Border skirmish can’t stop Minnelli show

At 62 years old and looking good after losing 44 lbs - her adoring fans know because it was the first thing she told them - Liza Minnelli began her first tour of Britain in more than 20 years on Sunday with a sell-out concert at the London Coliseum which went down a storm with the audience and critics.

She sang favourites from Cabaret and Chicago and a belting version of her signature song New York, New York with - as one critic put it this morning - "stardust to spare".

But the show very nearly didn't happen. Travelling with an 19-strong entourage, Minnelli was stopped by immigration officials on arrival at Heathrow airport because she did not have the requisite work permit. The Home Office eventually intervened and the paperwork was sorted out with only hours to go before the concert.

Minnelli interspersed her songs with personal confidences about her "momma" Judy Garland and father, director Vincente Minnelli. After three nights at the Coliseum, she is due to give concerts in Nottingham, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. ·