Richard Gaynor was so determined to get a front-row seat to see his idol Madonna that he spent 18 hours in freezing temperatures outside the M.E.N. Arena box office.

The 38-year-old should have suspected something when he saw there were only 35 others in the queue.

It was only when the ticket office opened at 9am that he realised the best seats for the concert in July had been snapped up by fans online.

“It was torture in the night,” said Richard, from Rusholme, after getting a ticket.

“I felt like an icicle in the morning. I’m a little disappointed. I’d like to have been at the front of the stage. I just think that some seats should be given to the venue for those people who queue up like this.

“I thought there would be more people in the queue when I arrived.

“The last time I saw Madonna there were already lots of people queuing by 9pm the night before the box office opened.”

Madonna will bring her Sticky & Sweet Tour to Manchester on July 7 – her third appearance in the city in 25 years.

She first played Manchester at the Hacienda in 1984 – her British debut – which was filmed for Channel 4 music show The Tube.

She returned in 2004 with her sell-out Re-Invention tour.

Tickets priced up to £175 went on sale at 9am yesterday. Fan club members were able to buy tickets beforehand. Dale Speight, 18, from Bury, queued for more than 12 hours. He said: “I arrived at 8.30pm the night before and was second in the queue. It was freezing. I was expecting more people there. It was very cold, but it was worth it.

“You never know if this will be her last tour. She may retire from touring, but at least I’ll be able to tell my grandchildren I was there.”

Julie McKnight, 36, from Droylsden, arrived at the arena at 3pm on Thursday, but decided to see a show there when she realised the queue was so small.

She then returned at 9.30pm and spent a cold night waiting for the box office to open.

Julie said: “I’m taking my daughter to the show. She’s seven, so it will be a real treat for her. It was definitely worth queuing overnight to see her. Madonna seems to have got better with age.

“But I think some seats at the front should have been allocated for those who queued.”

A spokesman for the M.E.N. Arena said ticketing arrangements were a matter for the promoters, Live Nation. Live Nation declined to comment.

From a report by Dean Kirby, Manchester Evening News.

Click here or on the thumbnails below for a video report about the fans queueing for tickets at the M.E.N. Arena.