NO-ONE stays at the top of their profession for over thirty-two years without being the very best at what they do and getting it right 99 per cent of the time.

And that has certainly been the way of things for Madonna, the still reigning and undisputed Queen Of Pop, since she first burst onto the scene back in 1983.

She's managed to do this by continually anticipating music trends, embracing  current trends and setting a fair few trends herself down the years, which has seen her also labelled the Queen of Reinvention and, the music that she has produced in tandem with these seamless changes has rarely disappointed.

In Manchester last week for her concert at the city's arena as part of her current 'Rebel Heart' World Tour to promote her latest album of the same name, Madonna, for once, didn't get everything right on the night but her mistakes on this occasion were not of a musical nature.

The doors on this Monday night were due to open at 6.30pm but it was gone 7pm before the thousands gathered were finally let inside.

Madonna herself was billed as being onstage at 9pm with a finish time of 11pm.

Just after 9pm we got an announcement that "circumstances beyond the artist's and venue's control" meant that proceedings would not commence until 9.30pm and would now run until 11.30pm, a late finish by any concert standards, especially one on a night with many present having work or school the following day and with the very real prospect of large sections of the audience now facing public transport problems getting home.

Understandably,  the crowd grew restless and anxious and when 9.30pm came and went and the clock approached 10pm with still no sign of the party host, some booing and slow-hand claps justifiably ensued.

Moments after 10pm the house lights went down, the boos turned swiftly to squeals of delight and against a backdrop of flashing images of the star projected onto a huge back screen, an army of dancers, clad as medieval warriors carrying crucifix style spears arrived on stage before Madonna herself, also in warrior type garb complete with some no nonsense thigh high black boots, made her spectacular entrance, being lowered to the stage in a giant cage before breaking free and launching straight into opening number 'Iconic', swiftly followed by the tongue-in-cheek 'Bitch I'm Madonna', both numbers from the singer's 'Rebel Heart' album.

By the third song, Burning Up,  Madonna was well in her stride, her cloak had been dispensed with, she had donned a flying V guitar for some fine rock star posturing and was halfway down the runway strip part of the stage and right there amongst her devoted fans, whilst her scantily clad dancers straddled their giant crucifixes in what has become familiar and somewhat expected  sacrilegious imagery in a Madonna show for no one likes pushing the boundaries of decency quite like this 'lady' does.

All was going swimmingly well at this point with the crowd lapping up every element of the highly slick and polished performance being served up for their delectation but then came the big error of judgement from Madonna as she took time out between songs to launch into a totally uncalled for and disrespectful expletive laden verbal attack on her fans for their pre-show booing at her late arrival on stage.

Explaining the reason for the delay as being down to a total crash of the video projection system, upon which the concert was heavily reliant, and not due to any diva-esque behaviour on her behalf, "I'm not back there eating chocolate, filing my nails and getting my extensions done alright?"

The rant, and vicious nature of it, most of which can't be repeated here, took all by surprise and saw the atmosphere take a noticable, if momentary, big dip before Madonna quickly endeavoured to get the show back on the right track with a rallying 'Are you all still with me?' plea.

Thankfully, the vast majority were in a forgiving mood and it was on with the show but Madonna was out of order as you simply don't 'call out' your own fans in such a manner, especially when most have spent over £100 on a ticket for the privilege of seeing you.

The remainder of the concert was though pretty much classic Madonna with a mix of tight and frequently quite breathtaking choreography, some stunning themed set designs, costume changes aplenty, no little juxtapositioning of sexuality and religion(would you expect anything less from Madonna?) and of course some very familiar, classic hits mixed in with the newer material being plugged.  

Particular highlights were a newly re-interpreted, pared down version of 'True Blue' with Madonna playing a ukulele, sat atop a pile of tyres, a joyous, funky rendition of 'Like A Virgin' and the perennial crowd favourite, 'La Isla Bonita.

But the moment which saw Madonna and her audience truly united as one was an unexpected, acapella performance of 'Open Your Heart', in direct response to a fan's screamed request, which led to a mass sing-a-long.

Sadly, upon the final note of 'Material Girl', proceedings came to an abrupt conclusion(though it was 11.40pm) with no encores following and Madonna uttering a "I love you all" as her parting shot, then quickly disappearing from sight beneath the bowels of the stage.

Three songs, including the much anticipated 'Holiday', which kickstarted everything for the singer, had needed to be pulled from the setlist as a direct consequence of the concert running so late.

So, despite proving she is no ordinary 57 year old and still capable of greatness with little, if any visible sign of her career longevity being on the wane, it was, overall, a mixed night for Madonna in Manchester and, should she return to the city at some point in the future, she would be well to remember to mind her  'Ps and Qs' and hope for no repeat technical hiccups.