Barry Manilow Talks Performing In Gay Bathhouses
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Manilow opened up about those days, making sure to clear up some misconceptions up about his time in the baths. “What do you think, they were fucking in front of us?” the singer asked the interviewer, perhaps joking.
He went on to say that those in attendance were, “just an audience. A great audience, too.”Why did Manilow decide to perform in such a sexualized venue?
It’s simple – like so many other musicians trying to make it, he needed the money. “For me, it was a job for 75 bucks,” he stated quite plainly in the interview.
Manilow wasn’t alone during at least some of his performances at the Continental Baths. In fact, it was Bette Midler who helped him get his start – even if it was in a bathhouse.
