Lez said:

TheEnglishGent said:

Didn't Prince say they were going back to America to launch the album? I'm not expecting Brixton, or anything, for a while.

From memory he said (+/- a little bit) "We're going to take a break to get the album out and then come back"

No mention of where the break was or how long. It was vague enough that some thought they might be getting the album out with the merch and come back on stage, esp as they then put some tracks on the turntable.

This is from memory and we were all buzzing by then!

[Edited 2/25/14 10:54am]

Thats also how I heard it. He didnt say back to America but may have said go home.

.

Some people by me thought he meant take a break then come back on cuz they said 'surely he's not going to carry on its gone 11!'

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All seems like a blur now but I still cant believe how good it was. Near the end I was starting to think I'll be bit disappointed to not hear Bambi and Endorphine but he ended up doing them in the encores so I was buzzing. Plus it sounds like we got lucky with the piano section

johngordon said:

But I do still think the pay at the door thing is pretty great, unfortunate as it is that it means a lot of people can't go. But for those that can, I think that Independent article is bang on. When I happened to be in London on the 5th, making adhoc plans to stay over, and hotfooting it across London on the off chance really did feel like a proper fan searrching for that spontaneous concert. And the queueing was actually pretty great, with lots of people chatting and a generally good atmosphere. And then when we actually got in, a real buzz of "OMG! We're in!" excitement that you wouldn't normally get.

I'm "a bit" late with my comment, but your post captures exactly how I feel about these guerilla gigs in London! Having travelled from Austria with the hope of seeing at least one gig, I enjoyed myself more than I could have imagined and got not only one but five amazing shows!!

Aside from the fantastic gigs (SBE, 2nd Kings Place, both Koko's and 2nd Ronnie Scott's) I loved the excitement surrounding it all. I went to London because I wanted to be part of it and I had a blast! From checking twitter every 10 minutes in order not to miss an announcement (while doing some touristy things or meeting friends), to the nervous excitement of making my way to one of the venues, to joining the queues and spending countless hours (at least 30 hours altogether) with people who share my enthusiasm for Prince - it was a wonderful unforgettable experience!! And yes, the sheer joy of being able to say "I got in" was something else!

None of this would have happened if I had bought tickets online at home, then travelled over and just went to the shows. - Easier, yes but a lot less exciting! I met wonderful people and had a truly great time, of course topped off by every minute that I spent watching Prince on stage! Each and every one of these shows was worth the effort, and seeing how much Prince himself enjoyed the perfomances was an extra bonus.

Best time I have ever had going to concerts!!!!

Dreamer20ten said:

johngordon said:

But I do still think the pay at the door thing is pretty great, unfortunate as it is that it means a lot of people can't go. But for those that can, I think that Independent article is bang on. When I happened to be in London on the 5th, making adhoc plans to stay over, and hotfooting it across London on the off chance really did feel like a proper fan searrching for that spontaneous concert. And the queueing was actually pretty great, with lots of people chatting and a generally good atmosphere. And then when we actually got in, a real buzz of "OMG! We're in!" excitement that you wouldn't normally get.

I'm "a bit" late with my comment, but your post captures exactly how I feel about these guerilla gigs in London! Having travelled from Austria with the hope of seeing at least one gig, I enjoyed myself more than I could have imagined and got not only one but five amazing shows!!

Aside from the fantastic gigs (SBE, 2nd Kings Place, both Koko's and 2nd Ronnie Scott's) I loved the excitement surrounding it all. I went to London because I wanted to be part of it and I had a blast! From checking twitter every 10 minutes in order not to miss an announcement (while doing some touristy things or meeting friends), to the nervous excitement of making my way to one of the venues, to joining the queues and spending countless hours (at least 30 hours altogether) with people who share my enthusiasm for Prince - it was a wonderful unforgettable experience!! And yes, the sheer joy of being able to say "I got in" was something else!

None of this would have happened if I had bought tickets online at home, then travelled over and just went to the shows. - Easier, yes but a lot less exciting! I met wonderful people and had a truly great time, of course topped off by every minute that I spent watching Prince on stage! Each and every one of these shows was worth the effort, and seeing how much Prince himself enjoyed the perfomances was an extra bonus.

Best time I have ever had going to concerts!!!!

hey, i'm really glad your trip paid off! i feel your excitement!

i only saw one show (SBE) & loved every minute, the process was a LOT of fun.

Finally got round to listening to the Shep Bush Empire show...oh man, what a show that sounded like! I'm even more gutted that I wasn't there now, especially with the version of She's Always In My Hair one of my all time fave tracks, which sounded to me like the best live version of that song I've ever heard!

Just praying the Purple Legend brings some of this set back to UK shores in the summer. I'd love Prince to rip up Hyde Park with this ass kicking version of She's Always....!