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Post links to online reviews of the first show HERE It makes easier searching/reading.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/h...925857.stm Prince begins 21-gig London run Prince kicked off a series of 21 shows at London's O2 arena with a string of hits and two scantily-clad dancers. He started his first performance at the former Millennium Dome with the classic Purple Rain. "I got more hits than Madonna's got kids", he joked during the two-and-a-half hour set. After his third encore, the crowd began to leave - only to dash back in when Prince appeared in the middle of the auditorium with six burly bouncers. He pushed his way through the audience and once back on stage, he treated the crowd to a solo acoustic version of Little Red Corvette, Raspberry Beret and Sometimes It Snows in April. He covered Come Together by the Beatles and Gnarls Barkley's Crazy. The diminutive star has said he has prepared 150 songs and will be playing a different selection each night during his reign at the O2 Arena. Last chance After completing the 21 Nights in London season, the Jehovah's Witness apparently plans to take time out to study the Bible. He has claimed the tour will be the last time fans will ever hear him play his greatest hits. Everyone who attended the gig went home with a copy of Prince's new album Planet Earth, which he previously gave away free with The Mail on Sunday newspaper. Tickets for the events cost £31.21 - the same figure used by the 48-year-old to name his album, website and perfume. Prince - who famously changed his name to a squiggle symbol in the 1990s after falling out with his record label - is in residence at the O2 Arena until 21 September. The O2 arena has undergone a refit to host music, entertainment and sporting events. Owners of the 20,000-seater arena, AEG Europe, said the acoustics have been designed specifically for modern musicians and every seat will have a clear view. A smaller venue in the Greenwich complex, Indigo, will host the after-show parties. |
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http://www.thesun.co.uk/a...40,00.html
Brave start to a Purple Reign August 02, 2007 COMMENT ON THIS STORY PRINCE surprised fans last night when he kicked off the opening night of his 21-date residency with Purple Rain. It takes a brave musician who starts a gig with their greatest hit. But when you have a back catalogue as extensive as Prince’s you have nothing to worry about. The crowd booed at one point when he started to leave the stage. But the mini megastar shouted back: “You don’t think that’s it do you? I’ve got more hits than MADONNA has kids.” What’s more amazing is that he changed his entire set hours before going on stage after the original running order was leaked on the net. Hits came thick and fast. “Welcome to the party,” he announced to his screaming fans, before launching into Cream and U Got The Look. He also revealed: “I was so excited I couldn’t sleep last night.” You never would have guessed as he switched between guitar solos and complex dance routines. There were also incredible covers, including GNARLS BARKLEY’s Crazy and Come Together by THE BEATLES in what turned out to be a three-hour gig. It was topped off by a third encore — Little Red Corvette — when Prince appeared in the middle of departing crowds before strolling back to the stage surrounded by security. And If that wasn't enough there was more performing at the aftershow party! aped stage and said: “How are you liking the stage? I just got it. It’s sexy, right?” He even pulled up a string of lucky fans to join in the fun on stage. http://www.myspace.com/savage1999uk
Welcome2 the Dawn Experience http://www.thedawnexperie...ferrerid=4 | |
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Here's the review from NME:
Prince takes a swipe at Madonna during London show He also plays tribute to Gnarls Barkley 8 hours ago Prince took a swipe at Madonna during his gig tonight (August 1) at the O2 Stadium in London. The show was the first of the 21 nights of the hits tour he will play at the former Millennium Dome. Before playing 'Black Sweat' he announced: "I got so many hits y'all can't handle me. I got more hits than Madonna's got kids." During the stunning show his band, with vocalist Shelby J taking lead, did a version of 'Crazy' by Gnarls Barkley. The show began with 'Purple Rain' which saw his dancers Twinz dressed in shocking pink and waving purple flags around the stage which was shaped like his trademark symbol. Prince told the crowd: "London I am here...Did you miss me?" During 'Musicality' members of the crowd got up stage. After the song finished he said: "How did you like the stage? I just got it. It's sexy right? We're playing real music- there are no loops. "I didn't sleep last night...I was just so excited to come here tonight." The stunning show reached its emotional climax when he came back onstage for a third encore, walking through the crowd to get there surrounded by several bodyguards. Accompanied only by an electrical guitar he played a stop-start version of 'Little Red Corvette', 'Raspberry Beret' and 'Sometimes It Snows In April'. He played: 'Purple Rain' 'Girls & Boys'/ 'DMSR' 'Satisfied' 'Cream' 'U Got The Look' 'Shhh' 'Musicality' 'I Feel for You' 'Controversy' 'What A Wonderful World' 'Somewhere Here On Earth' 'Black Sweat' 'Kiss' 'If I Was Your Girlfriend' 'Pink Cashmere' 'The One U Wanna C' '7' 'Come Together' 'Take Me With U' 'Guitar' 'Planet Earth' 'Crazy'/ 'One Nation Under A Groove' 'Nothing Compares 2 U' 'Let's Go Crazy' 'Little Red Corvette' 'Raspberry Beret' 'Sometimes It Snows in April' 'A Love Bizarre'/ 'Le Freak' http://www.nme.com/news/prince/30071 | |
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London Evening Standard Review...
At last he's here, and he's here to stay. Prince is king of London for 21 nights over the next two months, and he commenced his reign with over two dazzling hours of hits and more. As with the Oxford Circus evangelist or David Blaine in that box, it will soon become a question not of who has seen him, but who hasn't seen Prince this summer. The star has made himself available to Londoners with supreme generosity, charging just £31.21 for a concert ticket with a copy of his new album, Planet Earth, thrown in at the door. It's surprising that the CD isn't currently littering the Tube like free papers, such is its ubiquity. Also controversially given away with the Mail on Sunday on 15 July, over three million copies are already out there. Music stores and his latest record label, Sony BMG, were infuriated, but they must now acknowledge that the move has placed an artist well past his songwriting peak right back on top. Prince has recognised, correctly, that these days a new album is just one money-making opportunity of many for a major star, of little more significance than ringtones. Here he seemed to be trying to make up the cash he may have lost on CD sales through tambourines, on offer at an exorbitant £55 each. Mainly, though, the giveaway has prompted even more interest in Prince the performer. It was evident right from his emergence from a cloud of smoke, flanked by Amazonian identical twin dancers, that the stage is where he most wants to be. When he finally relinquished the spotlight, he had spun and slinked his way through a fabulously entertaining set that demonstrated that, unlike that omnipresent album, talent like this only appears once in a generation. In sharp suit and stack heels, straddling his microphone stand in the centre of a huge stage shaped like the symbol that was once his name, and clutching a purple guitar of the same design, he immediately had the crowd singing along to Purple Rain. A small band, two formidable backing singers and a strutting mobile horn section maintained a tight funk sound that reached irresistible climaxes during U Got The Look and newer tracks Black Sweat and Lolita. There were confetti explosions, a cover of the Beatles' Come Together and, during Musicology, an orchestrated stage invasion of fans who were even greater exhibition-ists than the singer. When one over-eager woman unwisely attempted to rub herself up against him, he almost lost his cool, but deftly escaped to lead the crowd in one of many choruses of "Oooh, funky London". "I've got too many hits, y'all can't handle it!" he yelled between classics including Kiss, Nothing Compares 2 U, Let's Go Crazy and Raspberry Beret, but not Little Red Corvette, Gett Off or Diamonds and Pearls. No doubt those will appear later in this marathon residency. Why not go again? A fast exit on the Tube was an agreeable ending to an evening so good, I'd happily do it 20 more times. | |
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Daily Mirror review.....
He's playing a marathon 21 shows in the capital to promote his fab album Planet Earth. And Prince certainly had the world at his feet with a stunning gig last night. In front of 20,000 ecstatic fans at London's 02 Arena, the pint-sized legend kicked off his residency with a blistering Purple Rain. Dressed in a dazzling white suit, he shouted afterwards: "London, I'm here....did you miss me." And judging by the almost deafening cheers, the answer was a resounding yes. In a pulsating show, the singer was at his sexy best, straddling his mic stand and gyrating to the funky beats. But despite the slick moves, it was all about the music as he wowed with an array of hits including Rasberry Parade, Kiss - as well as new track Guitar. Earlier legends including Joni Mitchell paid tribute to the singer in recorded video messages-minutes before he stepped on stage. And by the end of the night, the feeling was most certainly mutual... | |
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From The Telegraph.co.uk:
Prince opened his 21-night O2 Arena residency with a crowd-pleasing Gospel sing-along Purple Rain complete with incendiary guitar solo. Dancers dressed in purple waved purple flags beneath purple lights. The message was not exactly subtle - the purple reign had begun as it means to go on, with the kind of explosion of musicality and showmanship that would be saved for the climax of a performance by a less abundantly gifted and super-confident artist. The priapic midget, who has concocted some kind of personal mythology equating sex and spirituality, conducts his shows as multi-orgasmic events in which one climax detonates after another. It was a context in which a sensational cover of The Beatles' Come Together took on a whole new light. One of the greatest performers of the modern age, Prince has an arsenal of musical weaponry at his disposal and he's not afraid to use it all. His guitar-playing - whether rhythmic, soulful funk chords, or flaring heavy rock leads - is some of the best you'll hear anywhere. His singing switches between seductive whisper, raw-throated scream and impossibly sweet falsettos. And when he is neither singing nor playing, he is executing nimble dance moves. Most of all, he genuinely seems to be having fun with both audience and band. A hugely accomplished unit of bass, double keyboards and drums, augmented by four horns, two backing singers and a couple of sexy dancers (de rigeur at a Prince show), they manage the impressive feat of sounding syncopated even in a cavernous, booming arena. A tightly rehearsed jazz-soul-funk-rock-machine, they nonetheless manage to perform with almost improvisational spirit. "This is real music by real musicians," Prince boasts. In our over-sequenced era, this is assuredly a live show. It is not, however, a greatest hits show. After three decades and almost 40 albums, some hits are bigger than others. Kiss gets a roar of recognition, but there are long stretches when only the most obsessive Prince collector could be sure exactly what he was playing. He has apparently rehearsed 130 songs for his residency - presumably if you want to be sure of hearing your personal favorites you'd have to buy a ticket for every night. With a band this hot and a performer this exceptional, you don't have to know the song to get off on the groove. Dancing around a symbol-shaped stage set in the centre of the arena - which created a genuine sense of proximity wherever you were seated - Prince conducts his shows like an intimate house party and for the opening night, the audience certainly entered into the spirit. Some people almost seemed to be having too much fun. An embarrassingly enthusiastic dancer, invited to show his moves on stage, eventually had to be removed by bouncers. The natives may not have all the right moves but, joining in a lilting La La La London, they showed they appreciate good music when they hear it. http://www.telegraph.co.u...nce202.xml Always cry 4 love never cry 4 pain | |
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From guardian online:
Prince London 02 Arena Alex Petridis Thursday August 2, 2007 The Guardian Prince arrives in London for the first night of a mind-boggling 21-date residency at the former Millennium Dome with a familiar sound ringing in his ears: that of people suggesting that he's barmy. This time, the questions about his mental health have been raised not by fans baffled by his decision to change his name to a squiggle, nor African-American groups horrified by his glibly equating a $100m Warner Brothers record contract with an act of slavery, nor even journalists discomfited by his erratic interview techniques - this is, after all, a man who famously interrupted a female hack's questions to inquire about the dimensions of her pubic hair - but the boss of HMV, who described his decision to give away his album Planet Earth free with the Mail On Sunday as "absolutely nuts". Article continues The figure who appears through a trapdoor in the centre of a stage shaped like the symbol he once changed his name to certainly doesn't look like a man who has been wounded to the very core of his being by the opinions of the boss of HMV. Perhaps he's used to people saying things like that about him by now. Perhaps his spirits have been buoyed by the lengthy introductory video, featuring Salma Hayek, Pharrell Williams, Joni Mitchell and various former musical alumni offering glowing testimonies to his nonpareil genius. Either way, as he launches into Purple Rain, he looks like a man very much in control, as well he might. You can question the ethical wisdom of handing your latest album over to precisely the kind of tabloid that would once have called for his records to be banned - you can't imagine the contents of his 1980 album Dirty Mind going down terribly well with the Mail's core readership. But you can't deny the publicity the move has brought him: the arrival of Planet Earth is the first time the release of a Prince album has seemed like an event for the best part of 20 years. The fact that the album itself is lacklustre is beside the point. He doesn't play much from it, or any of his recent albums, preferring to stick to the hits, which follow hard on each other's heels: Girls And Boys, U Got The Look, Cream. The appearance of the latter, and indeed Prince's willingness to simulate sexual intercourse with his microphone stand - "I'm gonna sink this thing like buried treasure!" he cries as he humps away - cheeringly suggest that he has finally overcome the religious dogmatism that one threatened to overwhelm his artistic judgment: for a time after his conversion to the Jehovah's Witnesses, that kind of thing was strictly off limits. Last night, however, he seemed in cheeringly salacious mood, heightened by regular appearances by The Twinz, identical sisters whose role in the recently divorced Prince's private life has been the subject of much fetid speculation, but whose role on stage seemed to consist almost entirely of lasciviously gyrating around their frontman. Talk of Prince's renaissance in recent years has less to do with the albums he has made than with a triumphant series of high-profile live appearances: show-stopping slots at the Grammy Awards and the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, an acclaimed residency in Las Vegas, a Superbowl half-time show before an estimated worldwide audience of 1 billion. The cliche about him being a consummate live performer is a cliche only because it's true. Quite aside from his remarkable abilities as a dancer - no mean feat given the vertiginous heels on his white boots - he milks the audience in a manner that stops just the right side of shameless. Occasionally, his pushes his luck to the absolute limits - he invites crowd members onstage and they dance in the most excruciating manner imaginable, he vanishes for 10 minutes, leaving us in the company of a lengthy instrumental easy listening cover of What A Wonderful World - but for the most part it works perfectly. He points out girls in the crowd and commands former James Brown sideman Maceo Parker to play saxophone solos to them. He slides to the lip of the stage on his stomach. At one juncture, he threatens to leave entirely: "You can't handle me!" he yelps melodramatically, heading for the exit. "I got too many hits!" It is a wildly impressive show, but you still leave it uncertain about Prince's future. It works not merely because of his stage presence, or his fantastically tight band, but because he plays to the strengths of his back catalogue. But these shows are advertised as the last time he will play Kiss or Nothing Compares 2 U. You can't imagine him being able to fill the 02 Arena for 21 nights again if he sticks to his word. Still, if he is waving goodbye to his past, he's certainly doing it in style. http://music.guardian.co....tworkfront | |
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What a great show last night. You all need to know that, after all the hype about tickets sales it was possible to buy them there and then. I arrived with a 1st tier ticket but asked the box office if there were any front row seats and I got one right at the front for 31.21!!!! Don't go all that way without a ticket but if you can get to the b.o. you should get a good seat.You won't be sorry - Prince on top form, not enough Renato and no Candy but hey, Maceo, Maceo blew his horn!!Peace and love to you all - dont miss this show! | |
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I'm sure it was a good show. But this is practically the same set list we've been seeing. Considering that they practised 150 songs for the tour, you'd think he'd stretch it out a little bit. This playing the hits for the Last time business is getting annoying. Christian Zombie Vampires | |
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superspaceboy said: I'm sure it was a good show. But this is practically the same set list we've been seeing.
Not in the UK we haven't!  | |
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iain said: superspaceboy said: I'm sure it was a good show. But this is practically the same set list we've been seeing.
Not in the UK we haven't! Trust me there isn't that much that is special in the set list. Christian Zombie Vampires | |
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Good review here:
They say they will be doing daily updates over the weeks to check on whether Prince will actually perform the 150 songs he said he will do... http://news.q4music.com/2...he_o2.html" target="_blank"> http://news.q4music.com/2...he_o2.html | |
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ejnbmore said: [quote:933675093e]Just another pretty nice reviewhttp://arts.independent.c...33675093e] "Where most pop stars "wanna make love" to their audience, Prince lets you know he would give you a good seeing to - and then some." :fall: [b:933675093e][Edited 8/3/07 4:09am][/b:933675093e] 'I loved him then, I love him now and will love him eternally. He's with our son now.' Mayte 21st April 2016 = the saddest quote I have ever read! RIP Prince and thanks for everything. | |
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maceoparker007 said: Good review here:
They say they will be doing daily updates over the weeks to check on whether Prince will actually perform the 150 songs he said he will do... http://news.q4music.com/2...he_o2.html" target="_blank"> http://news.q4music.com/2...he_o2.html I read it too but already they have missed 2 songs from the first night as has every other review I have read.Did they not hear him stomp thru "Get on The Boat" and "Lolita"? | |
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