for me, rehearsing with the band etc was a wonderful experience that many fans never get - Mika - or not.

We are very lucky he cares so much about us and wants us to be part of his shows - which he really does.

Anyway - i know it is hard sometimes to feel a sadness but i just can't because i see rational reasons why things happen sometimes - also lastly - when we mentioned it to tour manager he gave us an apology - which seemed genuine - explained some of the reasons and gave us a plan of action - so what more can we really ask for?

here are my videos, filmed from the side where i went when the choir wasn't on stage for a few songs.

i love how really every single person in the crowd was jumping when mika told them to at the end of love today! usually i don't film that, since i'm jumping myself, but this time i did, it looks fantastic! and the floor was really moving up and down, even though i stood at the far side, i could see that it was moving beneath my feet! i wonder how they manage that it doesn't break when several hundred people are jumping at the same time!

Love the photos Lara:wink2:

 

I know you feel really sad that we didn't see him after, and i know it can make a difference to the experience and the night for us, but i can't feel bad about it -- that's just me and i want to explain why a bit more as i know people keep saying how sad it was.

 

Of course it was disappointing - who wouldn't be as it is more or less pretty standard procedure BUT there were quite clear reasons as far as i'm concerned and i certainly don't think it was that he didn't want to meet us Per se.

 

I think one of the main reasons was the fact Alex wasn't there TBH

She is key to these thing and i know if she'd been there she would of looked after us at the end and made sure we at least got a quick pic - as in London as luvin mika 4 eva repsorts in the London thread - she organises and liases a lot of this - as she had done with us by email all day re the meeting at the venue at night. At least i would have been asking her anyway!

The room we were in was in an odd place - we were kind of hidden away and TBH when i suggested that we move out - everyone said we should stay there and wait for him to come to us! I think a big mistake TBH! We needed to be much more visible and proactive ( i know form previous exp in Sheffield 2010 when we nearly got herded out after being on stage)!!

Even the guy who was showing us up and down the steps said we should have come round, and if we thought we should have stayed in that room on our own - we were the first lot of fans ever to do so?!

These UK dates have been difficult for him i think and the fact he was not doing Glasgow the next night as planned was a source of disappointment to him ( well i know it was after i spoke to him in London) maybe this also had a bearing as many people feel these 2 UK dates have been more rushed and difficult for him ....I dunno but i honestly believe it was a set of circumstances that meant we just didn't see him after THIS time - but it was just that and not a concious on Mika's part - oh i don't want to meet this choir!

Well i certianly got very posotive feelings and vibes form him on stage - as we all did i think, and he interacted with us very well:wink2:

I think we expect so much now and let's face it most of us in the choir all have met him before - several times - had nice moments with him - been treated very well by him and been offered things above and beyond what any fan should normally expect....

The whole experience of being on stage and for me, rehearsing with the band etc was a wonderful experience that many fans never get - Mika - or not.

We are very lucky he cares so much about us and wants us to be part of his shows - which he really does.

Anyway - i know it is hard sometimes to feel a sadness but i just can't because i see rational reasons why things happen sometimes - also lastly - when we mentioned it to tour manager he gave us an apology - which seemed genuine - explained some of the reasons and gave us a plan of action - so what more can we really ask for?

I still get the feeling that they did this on purpose. Mika wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, the fans outside told us that as well. Like Karin said, I'm starting to believe he didn't want to meet us. I get the feeling he doesn't enjoy meeting fans after gigs much anymore, which could be one of the reasons it took him so long to come out after the Roundhouse show.

We can all speculate about this, but I think there's something going on in his life that makes him want to take a long break from all of this...

I heard that security told fans that Mika would be out in 2 hours at the Roundhouse because there was an afterparty going on backstage. I'm sure it wasn't a ploy to avoid fans since there are often (probably always) parties in London for obvious reasons.

Vicky I agree with you that you have to be proactive to make things happen in many situations. You wouldn't believe the negotiating that goes on for us to arrange to have a proper meeting with Mika in North America. Sometimes people get kicked out of the venue because it still hasn't been organized by the time the gig's over.

Lara you have every right to be disappointed. I think Mika owes it to fans to say hi to them if they've performed in his show for free. But I honestly do not believe they would jerk you around on purpose so Mika could avoid you. There were times during the big girl thing that he couldn't meet fans but they will just say so and offer to get you an autograph or give him your gifts. I'm not going to pretend I have any idea what is going on in Mika's mind but even if he is not enjoying meeting fans at the moment or in a bad mood or something I think he can fake it for 3 mins or at least have someone come and make reasonable excuses for him. I've never heard of anyone being tricked into waiting for him while he goes outside to greet other fans.

what annoyed me most, tbh, is that no one bothered to let us know anything. like you said christine, if someone of his team had just come and told us mika has to leave, he can't meet you because he's in a hurry, and had taken our presents for him (i didn't have any but i know some of the others did, especially lara), no problem. then maybe we also could have gone outside and at least see him leave and say goodbye, like the others who were waiting outside. vicky talked with thomas, yes, but i think none of us others were there when she did... i like thomas, but if he thought it was enough to tell one of the seven choir members that mika had left, he's wrong. if vicky hadn't bumped into him, we probably would still be sitting in that room down there and wait for mika or anyone to tell us anything.

as for being proactive, well, guess this time i just put too much trust in mika and his team, that he'd come or at least they would let us know if he wouldn't. in vienna we waited for ages too, and then he suddenly walked into our room. tbh, i don't want to walk around backstage, looking for mika, getting in people's way, or kind of "forcing" him to meet us by standing right in front of his dressing room. and we didn't have a lot of options. in the venue upstairs they detached the stage, so although i went up there several times to peek around the corner and see if there was anyone i could ask, i only saw the stage workers and they were busy, detaching cables and packing boxes, so i was worried we'd be in their way or get hit by some stage props or cables if we went up there.

the other option we had was a door on the other side of our room. when we arrived, we had gone through there, to get to the toilets - but later we found there was a chain with a lock on that door, and the room behind it was foggy - to me it was obvious that on the other side of that room there was mika's dressing room, and they wanted to keep us from going there, or taking pix through the glass doors, therefor the fog. when we returned after the show, the lock was gone but there was a security guard instead. i was sure first that he only replaced the lock... but in fact it turned out that he was there to protect our stuff, because that room between ours and mika's dressing room was a club, and they let people inside the club now. so yes, as soon as we knew that, maybe we should've gone over to the other side. but that really would have been standing right in front of mika's dressing room, with the club guests walking by. i really didn't feel like doing that, sorry. so vicky, i agree that you were right that being more proactive might have helped us, but where do you suggest we should have gone? as for alex, she wasn't there at any of the other gigs either (except london and paris), and still everywhere the choir got to meet mika.

btw lara, i think the guys who treated you badly were from the local security, not mika's crew... anyway it was the local security who guarded the entrances, those with the yellow jackets... and maybe when that one guy held you back, you just didn't stop long enough to let him have a proper look at your pass? the first time i went in through the side entrance of the stage, the guy studied my pass with a torch for quite a while before accepting it, and if you were in a hurry and just quickly showed the pass, he might have thought you were just some random fan who was trying to sneak in.

Well, I don't think we were tricked but avoided on purpose, but I'm not really angry with Mika's team, I'm mostly upset with the people who worked at the Ritz. They just made me feel so bad, I had to kind of push myself to smile and have a great time on stage. If it wasn't for the other choirmembers being so nice and happy, I would've probably cried or left the venue because the crew made me feel so upset and insulted.

Karin I can imagine you didn't have many options and I wouldn't have felt comfortable wandering around backstage either. I just mean that proaction is sometimes necessary (in my experience it is ALWAYS necessary but I've never been part of the show) so if you're not able to be proactive it's not going to happen. I don't mean you should have done anything differently, just that you can't always rely on other people to come through for you without prodding.

Lara you needn't take what some random security idiot says so personally that it ruins your night. Even if they thought you were sneaking in to rape Mika or something...they don't know you, you don't know them, they don't work for Mika. F*ck 'em.

Lara you needn't take what some random security idiot says so personally that it ruins your night. Even if they thought you were sneaking in to rape Mika or something...they don't know you, you don't know them, they don't work for Mika. F*ck 'em.

Yeah thanks Christine, I really shouldn't give a damn.

And mellody? I didn't realise you were in the choir even though I knew you were over here for the dates.

yeah i applied as i thought it'd be a nice way to end the tour with a 'real' choir experience,i.e. getting chosen in advance, voice warmup with mika,etc., since i didn't get chosen in munich, and in vienna we just got picked in the queue and also didnt have a voice warmup with him,or anyone showing us any choreographies or stuff like that, which i'd read about in other choir reports. thought there might not be that many applications for manchester, esp. since they had extended the deadline, but anyway i wrote in the mail i sent to them that i'd love it to be in the choir but would love it just as much to watch the gig with my friends, so they should please only pick me if they didn't have already too many applications from uk people, as i had done it before and they should get a chance as well. but obviously no one cared to read the mail, or they didnt care what it said. i had the impression that for manchester they especially chose people for the choir who had done it before,as that was the case for 3 of us! anyway i felt really bad for rose that she didnt get picked. wanted to ask her if i should say anything to them backstage, but we didn't meet before i went in. the stage was already packed and we could hardly move,but i had a mic for myself so i'm sure one more person would've fitted up there. i hope that rose at least got to meet m after the show,then she had more of him that evening than she would have if she'd been in the choir.

Can I just add that in Brussels, we waited backstage without really knowing what was going on, and the band came to us to have a chat, take group pictures etc.? I don't know what was going on but I was utterly disappointed. And indeed, being proactive is not always possible, certainly not for me as I tend to get lost often.

Can I just add that in Brussels, we waited backstage without really knowing what was going on, and the band came to us to have a chat, take group pictures etc.? I don't know what was going on but I was utterly disappointed. And indeed, being proactive is not always possible, certainly not for me as I tend to get lost often.

Meeting Mika is not always possible. Sometimes everything works out better than your wildest fantasies and sometimes it doesn't pan out. Doesn't mean it isn't hugely disappointing but it doesn't mean it was intentional either. That's all Vicky and I are trying to say (if I can speak for her).

Meeting Mika is not always possible. Sometimes everything works out better than your wildest fantasies and sometimes it doesn't pan out. Doesn't mean it isn't hugely disappointing but it doesn't mean it was intentional either. That's all Vicky and I are trying to say (if I can speak for her).

Ya, of course, I know It was not my intention to argue about this, I'm just saying everything went smoothly in Brussels and I kind of expected that for Manchester, it would too, but apparently not. Uh well.

Ya, of course, I know It was not my intention to argue about this, I'm just saying everything went smoothly in Brussels and I kind of expected that for Manchester, it would too, but apparently not. Uh well.

Yes I understand. I guess I am a natural pessimist. I've had 4 gigs cancelled so as long as he actually turns up I consider it a win. When they first called out for big girls a few years ago they specifically said that people wouldn't get to meet Mika. And there were quite a few times he would leave the venue without seeing people outside.

It sounds to me on this tour that Mika is always greeting fans even though he's got a heavy promo schedule and he got quite sick for awhile. I guess I'm just wondering why people are making comments that he's fed up with fans and not like he used to be. I can believe he had a couple of bad days there but he's been doing this for 6 years so I think it should be viewed in that context.

I still get the feeling that they did this on purpose. Mika wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, the fans outside told us that as well. Like Karin said, I'm starting to believe he didn't want to meet us. I get the feeling he doesn't enjoy meeting fans after gigs much anymore, which could be one of the reasons it took him so long to come out after the Roundhouse show.

We can all speculate about this, but I think there's something going on in his life that makes him want to take a long break from all of this...

Come on, this is bullsh*t. I doubt they would purposely ignore any of you and I've seen him in a bad mood quite often and he always took time to at least fake it. Plus from what my friends told me who met him after the show, he was quite happy and patient. So I really doubt he would have snuck out just so he wouldn't have to talk to you.

And sometimes he stays long after a gig to meet people if he feels like it, other times it is rushed depending on the circumstances. And the only reason why it took him so long to come out of the London gig was because there was an afterparty and meetings which is often the case at London gigs.

Everybody seems to forget that it was "Sing on stage with Mika" and not "Hang backstage with Mika and sing along to a couple of songs while you're at it." Sometimes you're lucky, sometimes you're not. I find it particularly strange that people who've already met him many times complain about not meeting him one single time. Sh*t happens.

Ya, of course, I know It was not my intention to argue about this, I'm just saying everything went smoothly in Brussels and I kind of expected that for Manchester, it would too, but apparently not. Uh well.

It can't be the same everywhere. In Amsterdam he wanted to get pissed with us, in Cologne it was just a quick hello and sometimes it's nothing. But you know, there are so many people who would have given their right leg to be on that stage if it was just for once. Most of you got to do it twice. I think you should be grateful for that.

Here's the new intro, kinda rubbish video but some might like to see it!

Just quickly - (I'm a bit upset just now as i've had to have my dog put down:sad: ) but all i'm saying is we shouldn't take it personally - it was no ones fault - ours included - but i'm sure ( i know) it wasn't intended as a snub to us.

I'm not saying you still can't feel a bit low about it but ..... we need to just be careful we keep it in the frame of so many awesome times with Mika

Can't say much more atm

It can't be the same everywhere. In Amsterdam he wanted to get pissed with us, in Cologne it was just a quick hello and sometimes it's nothing. But you know, there are so many people who would have given their right leg to be on that stage if it was just for once. Most of you got to do it twice. I think you should be grateful for that.

Of course I appreciated the experience and the show was awesome, probably the best one I've ever seen, it was an absolute honor to be on that stage! I've never said I didn't appreciate, we were all really appreciative and had a blast on stage. But I'm still upset about how the crew treated me and that no one took care of us after the show and I'm sorry but that along with the crew treating me like a stalking criminal made me feel bad. But I never ever said I didn't appreciate being on stage, that's so ridicilous that you would assume that, I've been a huge fan of Mika since he first started out and this experience along with the Copenhagen one was like a dream come true.

I never got to be on stage and sing with Mika ... *goes off to cry in the corner along with everyone else who didn't and applied*

Of course I appreciated the experience and the show was awesome, probably the best one I've ever seen, it was an absolute honor to be on that stage! I've never said I didn't appreciate, we were all really appreciative and had a blast on stage. But I'm still upset about how the crew treated me and that no one took care of us after the show and I'm sorry but that along with the crew treating me like a stalking criminal made me feel bad. But I never ever said I didn't appreciate being on stage, that's so ridicilous that you would assume that, I've been a huge fan of Mika since he first started out and this experience along with the Copenhagen one was like a dream come true.

From what I've heard it wasn't his crew but the venue's crew who were off and what is treated badly? It might just have been the way you've interpreted it unless they said: "You can't go in here because we don't want you near Mika."

You must realise that it's hectic after shows. Nobody came to help us after Cologne, but we just happened to be in the way of everybody working there so there was no way they could forget it. But I find it strange you automatically assume it was all one big conspiracy.

I've never said you weren't a big Mika fan. And I don't mind people sharing experiences they've considered to be bad, but when it is repeated multiple times I just kind of get annoyed about it, especially since it's not the end of the world. But that might just be my interpretation.