Drake Kicks Off UK Tour, Covers Rihanna's 'Stay' In Manchester

12 March 2014, 07:10 | Updated: 12 March 2014, 07:25

Drake and Abel Tesfaye on stage

Rihanna was in the audience at the Phones 4U Arena to watch Drizzy and The Weeknd in action.

After months of anticipation, Drake finally kicked off his UK tour in Manchester last night and the Canadian rapper delivered in a big way, dropping a cover of Rihanna's 'Stay' into his set at the Phones 4U Arena.

Returning to the venues for the second time in two years, Drizzy performed a career-spanning set that included tracks from his most recent album 'Nothing Was The Same'.

Footage of Drake covering 'Stay' has appeared online - the rapper also covered the song in Brussels earlier this week - and shows Drake altering the words to include a tribute to Manchester.

Watch Drake's cover of 'Stay' in Manchester:

As has been the case at several of Drake's recent European dates, Rihanna is understood to have been in the crowd in Manchester (via wordonroad.net).

You can watch Drake's cover of 'Stay' from Brussels below:

Drake also joined The Weeknd on stage during his performance in Manchester on Tuesday. The rapper's tour continues with another performance in Manchester tonight (12th March).