Hey guys,

I wanted to clear something up. I thought I read or heard somewhere that after the Musicology tour, he would not perform his "classics" aka "hits" anymore..?

Can someone clear this up?

This would make me very SAD if true.

I mean I want (and intend) to see P live on his next tour (if it comes near me) and as great as that would be, it would still suck to think..he'd do no hits.

Whats the story? Maybe I'm confused. I hope I got this wrong.

i don't believe it

It was widly reported.

But keep in mind this is Prince.


Other statements and moves made throughout his career:

1) In the mid 80's he announced: He retired from ever touring again
2) "Music should be free". Then he charged more for Crystall Ball & Emancipation than both albums were worth.
3) "Welcome 2 the Dawn where there are over 500 experiences to choose from"
4) "He would never perform any of the songs from Diamonds & Pearls Live without Rosie Gains"---cream was performed on multiple occasions.

The list goes on and on, but the point is: Don't fret too much. This is Prince. Take what he says at face value. One thing he's always been good at is changing his mind.

my take on it is that he probably will perform a hit here and there, but don't expect him to roll out the hits when he does his next tour.

AsianBomb777 said:

That is true..I suppose you are right..Thanks for the guess backed with past facts to support it.
Hmmmm I would like to hear songs from live 4 sure!
[Edited 7/13/05 12:29pm]

Anxiety said:

I don't agree

jasonstar said:

Heard it many times before.
Like many artists who've had a lotta hits over the years, Prince can get a bit
tired of having to play the same old tracks every night (and if he did play
all the hits, he wouldn't have much time to play much else at a concert). So
he often does a 'hits' tour (playing loads of old crowd pleasers), then the
next tour he'll only play a few 'hits'. It kinda goes in cycles.

BorisFishpaw said:

yeah that and it gets people to buy a ticket to the show too...."ooh I better catch Prince this time around cause it's the last time he'll ever play his hits" and actually during the musicology tour the rumor morphed into "Prince will never tour again" I had more people asking me if I was going to see prince's last tour or not....I was like yeah..I'm going.

BorisFishpaw said:

US leg of ONA tour; berating people for expecting Purple Rain
European leg of ONA tour; Prince plays Purple Rain.

I mean; he is so fickle about opinion. Can't wait til he discovers Satanism.

He said the same thing when he changed his name to a symbol in the early 1990s. He said that Prince was dead and he would only perform songs that he made under his new name. Well, he came to my area with the "Jam Of The Year" tour in 1997, while his name was still a symbol, and the majority of the show was "Prince" hits.

jasonstar said:

-----
"He would never perform any of the songs from Diamonds & Pearls Live without Rosie Gains"---cream was performed on multiple occasions.

He said he would not perform Diamonds and Pearls without Rosie. The song it self not that he would not do songs from the CD.

laurarichardson said:

I thought he said he wouldn't perform Nothing compares to you with out Rosie, but he has.

Shorty said:

-----
Never heard that. Just that he would not perform Diamonds and Pearls the song.

Not one of my favorite tunes so no big lost.

jasonstar said:

Yeah, he did say that--that it would be the last time he'd play his older stuff because he wants to make room for new(er) music--but I doubt it's true. As pointed out above, he often says one thing then changes his mind and does it anyway.

1985: Announces he is quitting touring forever to "look for the Ladder". He begins rehearsals for the Parade tour within six months.

1987: Prince shelves the "black" album, claiming it will never be released. It is released in 1994.

1993: Announces that he will retire from studio recording. Is already working on the tracks that will be found on Come and The Gold Experience.

1993: Announces that he is changing his name to and that "Prince is dead". January of 2000 he changes his name back to Prince.

1993: Announces that he is retiring his hits, as he is no longer Prince. By 1995 he is including many of them in his set again, and by 1997 he is doing mainly hit-oriented shows.

1994: Declares that, due to his conflict with WB, The Gold Experience will never be released. It is released in 1995.

1996: Declares that Mayte is his "soul mate" and that they will never be apart. Marries her, and dedicates an entire three disc album to her. They are seperated in 1999, and divorced by 2000.

2002: On his "One Nite Alone" tour, he declares that those "waiting to get their Purple Rain on" are "in the wrong house". He plays "Purple Rain" at several of the ONA shows.

2004: Claims the Musicology tour will be the last time he plays the hits. Uh huh!


---
[Edited 7/14/05 8:55am]

You know your stuff and the dates are perfect.

The last tour was billed to be the last chance to hear him play his hits. At the first press conferences to promote the tour, Prince was specifically asked if it was the last time for the hits as promoted, and he effectively said he would simply be giving some of the songs a rest for a while.

Time and agsin he was asked in interviews during 2004, and he regularly softened the claim on the tour advertisements - he was playing the hits for the last time in a while ... so next time he could make room for some other stuff.

So far he has only officially put one song to rest - 1999 - following the Paisley show recording in December 1999. Otherwise, all the announcements in this vein ... e.g. quitting live performance to go looking for the ladder (after the Purple Rain tour), touring permanently for 5 years culminating in a live performance booked for MSG, NY at the end of 1999 (back during the Ultimate Live Experience tour), have been hyperbole, fiction, marketing-speak and playing the pop world. Take with a pinch of salt.
.

JediMaster said:

Now I see why you are the one they call JediMaster. Very good summary of his history of half-truths. On this most recent point, I agree; there's no way in hell that he'll stop playing the hits.

Why do I say this?

1) he made a conscious decision to grow his fan base by putting out a pop record, that folks "who are not so into the music club can get into" (quote from 2004 Today Show interview w/ Matt Lauer).

2) i think he likes having mass appeal yet again

3) i don't think he's interested in having this renewed interest in his music plummet as it did from PR to AWIAD. So he won't playing the hits for the masses because he knows that...

4) he will always have an outlet for his more experimental stuff with hardcore fans like us... that may be enough of an outlet for him to put up with playing the hits for everyone else...

Anyway, that's my logic..

JediMaster said:

AsianBomb777 said:

that is because you are wrong!

i think he was trying to sell musicology tickets...

What's considered hits though? Definately chart topping commercial releases like When Doves Cry, Kiss, Cream, I Wanna Be Your Lover and so forth. What about fan favorites like Anna Stesia,Joy In Repitition,Housequake or Adore? Does this mean songs like Wedding Feast, Jughead and Graffiti Bridge will make up the majority of the next tour?

JediMaster said:

1994. Everything else was spot on.

MetroArea said:

That official album is hard to find now. Mind u so is "old friends for sale" and thats only 6 years old.

I'm pretty sure Prince will continue to play his hits. At least I hope so.

Anxiety said:

idiot!

AsianBoi777 said:

i don't swing that way.

good. People need to hear his other stuff as well.

I can understand him retiring from some, but for me, I never heard it announced that he would retire his hits altogether.
I heard that he would retire the hits that conflict with his faith, or he would alter them (e.g The Cross>>The Christ).

No worries

jasonstar said:

Well don't worry Prince says alot of things. Then he changes his mind...after all he is a gemini!