When Prince walked back on stage with the house lights on - a full five minutes or more after the show had 'ended' - half the audience had left the arena. But those that remained were treated to an incredibly intimate encore that had more of the feel of an after show.

Suddenly the stage was surrounded was people. He played Little Red Corvette, Sometimes it Snows in April and Raspberry beret with just him on the guitar. The whole concert experience was transformed for me at that moment. The O2 venue could never normally be described as intimate, but with the house lights on Prince achieved it with his informality. The way he walked back on to the stage through the crowd was heroic. After three or four songs like this, which had everybody screaming for more, the band joined him back on stage and rocked for another half hour or so.

Incredible stuff. LIke the woman on the big screen who mouthed 'I love you Prince' after he finished singing Sometimes it Snows in April, my feelings exactly.

Thank you prince. You're the greatest

Sounds fantastic - the set lists I'd seen stopped at Little Red Corvette.

I was just thinking this morning that it was a shame there was no Sometimes It Snows In April, but just saw on the BBC site that he did LRC, SISIA, and Raspberry Beret.

You're not saying the band came on for another 30 minutes after that tho', are you?

Are you?

Well I missed the encore As the crowds started to disappear around me I stupidly assumed it was over, at 10.30!!! I know it didn't seem right, him finishing early.

Anyways, I hope he does it again the next time I see him in a few weeks, and i'll be better prepared that time. Still enjoyed the main concert. My throat's still aching as a result.

iain said:

Yes, the band appeared again AFTER prince did those 3 songs on his own on his hohner. Short versions, total 5-10 mins. Then the band came on the played a very funky A Love Bizarre and maybe one other I can't remember. Set was fully finished around 10.55.

For me it was the best part as where I was originally sitting in VIP E1 had a lousy view and terrible sound being too close to the drums which Cora was pounding almost like John B at times and the Bass monitor. For the encore I'd got to D1 2nd row standing on he seats and the sound and view were excellent. However, the stage is just so high that if I was not standing on the seats I would have struggled to see the back end of the stage from there as well.

They definitely played Get on the Boat, which was thunderous, and I think they played Musicology then, but I can't remember if that came earlier.

pjcath said:

oh yes, how could I forget GOTB was great and they played Le freak too. Musicology was during the main part of the show.

machinegun said:

Cheers - early next day confusion - a Sun review said it was a 3 hr show, so I wondered if the last encore was on top of the 2.5 hr show, but sounds like it was 2.5 in total (8:30-11).

The other one was 'Get On The Boat' apparently, which I love, so I'm happy with that.