I mean..apparently he's irrelevant, apparently he's little more than a 'revue act', apparently he's shit..BUT holy crap there is barley a hand ful of tix left even on the tout sites...for a man with no album, no hits, no video, no singles being played to death, no interviews this really is bloody amazing.

Well done P!

[Edited 5/3/14 15:59pm]

Best "revue act" I've ever seen...

strawberrybubblegum said:

Yep... I have to say people in my office were like what tickets are still available? You can still get v good seats for Sat Manchester... So... I don't know about total sell out... But all good considering. I do miss the 31.21 price tag plus what was it like 25.00 for indigo? He has done well to sell at these prices this time but they have not sold twice over.

hmmm..tell them that there's only a handful left now!

Ppenguin said:

your bound to have enough fans who will want to see you for the first time in 7 years [/b]

7 years? What about Hop Farm 2011 or London and Manchester in February this year?

Ppenguin said:

I don't think it's any achievement to sell out a couple of gigs if your Prince. Not because he's great but because, after 40 odd years, your bound to have enough fans who will want to see you for the first time in 7 years and who knows when/if the next time will be...hence the colossal prices he knows he can demand ( hit n run generosity lasted 2 gigs). What's more impressive is that there are people out there, in these times, who can afford to go once, let alone multiple times, at those prices. You'll get those that say Beyonce, Gaga etc charge those prices but there are 2 major differences 1) they're releasing hit songs now and are current artists. 2) their demographic is mainly those with no commitments and disposable income...teenagers and young 20s prince hasn't had a hit for 20 years and rarely plays hits from the last 25 years. I saw him in Feb and, apart from being right at he front, the gig I went to left me totally unimpressed...I know my gig was the runt of the litter with it being extremely short to make way for a 2nd celeb filled gig and that other gigs had at least twice as much content and done for 1 7th of the price but, for me, quick snippets of hits on a keyboard (recycled from 2007 gigs) and a couple rareties and a handful of new songs didn't cut the mustard for a guy who is ki I g off his reputation as a great live performer I think the few shows that have sold out are more a testament to the fans than him [Edited 5/3/14 1:41am]

go home

lwr001 said:

TheEnglishGent said:

Ppenguin said:

lwr001 said:

go home

What's the problem ? You're disagreeing that it's a testament to a loyal fanbase that he's sold out the first couple of dates he's announced? Or are you disagreeing with the fact he's not had current hits? Maybe your disagreeing with what I said about his fanbase being different to that of Beyonce? You can't tell me he's sold it out on his recent discography...no, it's loyal fans who will go to no matter what, those who can afford to and those that want the hits from back in the day....I just happen to not be any of those; I can't afford to go to no matter whst and I don't want to hear the sing-along to a loop rendition of the 80s hits [Edited 5/3/14 10:55am]

I suspect that first Hit n Run tour in February, which appeared to be done for PR rather than profit (and incredibly good PR at that) is a factor in the these gigs selling quickly.

Ppenguin said:

I don't think it's any achievement to sell out a couple of gigs if your Prince. Not because he's great but because, after 40 odd years, your bound to have enough fans who will want to see you for the first time in 7 years and who knows when/if the next time will be...hence the colossal prices he knows he can demand ( hit n run generosity lasted 2 gigs). What's more impressive is that there are people out there, in these times, who can afford to go once, let alone multiple times, at those prices. You'll get those that say Beyonce, Gaga etc charge those prices but there are 2 major differences 1) they're releasing hit songs now and are current artists. 2) their demographic is mainly those with no commitments and disposable income...teenagers and young 20s prince hasn't had a hit for 20 years and rarely plays hits from the last 25 years. I saw him in Feb and, apart from being right at he front, the gig I went to left me totally unimpressed...I know my gig was the runt of the litter with it being extremely short to make way for a 2nd celeb filled gig and that other gigs had at least twice as much content and done for 1 7th of the price but, for me, quick snippets of hits on a keyboard (recycled from 2007 gigs) and a couple rareties and a handful of new songs didn't cut the mustard for a guy who is ki I g off his reputation as a great live performer I think the few shows that have sold out are more a testament to the fans than him [Edited 5/3/14 1:41am]

fuckin' 'ell that's really floored me. The fans are NOT fools..if they didn't still dig him they wouldn't pay to see him..we are NOT zombies under hypnosis dude!. The Feb gigs drew in everyone, hardcore, casuals & those in between..they were largely blown away. He has sold out all dates now in a little over a day..THAT is a testament to his live rep' & sheer bloody talent..the ticket buying public totally get that. I bet that the audeinces will be a wide cross section of hard core through to casuals.

funkyhead said:

ilo said:

ilo said:

ilo said:

Very good reply. I was there for the second manchester gig and although I find the hits medley interlude a bit dull now it can honestly say it was the best gig I've ever seen in my life. By anybody. So much content delivered with such honed professionalism it was truly incredible to see and hear. For a lover of all music that is good it was one of those 'iconic' shows I've read about in mags for years.

Saying that it wasn't a dancing gig that you often get with prince. And if you don't enjoy rock you were gonna find it hard work. Personally I thought the proper 3EG material was amazing. So heavy and loud it surpassed ACDC

I don't think the selling out of tickets, whether it did actually happen or not, is any reflection on Prince or the fans sadly. The tour in February was a great achievement in terms of selling out properly so quickly for people turning up physically at the door paying to get in, whether it was a tenner at the start or £70 as it was by the time I was able to go to shows (King's Place 1st show, both Koko shows, Ronnie Scott's 1st show and the two Manchester shows). Unfortunately as people have already started to see when 'sold out' changes an hour later with more tickets released, these things tend to be staggered as bucketloads of tickets get palmed off to the resale market. This isn't a Prince thing, whenever big 'legend' acts tour now, ever since The Rolling Stones took the piss with ticket prices a couple of years ago, tickets always sell out in minutes on the official retailer, with headlines about how quickly everything went. The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, Eagles, within minutes everything is gone and moments after the sale starts everything is nicely drawn up with full descriptions on Viagogo, Seatwave, Getmein and those places, all at massively inflated prices. I don't have any definite evidence of this, but I don't believe a lot of those tickets ever go on general sale, I think they're claimed by these secondary companies that may be partner sites to the original retailer before it gets that far. It's legalised touting. At least with the Prince shows for most dates you had a small window of chance, although I heard folk complaining about the Glasgow date kicking them out before they could complete their purchases. But the Fleetwood Mac ones were a much worse example. Does anyone really believe 20,000 people were all online between 9:00 and 9:03 to buy out everything? I don't. Just like I don't believe six Prince shows at 5,000+ capacities all went in under an hour to proper fans who will all go to the shows. Either way he can't win. He wanted to cut out the touts in February, but the short notice annoyed some people. Since leaving London he's done ticketed shows, but now the touts are into them. He's offered something for every option so fair play, but in my view the quick sale says more about the secondary ticket market than any of the legend acts mentioned, sadly.

As for whether he still cuts it as a live performer, I thought he was great in February. I can see why people would be annoyed if shows they saw were shorter than some others got to see, but that's the pot luck of an impromptu Prince gig. Of all those shows I was lucky enough to see in February, the first Manchester show blew away all of the London ones, then the second Manchester show was much better again than that. But they all had great moments, it's just a question of what people consider value. With these being arena shows and listed as 6pm starts that should eliminate the risk of the audience being cleared out for a second show to come in (the reason for some shorter sets in February) and allow for a long set if he's up for it.

[Edited 5/4/14 6:52am]

Skyscraper said:

I don't think the selling out of tickets, whether it did actually happen or not, is any reflection on Prince or the fans sadly. The tour in February was a great achievement in terms of selling out properly so quickly for people turning up physically at the door paying to get in, whether it was a tenner at the start or £70 as it was by the time I was able to go to shows (King's Place 1st show, both Koko shows, Ronnie Scott's 1st show and the two Manchester shows). Unfortunately as people have already started to see when 'sold out' changes an hour later with more tickets released, these things tend to be staggered as bucketloads of tickets get palmed off to the resale market. This isn't a Prince thing, whenever big 'legend' acts tour now, ever since The Rolling Stones took the piss with ticket prices a couple of years ago, tickets always sell out in minutes on the official retailer, with headlines about how quickly everything went. The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, Eagles, within minutes everything is gone and moments after the sale starts everything is nicely drawn up with full descriptions on Viagogo, Seatwave, Getmein and those places, all at massively inflated prices. I don't have any definite evidence of this, but I don't believe a lot of those tickets ever go on general sale, I think they're claimed by these secondary companies that may be partner sites to the original retailer before it gets that far. It's legalised touting. At least with the Prince shows for most dates you had a small window of chance, although I heard folk complaining about the Glasgow date kicking them out before they could complete their purchases. But the Fleetwood Mac ones were a much worse example. Does anyone really believe 20,000 people were all online between 9:00 and 9:03 to buy out everything? I don't. Just like I don't believe six Prince shows at 5,000+ capacities all went in under an hour to proper fans who will all go to the shows. Either way he can't win. He wanted to cut out the touts in February, but the short notice annoyed some people. Since leaving London he's done ticketed shows, but now the touts are into them. He's offered something for every option so fair play, but in my view the quick sale says more about the secondary ticket market than any of the legend acts mentioned, sadly.

As for whether he still cuts it as a live performer, I thought he was great in February. I can see why people would be annoyed if shows they saw were shorter than some others got to see, but that's the pot luck of an impromptu Prince gig. Of all those shows I was lucky enough to see in February, the first Manchester show blew away all of the London ones, then the second Manchester show was much better again than that. But they all had great moments, it's just a question of what people consider value. With these being arena shows and listed as 6pm starts that should eliminate the risk of the audience being cleared out for a second show to come in (the reason for some shorter sets in February) and allow for a long set if he's up for it.

[Edited 5/4/14 6:52am]

bollocks to that. A simple check online of all the tout sites such as seatwave, viagogo, get me in etc shows that there are very few available..maybe 1000 across all dates? [no doubt some sad bastard on here will go on all sites now & add them all up!!] Hey look, checking out any of my threads you will see that I am critical & praising of P in equal measure..in this case just give the man some due credit ffs!!

Oh yeah? Well just think how well ticket sales would have been if Prince had followed all the advice Bart Van Hemelen has given him over the last two decades!

funkyhead said:

Skyscraper said:

I don't think the selling out of tickets, whether it did actually happen or not, is any reflection on Prince or the fans sadly. The tour in February was a great achievement in terms of selling out properly so quickly for people turning up physically at the door paying to get in, whether it was a tenner at the start or £70 as it was by the time I was able to go to shows (King's Place 1st show, both Koko shows, Ronnie Scott's 1st show and the two Manchester shows). Unfortunately as people have already started to see when 'sold out' changes an hour later with more tickets released, these things tend to be staggered as bucketloads of tickets get palmed off to the resale market. This isn't a Prince thing, whenever big 'legend' acts tour now, ever since The Rolling Stones took the piss with ticket prices a couple of years ago, tickets always sell out in minutes on the official retailer, with headlines about how quickly everything went. The Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Kate Bush, Eagles, within minutes everything is gone and moments after the sale starts everything is nicely drawn up with full descriptions on Viagogo, Seatwave, Getmein and those places, all at massively inflated prices. I don't have any definite evidence of this, but I don't believe a lot of those tickets ever go on general sale, I think they're claimed by these secondary companies that may be partner sites to the original retailer before it gets that far. It's legalised touting. At least with the Prince shows for most dates you had a small window of chance, although I heard folk complaining about the Glasgow date kicking them out before they could complete their purchases. But the Fleetwood Mac ones were a much worse example. Does anyone really believe 20,000 people were all online between 9:00 and 9:03 to buy out everything? I don't. Just like I don't believe six Prince shows at 5,000+ capacities all went in under an hour to proper fans who will all go to the shows. Either way he can't win. He wanted to cut out the touts in February, but the short notice annoyed some people. Since leaving London he's done ticketed shows, but now the touts are into them. He's offered something for every option so fair play, but in my view the quick sale says more about the secondary ticket market than any of the legend acts mentioned, sadly.

As for whether he still cuts it as a live performer, I thought he was great in February. I can see why people would be annoyed if shows they saw were shorter than some others got to see, but that's the pot luck of an impromptu Prince gig. Of all those shows I was lucky enough to see in February, the first Manchester show blew away all of the London ones, then the second Manchester show was much better again than that. But they all had great moments, it's just a question of what people consider value. With these being arena shows and listed as 6pm starts that should eliminate the risk of the audience being cleared out for a second show to come in (the reason for some shorter sets in February) and allow for a long set if he's up for it.

[Edited 5/4/14 6:52am]

bollocks to that. A simple check online of all the tout sites such as seatwave, viagogo, get me in etc shows that there are very few available..maybe 1000 across all dates? [no doubt some sad bastard on here will go on all sites now & add them all up!!] Hey look, checking out any of my threads you will see that I am critical & praising of P in equal measure..in this case just give the man some due credit ffs!!

I didn't criticise your appraisal of him at all! Just gave my honest opinion. And I didn't go adding up every individual listing on the tout sites, right enough, but I still think their claws will be in this tour and you'll see that much more after everything has properly sold out with more listings appearing. Not questioning Prince as a draw though, as the thousands of people going on a whim to the February shows would demonstrate.

Well Done Prince & 3rdeyegirl!

These gigs are FAR from sell outs. The secondary market is awash with below cost spares and the good blocks are now coming up for sale.

Ppenguin said:

I don't think it's any achievement to sell out a couple of gigs if your Prince. Not because he's great but because, after 40 odd years, your bound to have enough fans who will want to see you for the first time in 7 years and who knows when/if the next time will be...hence the colossal prices he knows he can demand ( hit n run generosity lasted 2 gigs). What's more impressive is that there are people out there, in these times, who can afford to go once, let alone multiple times, at those prices. You'll get those that say Beyonce, Gaga etc charge those prices but there are 2 major differences 1) they're releasing hit songs now and are current artists. 2) their demographic is mainly those with no commitments and disposable income...teenagers and young 20s prince hasn't had a hit for 20 years and rarely plays hits from the last 25 years. I saw him in Feb and, apart from being right at he front, the gig I went to left me totally unimpressed...I know my gig was the runt of the litter with it being extremely short to make way for a 2nd celeb filled gig and that other gigs had at least twice as much content and done for 1 7th of the price but, for me, quick snippets of hits on a keyboard (recycled from 2007 gigs) and a couple rareties and a handful of new songs didn't cut the mustard for a guy who is ki I g off his reputation as a great live performer I think the few shows that have sold out are more a testament to the fans than him [Edited 5/3/14 1:41am]

Wow someone is always going to hate on Prince no matter what he pulls off. Now it is the fans and not the actual artist that generate tickets sales. People are not buying this tickets to go see other fans they are buying them to hear and see Prince. I guess the 80,000.00 people going to the Superdome at the Essence fest are just going to stare at each other for a couple of hours.

RodeoSchro said:

Oh yeah? Well just think how well ticket sales would have been if Prince had followed all the advice Bart Van Hemelen has given him over the last two decades!

I know look how poorly Prince is doing without following Bart advice. It must be hard when you are selling out large venues and not playing unreleashed material for free in the local park.

SquirrelMeat said:

These gigs are FAR from sell outs. The secondary market is awash with below cost spares and the good blocks are now coming up for sale.

Once most or all of the tickets are sold the concert is considered a sell out. What happens on the secondary market is of no relevance.

laurarichardson said:

SquirrelMeat said:

These gigs are FAR from sell outs. The secondary market is awash with below cost spares and the good blocks are now coming up for sale.

Once most or all of the tickets are sold the concert is considered a sell out. What happens on the secondary market is of no relevance.

likewsie go to almost any other 'major artists' for their tickets that have been on sale for MONTHS & you will see exactly the same situation..i.e. website says n/ BUT secondary market showing lots available at reduced prices. His tickets have been on sale for under 2 weeks!...closer to gig time they will be sold out..even at reduced Prices!

SquirrelMeat said:

These gigs are FAR from sell outs. The secondary market is awash with below cost spares and the good blocks are now coming up for sale.

So, if they were bought in the primary market then its sold out..he got paid regardless of the secondary markey

lwr001 said:

SquirrelMeat said:

These gigs are FAR from sell outs. The secondary market is awash with below cost spares and the good blocks are now coming up for sale.

So, if they were bought in the primary market then its sold out..he got paid regardless of the secondary markey

But they aren't sold out in the primary market either. Not all of them, Manchester 17th has plenty of tickets...plus as Squirrelmeat said the 1000's that are on sale on the secondary market. The only two that are sold out are Glasgow and the first Manchester show. Not sure about Birmingham.

strawberrybubblegum said:

lwr001 said:

So, if they were bought in the primary market then its sold out..he got paid regardless of the secondary markey

But they aren't sold out in the primary market either. Not all of them, Manchester 17th has plenty of tickets...plus as Squirrelmeat said the 1000's that are on sale on the secondary market. The only two that are sold out are Glasgow and the first Manchester show. Not sure about Birmingham.

Great seating and standing tix for sales in Birmingham as of this morning via TM