I have just joined this fan club as I don't want anyone to be as disappointed as me. I paid £474.00 for myself and my partner to go and see Prince last Saturday - loads of money to me!! Sadly we where so disappointed and I would not wish this on anyone else! VIP is not what it stands for and I only saw Prince twice - totally gutted! Also all the questions I asked Ticketmaster they lied about. I asked if the seats where allocated - er yes they were, if I wanted to be sat 4 rows behind a band I would not have gone to see Prince. Not sure what to do because no-one is ever interested. Hope if anyone else is going they won't have such high hopes as me..... only got 2 ok pics Be nice to hear of any good concerts attended!! Anyway I’m still a true fan and I know this is nothing to do with Prince! Think the people who have been writing the reviews were the lucky folks sat round the stage, wow yes they would be VIP tickets!

Vicker said:

I am going as a VIP on 17th August - heard so many bad reviews am really worried what it will be like. It is my hubbies first Prince concert and I want him to enjoy it? Where were you sitting? What was it like in the White room before the concert?

Vicker said:

Is something is not as advertised you have not recieved the 'product' if that were me I would ring my card company and do a chargeback as the goods have not been recieved have they..... Then take it up with ticketmaster as you will likely get a bill in the post. !

spud80 said:

I was Row E seat 20 & 21. I really hope for your sake the seats are better than mine. Would have rather just paid normal admision! None of it was worth the money to me, but please don't let me make it bad for you, I hope you enjoy! If you really want to know more, then do ask!

shaneukcouk said:

I'll try that, thanks but ticketmaster were cheeky and took the payment in March! Just sad as I would have happily paid more to really see him etc Thanks anyway!

the VIP fiasco has been well documented here so I don't think anyone will be purchasing new ones.

besides the seat lottery, all seats are priced at 31.21 and good floor seats have become available at various times over the last few weeks. The main problem I have is the additonal £400 spent for a couple to spend 70 minutes or so before the concert. What is provided is no where near a VIP experience. In October I'm going to a ball, with a great multi-course meal, loads of drinks, champagne and live entertainment situated in a very elegant london location (not just a bar) which will last for hours at a price of £75 per person.

AEG really could and should have been far more creative with the amount of money passing through the VIP system. Examples could have been the chance to meet some of the band members/have some nice freebies/access to the aftershow/LIVE entertainment/proper food/a program/sound check...etc etc. A good organiser could think of even more good stuff and still make a handsome profit from the additional £200 per person.

We are going tomorrow. We paid nearly £500 and are in block F2, Row D right behind the stage. We spoke to TM yesterday who said they couldnt do anything cos the show was Saturday. Convenient how the tix are sent out so late! It is our first weekend away since we had our daughter who is now 15 months old. We were SO excited about it all but now so angry and sad that we just want to stay home! Vicker - what block were you in?? We are seriously thinking about buying new ones to get in the front?!!!

Vicker said:

dan6s7s said:

Unfortunately the VIP tickets were advertised as being within the first ten rows of either floor blocks or lower tier. I feel for the people who paid VIP ticket prices and ended up behind the stage. I'm going tonight in Row A F1 and paid £31.21 for the ticket. I'm not likely to see much of Prince either but at least I didn't pay over the odds for the ticket. I'm still going to complain though if I can't see anything. As far as I'm concerned if I can't see the artist I paid to see performing live from the block I purchased a ticket in then as far as I'm concerned that comes under "restricted view" and therefore should have been advertised as such at the time of purchase.

I am aware that really good floor tickets have come on sale often on the day before or the actual day of the concert. This ticket allocation lark is unfair on the people who bought their tickets a few months ago when they first went on sale and now find that better tickets are available sometimes on the day of the concert! Good luck to those who benefitted from this but must leave a bitter taste in the mouths of those who purchased VIP tickets and ended up with WORST seats than those who paid the standard price.

DoMeBaby69 said:

Spot on! They have to declare restrictive view before sale.

DoMeBaby69 said:

I'm waiting to hear from you with bated breath because this could be two nights I have wished I wasn't going!!!! Please,if nothing else, enjoy the atmosphere.

Vicker said:

Actually, it's quite a bit to do with Prince. He's sold a show in the round and he's only playing to the front of the crowd. It wouldn't be a problem if he wandered around a bit more.

sean2003 said:

That is absolutely right. ALL seats would be good seats if Prince used the stage more. The problem is, he appears to favour a certain area which in some instances have left people in the blocks behind the O either looking at the back of him or not even seeing him at all.

PRINCE! Take note! I'm coming tonight! I'd like to see you PLEASE!

spud80 said:

Don't you worry Spud - I will email you directly tomorrow and also put something on here about the view from F1 - that is if I lose my fight tonight with customer services and get it changed!

Get on to a consumer watchdog.....it may come to nothing, but if we do nothing things won't change. I really do think the ripped-off VIP people have a case.

seanbee said:

I agree. I'd be hopping mad if I'd paid over £200 and couldn't see Prince - worse still tickets within the first 10 rows which had been promised as VIP tickets and cost over £200 to those people who bought them have since been sold for the standard £31.21. I see the logic from the promoters who clearly thought that they could easily sell the VIP tickets and on finding that they couldn't, rather than have empty seats, they sold the remaining ones off for £31.21. I do understand that to a certain extent. However, an appropriate refund should be provided to those who paid the VIP ticket price.

seanbee said:

My boss seems to think that we should complain because the O2 is so new that it might help other people when they are thinking of going to shows and also it might make the Management think twice about their treatment of people.

spud80 said:

Did you get an email from O2 saying thanks for coming to the concert, blah blah blah and an offer to give them some feedback? That may be a useful way of communicating with them. Or do what I'm going to do - go straight to Customer Services tonight when I get there and tell it to their faces.

DoMeBaby69 said:

No, I didn't get that. Be interested to know how you go on.

So, has any1 heard back from AEG re: refunds/exchanges yet?

I attended the (magnicifent) show last Friday and I had 2 seats in the F1 block. Before the show around 20:00, I went to complain about the seats to the customer service. A group of 20 people were also there. Every one of use got offered replacement tickets in the normal area (non VIP). I decided to hold on to my VIP tickets. During the show, it was actually no problem to move around, the security was cool about that as long as you're not standing in the alleys or disturbing anyone. We ended up standing in the D1 block and it was great view. Anyway, the F blocks are not as bad as it sounds, so I wouldn't worry too much. Prince REALLY moves a lot and ensures that everyone has a good experience. Plus, the brass section with Maceo and Greg mostly look towards the back.

Before the show, I was absolutely gutted, but at the end, I had a fantastic time... not to mention the amazing after show. So, stay cool and positive and good things will come to you!

Anyway, just a sidenote: I went to the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert 6 weeks ago and Anthony Kiedis decided to finish the show after 70 minutes. This concert was such a disappointment. My experience at the O2 last week confirms that Prince plays in a different league. His generosity is second to none in the business.

Vicker said:

i wish 3121 respons on things like this and not on post of bootlegs and pic. i am really angry about this the website told us buffet (there was not) you can get 3 drinks and only wine an beer. and there was no entertaiment. we misst the opening act becouse of the as##oles of the o2 prince is more a taker then a giffer talks about god but steals from his fans. glory to mister goodnight.

Really think you should keep on at them to get your money back for "VIP" tickets, obviously you didn't get the experience that you thought you would and also surely the fact that they are now selling exactly the same seats at the regular price has to add some weight to that argument. I would also still write to your credit card company even after the money has been taken you can still make a claim under section 75, no idea if any of this will get you anywhere but good luck. I really think something has to come of this as so many people must have had the same bum deal. Good luck

ShellyBean said:

we could all join and write the ticketmaster o2 or even 3121. a letter.
no money back but a private concert by prince would be fine.
a singed cd or something like that.

WELL I AM STILL ANGRY ABOUT MY VIP EXPERIENCE...200 POUNDS IS A LOT OF MONEY FOR ME TO THROW AWAY AND THATS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED HERE....
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when i bought the tickets i thought....well at least i will have great seats in the first ten rows...
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nope
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well at least i will be on the floor and within shouting distance of the stage..???
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NOPE !
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well at least i will be in a great lower tier seat with a great view....?????/
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EHH...NOPE.....i got 3 drinks and a couple of small bits of food and a seat in the corner of the arena in the lower tier....YIP !!!!...

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well just putting down a few lines of my two concerts and aftershow experiences on the 1st and 4th august at the o2 ...well i bought two vip tickets at a cost of 470 pounds for the opening night with my brother..
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i already knew that i didnt get a seat on the floor or within the first ten rows as was advertised when i bought them but i just couldnt be bothered fighting with them as i knew i had made a mistake buying them in the first place so just decided to make the best of it...got to the o2 around six which was the time stated on the tickets that the vips would be allowed into the arena...well this , of course , didnt happen and they left us queing up until 6.30 before they finally opened the doors which was bad enough...so we got a wristband on and where given a free cd ...no programme, no goodie bag...nothing..!!!!..
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so i said ok ...it can only get better as we have paid 200 quid over the normal cost of the ticket for this so it must be great in the backstage bar !!!!...got into the backstage bar and we were given a drink as we entered and we took a seat overlooking the arena which looked amazing...so we sat there having a drink and wondering when we would get some of our 400 pound buffet ???...time went by and i went to the bar to get another drink...we had three vouchers each...one for beer or wine and two vouchers for a spirit ????....so if you happened to prefer spirits...you could only get one free drink at the bar ??? ( am i wrong in thinking they are talking the piss with this ??? ) ..
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so i got a beer and went and sat down and after about half an hour, we managed to grab some small portions of food off a passing waiter...( you had to move fast or you got nothing )...me and my brother both got a few small portions of food but were so hungry when we took our poor vip seats in the corner ...i had to get two hot dogs ???... the backstage bar was getting busy after about an hour and at this stage...the bar was so busy ...my brother took over half an hour trying to get a drink..(they only had three bar staff on ??? )...i just couldnt believe how bad it was and how little we got...i didnt feel like a vip at all...i just felt ripped off but as i said...i wasnt going to let it spoil my concert experience....so at 8.15 ...they told us to leave the backstage area and head for our seats...we were told that we couldnt go out the way we came in as thats were our corner seats were...we had to walk right round the whole arena to get to our seats and missed the start of the concert ???.....
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once there ...we enjoyed the concert although the ending was a bit of a mess with the lights going up and then he came back for another 20 minutes which was a bit chaotic but he is great live.....
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went to aftershow...was very tired and a bit drunk..stayed til 2.30...saw a bit of prince but was out on my feet so jumped a taxi back to hotel....
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went to saturday 4th gig...went with my non fan girlfriend who now after the gig ..sees why i rate him so highly ..just had normal 31.21 tickets in lower tier but the experience was far better....has a better view of stage...sound was better...he was amazing ...didnt play enough hits for me as he is playing to a lot of casual fans so i really think if he is going to play these huge venues then he needs to pull out the big guns more often...just a small moan but as a diehard ...i dont care what he plays...he is just a fantastic performer...one of the best gigs of my life..
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again went to aftershow...stayed until 2.00..seen a bit of prince again...enjoyed listening to the dj and having a wee dance.....dont know if its worth 25 quid but i paid it so it must be ...
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so had a great few days...the vip experience was pretty bad for me but anyone going hopefully it will improve for you...just dont get your hopes up...
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saturday gig was amazing....
[Edited 8/14/07 15:21pm]

Bloody Hell that really sucks, I can't believe they rationed your food and drink and to cap it all put you in lousy seats. I think the very least they could do is get you great tickets for another night. Get on at them he still has another month to go so they can't get away with it just yet. I know what you mean about trying to please the new/casual fans I thought that too, I still loved it but wish he'd played my favourite oldies the whole way though.

It's hard to keep 20,000 a night over 21 nights happy. There's bound to be some mess and god knows Ticketmaster are famed for wallowing in mess of their own creation. It makes me sad to read of negative experiences.

I'm confused about the VIP section anyway - I had an E1 ticket last night and talking to the women one row in front I got the distinct impression they'd paid a lot to sit in E1. I paid £31.21. So why are some seats in the floor blocks the regular price and some crazy expensive?

From what I can gather people paid £250 for VIP tickets and then because a lot of them have gone unsold Ticketmaster and the O2 are now re-selling the exact same seats at the regular £31.21. Also a lot of the seats round the back are crap as Prince has not been playing completely in the round, as in using the whole of the performance area - I can understand why people are fucked off royaly.