Latest: Barry Manilow is furious his music is being used by Australian officials to deter gangs of youths from congregating in a residential area late at night.

Around 100 teenagers have been gathering in Rockdale, near Sydney, and residents are fed up with being disturbed by racing cars and loud music.

So local leaders have hit back - by blasting out Manilow's music between 9pm until midnight every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

However, while the technique has driven the youths away, residents are now unhappy at having to endure the constant stream of Manilow's music.

And Manilow himself is irritated by the decision to use his back catalogue as a punishing device.

He says, "Frankly, I think if you played anyone's music for that long you'd drive any rationally minded human out of their mind.

"But have they thought that these hoodlums might like my music? What if some of them began to sing along to "Can't Smile Without You"? Or lit candles when "I Write The Songs" was played? Or, heaven forbid, danced around to the infectious beat of "Copacabana"?

"What if this actually attracts more hoodlums? What if it puts smiles on their faces?"

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)