US singer Chris Brown has kicked off his UK tour in Manchester, days before he is due back in court after being arrested in the city last month.

The Grammy-winning star performed to thousands of fans at Manchester’s Co-op Live arena on Sunday, with a string of stadium dates to follow in other cities.

On Friday, he will appear in court in London for the latest hearing after he was charged with grievous bodily harm over an alleged assault in a nightclub in 2023. The 36-year-old, who is free on £5m bail, has not yet been asked to enter a plea.

“Thank you for coming and supporting me,” he said to fans in Manchester. “And thank you to the jail,” he joked, referring to a spell in custody after his arrest. “It was really nice.”

A video montage was shown of his career highs and lows, including brief clips of TV news footage from outside the Manchester court after he was arrested, which was met by a supportive roar from his loyal fans.

The star is accused of inflicting an “unprovoked attack” on a music producer with a tequila bottle at a nightclub in London while on his last UK tour in 2023.

He was arrested when he returned to the country a month ago, when detectives from London’s Metropolitan Police travelled to the hotel in which he was staying in Salford, Greater Manchester.

He was held in custody for almost a week, before being released after agreeing to pay a £5m security fee to the court.

A security fee is a financial guarantee to ensure a defendant returns to court. Mr Brown could be asked to forfeit the money if he breaches bail conditions.

However, the judge agreed that the singer could go ahead with his tour as part of his bail conditions, and he played the first night in Amsterdam last weekend.

The singer’s Breezy Bowl XX tour is marking 20 years in the music industry.

He came on stage in Manchester to screams from the sold-out crowd and opened the show with Run It, the breakthrough hit that made his name when he was 16.

In total, he has had 19 singles in the UK top 10, and played most of them on Sunday, including hits like Turn Up The Music, Freaky Friday, With You and Don’t Wake Me Up.

Last week, he won the prize for best male R&B/pop artist at the BET Awards in Los Angeles.

After performing a second night in Manchester on Monday, he will move on to Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Thursday.

He will then appear at court on Friday with his co-defendant, Omololu Akinlolu, a 38-year-old who performs under the name HoodyBaby, also from the US.

After the hearing, Mr Brown is scheduled to play at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday and Sunday, before further stadium shows in Birmingham and Glasgow, and two more arena dates in Manchester.

—BBC