On the many previous occasions Miss Kylie Minogue has performed concerts in Manchester, it's invariably been on a large scale, playing to her adoring masses at the 15,000 capacity Arena, often for up to a six night residency.

Not so this time around as the Australian pop princess's two hastily arranged gigs in the city last week were staged in the altogether more intimate setting of the Manchester Academy, making the shows easily the most sought after ticket in town for a long time - they actually sold out in under ten minutes.

Kylie's current world tour is part of a year of special events to celebrate K25 - Kylie's 25th year in the music business and the tour has been called 'The Anti Tour', so named because the concerts are the antithesis of the huge production shows that fans have come to expect from the singer over the years, most notably on her acclaimed 'Showgirl' tour, which was dominated by an array of elaborate outfits featuring plumage, feathers and jewel encrusted gowns, impeccably choreographed dance routines and, theatrical set pieces that drew their inspiration from Les Follies Bergere, Moulin Rouge and Bluebell girls amongst others.

The Anti Tour is a very pared down affair with a basic stage set with just a giant mirrorball overhead providing the token glitz and Kylie backed by a tight band and singers all dressed down in dark colours. Kylie herself though still managed to look sensational and hot to trot when she took to the Academy stage in her casual attire of tiny ripped denim shorts covering her much revered derriere, a vintage tee shirt with 'the look' completed by a black waistcoat.

Kylie had promised that the focus of these shows would be very much on the music and that it would be a gig for her uber fans with some hitherto rarely performed songs, b sides from singles, demos and some album favourites rather than the more obvious, instantly familiar hits. And the singer was true to her promise as crowd favourites such as 'Better The Devil You Know', 'Spinning Around', 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head' and the song that started it all for Kylie, 'I Should Be So Lucky' were all somewhat conspicuous by their absence from the night's set list. Instead fans were treated to songs like 'Magnetic Electric', 'Made In Heaven', 'Cherry Bomb', 'Disco Down', 'Drunk' and 'Tightrope' but, despite the omission of Kylie's biggest hits, although we did get to hear 'Got To Be Certain', 'Things Can Only Get Better' , 'Tears On My Pillow' and 'Enjoy Yourself', the 2,000 fans packed into the Academy lapped it all up nonetheless and it was a real 'love in' between the singer and her audience from start to finish. Kylie told the crowd right at the outset that, "Manchester, it's always good to see you!" with a heavy emphasis being put on the word "always" and there was no doubting that she genuinely meant it, such is the special affinity that has developed between the pocket-sized lovely and her fans in the city over the years. When the screams were at their loudest, Kylie, with her tongue planted firmly in her cheek, asked the audience, "Are you going to keep this up all night?" But keep it up they most certainly did for the duration of the fabulous two hour show.

Such an intimate show/tour is indeed a rare thing for fans of a global artist and it's a pity others don't choose to serve up such delicious treats for their followers on a more regular basis. Save for her well-documented health scare of a few years ago, it's been one long glorious career path for Kylie right from the start, back in the days when she was better known as car mechanic Charlene in the soap Neighbours, through her PWL era, her indie and disco periods to the present time where she is very much a brand and seemingly more loved with the passing of each day. Long may she reign and for those few thousand who made it into the Academy for last week's shows, they can consider themselves very lucky, lucky, lucky indeed to have been there.