On Friday, as soon as the comedian entered the stage, the crowd cheered him on and gave him a standing ovation.
He stopped for a moment to lean on a stool onstage before standing up and wiping his tears, appearing overcome by the response.
Oh, Jesus, look at me; what on earth is going on? How do I perform gore comedy at this point? He asked, eliciting the first chuckles of the evening.
"Lovely Manchester, you made me cry... where did all that emotion come from," he continued.
The two-hour programme featured jokes about current technology as well as Kay's well-known garlic bread performance that was given an Italian makeover.
After spending the previous four years mainly hidden from the public, Kay is making a comedic comeback with the live tour.
The opening performance of a massive stadium tour that stretches from December to August 2023 will take place on Friday at the Manchester AO Arena.
The race will culminate at the Sheffield Utilita Arena on August 11, 2023, so you'll need to go to cities like Birmingham, Liverpool, Sheffield, Belfast, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Dublin.
Due to a spike in online traffic after the news, Kay's official website appeared to briefly break down.
The comedian's current live tour marks his first since 2010, when he performed in front of more than 1.2 million people and set a Guinness World Record for the largest ticket sales of all time.
Kay, a native of Bolton, has mostly faded from public view in recent years.
In August 2021, he made a special comeback to the stage for two charity performances to support Laura Nuttall, a 20-year-old suffering from the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme.
In January 2021, he had another brief appearance, this time on BBC Radio 2, when he spoke with Cat Deeley about his love of music, mixtapes, and the musical Mamma Mia while stepping in for Graham Norton.
In 2018, he also unexpectedly showed up at a benefit showing of his Car Share series.
In December 2017, Kay postponed his last tour due to "unforeseen family difficulties."
Fans have recently been wowed by Kay's stand-up comedy routines and popular TV show, Car Share, which won a Bafta.
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