Dibblekins said:

My friend and I are doing the VIP on Monday 6th too!

Look out for mad women in floaty, sequinned purple scarves!

Sooooooo excited - and a little apprehensive - about seeing his things. It's going to be emotional...

[Edited 10/27/17 10:46am]

Have lot's of fun, & let us know how it was!!

I am off to the O2 on Sunday, I am kind of looking forward to it but I think I will also find it difficult 💜 I do hope the shop is well stocked, I certainly intend to treat myself!

PennyPurple said:

Dibblekins said:

My friend and I are doing the VIP on Monday 6th too!

Look out for mad women in floaty, sequinned purple scarves!

Sooooooo excited - and a little apprehensive - about seeing his things. It's going to be emotional...

[Edited 10/27/17 10:46am]

Have lot's of fun, & let us know how it was!!

Absolutely. Have credit card, will go mad on STUFF!

Just got back from the exhibition. Did VIP which was cool but the main exhibition is the best part about it. So if I go again I’ll just get general admission. Some very cool stuff to see. Took me about 2 hours to look at everything.
Only disappointment was the merchandise. T shirts are boring and cheap looking. £72.50 for a tambourine? I don’t think so.
Also, yes, they’ve hiked up the price of Cloud Guitars. I wanted to get one. Apparently they sell for $1,750 at Paisley (correct me if I’m wrong). That’s around £1,300. They’re on sale at the exhibition for £2,160! Not sure if they’re priced so much for importing reasons but christ that’s a lot of money. So that was disappointing.
But, the actual exhibition was excellent and I’ll probably go again in December or January. The spirit of Prince is definitely there!

I did the GA tour today and was a little underwhelmed, probably because I'm subconsciously comparing it to my Paisley Park VIP tour that I did in April. The layout of the exhibition kept throwing me off as it's chronological in some places and isn't in others, and most of the pictures on the walls are really pixellated and blurry showing a lack of refinement, but overall it was done tastefully and thoroughly.

The best parts of the tour were all of the originial artefacts that weren't on show at Paisley, for example the alternate script for Purple Rain featuring Vanity, and original lyric sheets for Jungle Love etc. Was cool to see all of his notepads and 21 Nights clothing as well. Being able to get a closer look at his clothing instead of being a few feet away like I was at Paisley was welcomed. I thought all of the different "eras" were well done except for Diamonds and Pearls - where is the exhibit?! It's just a wall with some text on it. Definitely out of place in comaprison with the others. They have D&P era stuff on dispaly nearby, but it just doesn't make sense from a continuity/cohesiveness perspective. Maybe it was due to zoning issues?

The merch isn't great and is overpriced in comparison to Paisley's merch store (£10 for two ping png balls) but had a few new items on offer. Not a fan of the new NPG snapbacks which replaced the original hat style, and although the Cloud guitars were cool, they're certainly not worth £2k. The craftmanship is worth half that at best and isn't really comparable to the original guitars. However I'm glad that this exhibition is here, and recommend all of the purple fam to check it out if they can.

PS... can't imagine Prince liking that he would have to share a space with the Elvis exhibit. The marketing outside almost makes it seem like a joint event!

[Edited 10/27/17 15:32pm]

Great exhibition! Clearly not as good as the one at paisley but great to see some of the notes and outfits up close as opposed to a few feet away. I also got a chuckle reading the alternate notes for Purple Rain. I must've missed the table with the makeup, was that in the VIP section? I only had general admission. There were a few errors I noticed, like them putting Alphabet street in the sign o the times section. And the chronology was certainly off. They could definitely benefit from a larger space as the part after Graffiti Bridge was so cramped.

A bit of advice, I had the 6pm viewing but they shut at 7:30 so I would advise go for the earlier ones as I had to rush the end part and didn't watch all of the video segments in the middle as I was aware the clock was against me, however this gives me an excuse to go again!
[Edited 10/27/17 15:42pm]

PurpleCreme said:

I did the GA tour today and was a little underwhelmed, probably because I'm subconsciously comparing it to my Paisley Park VIP tour that I did in April. The layout of the exhibition kept throwing me off as it's chronological in some places and isn't in others, and most of the pictures on the walls are really pixellated and blurry showing a lack of refinement, but overall it was done tastefully and thoroughly.

The best parts of the tour were all of the originial artefacts that weren't on show at Paisley, for example the alternate script for Purple Rain featuring Vanity, and original lyric sheets for Jungle Love etc. Was cool to see all of his notepads and 21 Nights clothing as well. Being able to get a closer look at his clothing instead of being a few feet away like I was at Paisley was welcomed. I thought all of the different "eras" were well done except for Diamonds and Pearls - where is the exhibit?! It's just a wall with some text on it. Definitely out of place in comaprison with the others. They have D&P era stuff on dispaly nearby, but it just doesn't make sense from a continuity/cohesiveness perspective. Maybe it was due to zoning issues?

The merch isn't great and is overpriced in comparison to Paisley's merch store (£10 for two ping png balls) but had a few new items on offer. Not a fan of the new NPG snapbacks which replaced the original hat style, and although the Cloud guitars were cool, they're certainly not worth £2k. The craftmanship is worth half that at best and isn't really comparable to the original guitars. However I'm glad that this exhibition is here, and recommend all of the purple fam to check it out if they can.

PS... can't imagine Prince liking that he would have to share a space with the Elvis exhibit. The marketing outside almost makes it seem like a joint event!

[Edited 10/27/17 15:32pm]

Oddly, Xpectation is missing from the album cover discography on the wall.

We went today, the outfits and guitars being displayed are well worth a visit - just seeing some of the 80s tour/video outfits is worth the effort. Nothing bigger than a guitar has travelled from PP though and as exhibitions go its not a patch on the meticulous detail of the V&A's.

I think the reason there's no book of the exhibition is not that much work went into it - there's no narrative and lot of stuff is shown out of context and either not labelled or poorly labelled.

The symbol beanies and PP mugs in the store are v cool but 75 quid for a tambaracca or 10 quid for 4 picks is insane!

[Edited 10/28/17 5:43am]

PurpleCreme said:

I did the GA exhibition today too and completely agree with you.

Thought the exhibition was pretty good overall, and there were some nice touches for hardcore fans as well as more casual ones. But have no ideal why the chronology went to shit after the purple rain room. The 90s and beyond all felt very rushed too.

Pretty great Prince exhibition. Lots of amazing outfits and guitars, and well displayed... But would have preferred more music out loud. But because they had those location-based exhibition headsets it was a bit like being at one of those silent discos 😀

No photos allowed ☹️

rubberfish said:

Pretty great Prince exhibition. Lots of amazing outfits and guitars, and well displayed... But would have preferred more music out loud. But because they had those location-based exhibition headsets it was a bit like being at one of those silent discos 😀 No photos allowed ☹️

Photos allowed in VIP. And one member of security was actively encouraging photos in the other sections (unlike the rest, who were pretty hot on it).

Dibblekins said:

DaveT said:

Ouch!! Were they that expensive at Paisley?

Glad they've got a some merch in but those t-shirts do look a bit pants. Oh well, I'll see what I fancy picking up on the day ... I'm heading there week Monday. Off to see Chic there tonight to, so might see if I can sneak in the shop.

My friend and I are doing the VIP on Monday 6th too!

Look out for mad women in floaty, sequinned purple scarves!

Sooooooo excited - and a little apprehensive - about seeing his things. It's going to be emotional...

[Edited 10/27/17 10:46am]

Cool! We're going at midday entry ... I'll have a black t-shirt with gold symbol on it so say hi if you see me.

Chic were absolutely amazing btw!! The only other act I've seen in the O2 who had the whole crowd on their feet from start to finish was Prince, and I've seen alot of acts in there.

Thank you to @TheCityMag for featuting our #MyNameIsPrince exhibition.

DaveT said:

Dibblekins said:

My friend and I are doing the VIP on Monday 6th too!

Look out for mad women in floaty, sequinned purple scarves!

Sooooooo excited - and a little apprehensive - about seeing his things. It's going to be emotional...

[Edited 10/27/17 10:46am]

Cool! We're going at midday entry ... I'll have a black t-shirt with gold symbol on it so say hi if you see me.

Chic were absolutely amazing btw!! The only other act I've seen in the O2 who had the whole crowd on their feet from start to finish was Prince, and I've seen alot of acts in there.

We're in at 2pm - so our paths may cross if you're unable to tear yourself away, lol!

Good to hear you had a fab time!

[Edited 10/28/17 15:17pm]

I've heard nothing but good reviews on the Exhibit, could you please bring it to Kansas City, Missouri at Union Station??

HerecomethePurpleYoda said:

Thank you to @TheCityMag for featuting our #MyNameIsPrince exhibition.

jjam said:

How much are the books?

£35 each - which I think is reasonable - they are lovely books - I was initially disappointed that there wasn't a special exhibition book - but just flicking through them post exhibition so much of the stuff is in there they work just as well

DaveT said:

1p1p1i3 said:

Two different replica guitars - £2,180 each I think. I shuffled past quickly...

Ouch!! Were they that expensive at Paisley?

Glad they've got a some merch in but those t-shirts do look a bit pants. Oh well, I'll see what I fancy picking up on the day ... I'm heading there week Monday. Off to see Chic there tonight to, so might see if I can sneak in the shop.

They're £2160....so that's £20 less if that makes a difference!

dippydippywaveofmydo said:

Just got back from the exhibition. Did VIP which was cool but the main exhibition is the best part about it. So if I go again I’ll just get general admission. Some very cool stuff to see. Took me about 2 hours to look at everything. Only disappointment was the merchandise. T shirts are boring and cheap looking. £72.50 for a tambourine? I don’t think so. Also, yes, they’ve hiked up the price of Cloud Guitars. I wanted to get one. Apparently they sell for $1,750 at Paisley (correct me if I’m wrong). That’s around £1,300. They’re on sale at the exhibition for £2,160! Not sure if they’re priced so much for importing reasons but christ that’s a lot of money. So that was disappointing. But, the actual exhibition was excellent and I’ll probably go again in December or January. The spirit of Prince is definitely there!

They were $1,930.00 with shipping to the uk from Paisley (which worked out as £1,533.60 for me) - then you get stung for about £350 with customs charges - so I guess they are a bit more expensive - I imagine the o2 asks for a percentage cut of all merch sale though - so they probably have to take that into account too...

Purple pain? This collection of Prince memorabilia reveals nothing intimate about the star – review

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/name-prince-o2-arena-review/

I loved the exhibition - as mentioned before if you've got a late booking (6pm for me*) you might feel a little rushed getting out by 7.30pm

The guitars are great to see - and so much of the clothing/shoes are exquisite. The notebaooks are AMAZING - make sure you read them all - it's well worth it - the detail in the Purple Rain script is amazing.

There what I assume is an early version of Erotic City lyrics (Everybody) - really cool to see...there was a guy basically weeping in front of that display!

I went to the Bowie exhibition, which I was utterley blown away buy...it's not quite as well done as that, but it's Prince...so more my cup of tea!

Definitely worth a visit - I think I'll go again later in the run.

*actually I was supposed to be there at 5.15 - but I had a nightmare getting there...they let me in anyway though - which I love them for! Wish I'd got there earlier though!

cloudguitar said:

Thanks for the info mate.
[Edited 10/29/17 6:30am]
[Edited 10/29/17 6:31am]

How big is the exhibition physically. I mean I went to see Prince there in 2007 and the place is vast, how us the space utilised, is it not too big? Thx

I just went to visit the space and discuss tickets. I want to go at the same time as some Fams is anyone planning on making the trip soon?

jcurley said:

Its not in that room, if you walk around the inside of the tent past the restaurants and cinema its upstairs above Brooklyn Bowl

rap said:

Purple pain? This collection of Prince memorabilia reveals nothing intimate about the star – review

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/artists/name-prince-o2-arena-review/

It's good no-nonsense review, thank you. This part of the article says it all:

"All that is left to display are the artefacts of his brand. It is a peak behind the scenes that just shows another artfully staged scene. The V&A’s David Bowie Is and The Pink Floyd Exhibition: Their Mortal Remains exhibitions have showed what kind of creative synergy and enlightenment might be realised in an ambitiously and lovingly curated rock and roll exhibition.

That is the kind of exhibition Prince deserves. Unfortunately, like the O2’s Elvis exhibition in 2014* (sanctioned and curated by the Presley estate), this has zero interest in doing anything more than perpetuating a myth. Customers exit through the gift shop, where they can purchase Prince branded T-shirts, mugs and memorabilia but all it really memorialises is the exhibition itself. Prince has long since left the building."

(*and now in 2017 alongside Prince's)

stu said:

Thanks. I really want to go. Ironically what's making me think twice is I'm waiting on a hip operation!

CherryMoon57 said:

's exactly what I said above, the Elvis exhibition was originally twice the size of the Prince one and went chronologically from birth all the way through to Vegas. It included cars/bikes and a whole bunch of iconic stuff.
The current Floyd exhibit at the V&A has massive stage pieces and a room just for projecting some amazing live performance footage. Both were well thought through and labelled. The Bowie one was what they should have been aiming for, its incredible.
What you get at the Prince one is cool but as a once in a lifetime thing it could have been so much bigger and better.

We went to the My Name Is Prince exhibition this morning and i must say it was very underwhelming. Great to see the clothes/costumes and some handwritten lyrics but left having not seen or heard anything really new. Nothing really "personal" was included so anyone new or casual to Prince and his music won't learn anything about the real man.

Went to see the Elvis exhibition at the O2 a few years ago and that was done really well and had much more in the way of personal things and real "wow" factor items - like his cars, driving licence etc etc.

Also, MNIP was too busy so you couldn't really stand and take in everything as there were more people piling in. The headsets were a good idea and worked very well and it was good that the clothes wern't behind glass so you could get proper close up. Not sure why no photos - some celebs who were at the preview have posted pics and the Elvis exhibit actively encouraged it. Shame.

One last thing, the shop at the end is over-priced and again us Brits get taken for mugs - example: the hard back tour book, guitar book and costume book are all priced £35. Yet at Paisley Park two are priced $35 and the Paisley Park Tour Book is just $25. I can't imagine it has cost a £15 premium to get these into England!

This Telegraph review is spot on - http://www.telegraph.co.u...na-review/

I went on the VIP tour today and like others have said it was great to see the clothes, hand written lyrics etc but I felt the 90’s and onwards needed to be bigger, there was a fair amount of jostling around.

Get this though, we go into the first room of the VIP experience and it is supposed to be like being backstage with flight cases etc and someone actually looked round and said “why have they all got PRN on them”...it was lucky I didn’t get arrested for my response

I picked up the books because I really wanted them and a couple of bits but I have to say I didn’t think the clothing was very good quality considering the price tag.

It was a bitter sweet day, holding the guitar did get me though