stu said:

I notice that the gift shop is selling Paisley Park long sleeve shirts? (Purple logo/purple arms). Does anyone know how much they're going for? More expensive than in Minneapolis?

SonnyDJP said:

I notice that the gift shop is selling Paisley Park long sleeve shirts? (Purple logo/purple arms). Does anyone know how much they're going for? More expensive than in Minneapolis?

The white PP mugs were £8, there's a great looking purple symbol beanie with silver flecks that I was forbidden from buying by my other half - all the hats (3 types) were £22.

Can't remember the price of the shirts I'm afraid, I liked the PP one but wasn't looking to buy one so didn't look at price..

stu said:

SonnyDJP said:

I notice that the gift shop is selling Paisley Park long sleeve shirts? (Purple logo/purple arms). Does anyone know how much they're going for? More expensive than in Minneapolis?

The white PP mugs were £8, there's a great looking purple symbol beanie with silver flecks that I was forbidden from buying by my other half - all the hats (3 types) were £22.

Can't remember the price of the shirts I'm afraid, I liked the PP one but wasn't looking to buy one so didn't look at price..

I think they were £25 ... popped in the shop last Friday. I'm doing the exhibition on Monday so I'll check.

Anyone else notice the wrong sign next to 'Around the World in a Day' vinyl record? (not sure if it's been posted..)

jjam said:

Well, I enjoyed going today but, pretty much for the reasons that some here have stated such as lack of personal content, it could be so much better.

Also a bit odd to see the Prince gift shop at the end with quotes about Elvis above the merch displays. But then again the only Elvis I care about is Costello.

Were there any Elvis Paisley shirts?

CherryMoon57 said:

jjam said:

Well, I enjoyed going today but, pretty much for the reasons that some here have stated such as lack of personal content, it could be so much better.

Also a bit odd to see the Prince gift shop at the end with quotes about Elvis above the merch displays. But then again the only Elvis I care about is Costello.

Were there any Elvis Paisley shirts?

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/

I went yesterday - think this Telegraph review sums it up well. Always a pleasure to spend a couple of hours wallowing in old Prince videos and there was some cool stuff (hand written lyrics/scripts the highlight) but it just wasn't well put together. E.g. running a video of the Superbowl show but the outfits standing directly next to this screen are from totally random other periods - why not put the actual Superbowl outfit there? Would have also helped to have photos of Prince actually wearing the gear or using the guitars in question directly next to each exhibit to help make it more real - especially the clothes where just hanging on a mannequin they can never look the same as they did on him. There was an early guitar at the start of the exhibition which the voice over said Prince had modified several times - would have really brought this to life just to show photos of him with the guitar at varoius stages pre and during modification.

Also i was mystified why so little content and zero footage from 21 Nights in London at this exact same venue when many of the visitors would have seen him perform here - missed trick.

All in a couple of hours £25 and some nice reminders but if I'd travelled far hoping to see deeper into his world I'd have been disappointed.

By the way they showed a little video of the exhibitions at Paisley Park which look awesome - shame they didnt use the same team to put the show together!

If you're planning to go you want about 2 hours and at the end there's a tribute wall where you can attach messages or artwork to leave behind. They phase the entry times so in theory there's never a bunch of people at any one stage of the tour - I went in the middle of Friday afternoon and it was fine from a crowd POV.

Funnily enough, yes, there wre Elvis paisley shirts on sale!

CherryMoon57 said:

jjam said:

Well, I enjoyed going today but, pretty much for the reasons that some here have stated such as lack of personal content, it could be so much better.

Also a bit odd to see the Prince gift shop at the end with quotes about Elvis above the merch displays. But then again the only Elvis I care about is Costello.

Were there any Elvis Paisley shirts?

I went to the exhibition yesterday and very good it was too! Amazing up close opportunities to see his iconic costumes. It was quite surreal for me at times. I went on the VIP tour which was nice. I wonder, for people that have visited Paisley Park itself, how does the London exhibit compare?

SonnyDJP said:

Ramzoo said:

SonnyDJP said:

I went to the exhibition yesterday and very good it was too! Amazing up close opportunities to see his iconic costumes. It was quite surreal for me at times. I went on the VIP tour which was nice. I wonder, for people that have visited Paisley Park itself, how does the London exhibit compare?

Could U please detail what's in the VIP side? Thanks!

In the VIP rooms, you get to see the Earth Tour acoustic guitar, various flight cases and guitars and a few different outfits. Plus his mobile dressing cabinet which was crammed full of clothes and shoes. His make up stuff was on display and we got to see some 21 Nights footage on the big screen (Controversy and Purple Rain). Plus you get to hold the acoustic guitar that Prince played on the MTV Unplugged event, I think. Also, there's another room where you can retire, with free soft drinks and a goodie bag.

SonnyDJP said:

Went today. Really enjoyed it - incredible to see some of those outfits in the flesh - the peach outfit worn during Housequake in SOTT movie; the Rasperry Beret cloud suit etc etc.

A few observations:

- According to our guide (for the VIP bit), Prince had planned for an exhibition to be part of a future world tour - ie you went to the exhibition before seeing Prince in the evening.

- I get the “no photos” rule, but then you’d think the souvenir programme would include lots of the stuff you can’t photograph (the guitars / the outfits / maybe “The Dawn” handwritten notes). But it’s pretty thin - hardly any pictures of stuff on display, or further information about any of it… just lots of pictures we’ve seen before (the Lovesexy cover as a double page spread? Really?)

- In VIP section we saw some footage of Controversy from the last night of the o2, and Purple Rain from the first night. It was from the mixed video feed for the arena. The sound was great but the quality was pretty average - lots of colour bleed; black and white to begin with on Controversy. Made me abandon any faint hope of pristine quality concert videos at some point in the future, if this is indicative of what’s in the vault.

- The O2 wanted to extend the exhibition beyond early January as it’s proved so popular, but they can’t as it's going to take it on an international tour

Robbajobba said:

Went today. Really enjoyed it - incredible to see some of those outfits in the flesh - the peach outfit worn during Housequake in SOTT movie; the Rasperry Beret cloud suit etc etc.

A few observations:

- According to our guide (for the VIP bit), Prince had planned for an exhibition to be part of a future world tour - ie you went to the exhibition before seeing Prince in the evening.

- I get the “no photos” rule, but then you’d think the souvenir programme would include lots of the stuff you can’t photograph (the guitars / the outfits / maybe “The Dawn” handwritten notes). But it’s pretty thin - hardly any pictures of stuff on display, or further information about any of it… just lots of pictures we’ve seen before (the Lovesexy cover as a double page spread? Really?)

- In VIP section we saw some footage of Controversy from the last night of the o2, and Purple Rain from the first night. It was from the mixed video feed for the arena. The sound was great but the quality was pretty average - lots of colour bleed; black and white to begin with on Controversy. Made me abandon any faint hope of pristine quality concert videos at some point in the future, if this is indicative of what’s in the vault.

- The O2 wanted to extend the exhibition beyond early January as it’s proved so popular, but they can’t as it's going to take it on an international tour

Don't give up hope! Paisley Park were showing full concerts last winter in pristine quality, including a 21 Nights In London show from September 13, 2007.

Thanks for these useful and interesting reviews everyone. I'm going in December, GA not ViP. I saw the Stones one at the Saatchi gallery. It was extensive and welll curated and there was only one price point as far as I recall. I'm going to try not to expect too much here and just go with the flow.

SonnyDJP said:

Funnily enough, yes, there wre Elvis paisley shirts on sale!

CherryMoon57 said:

Were there any Elvis Paisley shirts?

Are you serious?!

motherfunka said:

I have written a review on a UK website. Apologies if it's too long...

My Name Is Prince - The O2 Arena, London November 2, 2017

When this was announced, my natural excitement was tempered by more than a degree of trepidation and cynicism about what this exhibition would be and how Prince would be represented. The decisions and motivation of his sister and the plethora of ‘relatives’ that suddenly came on the scene in the wake of his death have been the source of much consternation and, er, controversy amongst much of his hardcore fan community; so there remain fears that this, as an extension of the transformation of Paisley Park as a memorial/museum, might just be a quick and tacky cash-in job. Factor in that the curator of the exhibition is a director of Graceland, and the dollar signs seem to be shining brightly. Nonetheless, regardless of these reservations, it’s Prince for goodness’ sake, and it’s the closest I’m gonna get to upstate Minnesota in this lifetime, so of course I was always going to be there.

The extension of its run over a period way beyond the original, poignantly resonant 21 days ‘due to unprecedented demand’ led me to imagine queues round the block and a crush at all the displays, but it was a pleasant surprise to find the exhibition space sparsely attended at my designated entry time, so that I was able to get up close and personal for detailed perusal of every item.

The substance of the exhibition has come in for some criticism in the media, mainly in the context of other recent music icon retrospectives. I saw David Bowie Is at the V & A back in 2013, and it was phenomenally well done and can be now considered as the benchmark. I honestly didn’t expect this to be as good, because (a) the curators at the V & A are obviously experts in putting together a serious and comprehensive retrospective of a culturally important subject in an appropriately significant environment, as it’s their day job, and (b) much as I love him – and I really, really do – Prince has never presented his intellectualism and cultural influences as openly and thoroughly as Bowie did. I’m not saying Prince was not intellectual – he was smart and knowledgeable in many ways – but that wasn’t the function of his music or his public persona. Bowie was as much about the art as the heart, whereas Prince was all about the funk, the groove, the sheer emotional impact of playing and performing his music to give you the best goddamn time of your life. Hence you don’t get to see much about his private life, his likes and dislikes, his favourite books or art; he kept all that stuff to himself. What you do see and hear is what Prince essentially was all about – the music and the show. He laid himself open to us through music and performance…sadly too much, in the end.
This is made explicit in the many quotes displayed on the backdrops, and in excerpts of the commentary/soundtrack accessed, as is standard practice in these events, through a personal headset, featuring a bespoke ‘mixtape’ and a more chronological sequence of songs to tie in with the copious amount of videos and clips of live shows from across his career. For the more serious fan, this can be quite frustrating, as the choice of material is mostly familiar; it would have been interesting and illuminating to have had a few more esoteric selections from his vast output, but it should be appreciated that the style and location of this exhibition is designed to appeal to a broader and more mildly curious audience. Having said this, there are some strange omissions in musical and visual exhibits along the ‘journey’ – nothing from the awesome Parade tour, no footage of the ‘Lovesexy’ live shows or the 1990 Nude Tour, and very little from that tricky early 2000s Jehovah’s Witness period, which was obviously so important to Prince himself.

In spite of these flaws, what is on show ensured that I abandoned my critical misgivings and embraced my unashamed inner fanboi. A few highlights…

* The costumes – as if we had any doubt, the guy was tiny. His waist was as thick as one of my legs! An amazing array of examples of a unique sense of style which only Prince could ever have gotten away with. Being able to take such a close look, literally an arm’s length away, was revelatory. The detail on the costumes – the diagonal button features, ruched trousers, exquisite flocking, matching boots etc of the mid-late 80s eras, made of the most delicate, gossamer-thin material (these were real working clothes); the iconic coats (Purple Rain) and suits (Raspberry Beret, Batman/Gemini), moving on to the sharp Diamonds & Pearls ensembles, branded Symbol and NPG iconography of the later 90s outfits and on to the looser, asymmetrical and flowing tunics and tops of his latter years. Who else would even think of carrying off wearing a jacket with sleeves emblazoned with the legend ‘dopamine rush’?

The guitars – more appealing to the musos among us, but again emblematic of the guy’s unique aesthetic and idiosyncratic professional requirements, from his first personally-customised leopardskin/lighted model, to his favourite Hohner and a fantastic ‘steampunk’ blue-black creation used in the ‘Batman’ sessions and videos. Also, Wendy’s acoustic used for ‘Raspberry Beret’ and a sunburst-design Fender (?) from around 2010. (You can tell I’m not a muso…)

* The central room, with displays and video-banks built around a facsimile of the Symbol-shaped stage, where all chronology is lost but the experience becomes totally immersive…truly Prince heaven.

The ‘moments’. That cloud suit. Watching him sing ‘Purple Rain’ with the very costumes from the tour directly in my eyeline. Prince’s notebooks with the original script notes for the screenplay (he has lovely handwriting). The longform video for ‘Thieves In The Temple’ that I first saw back in 1990 before the Nude show. The ‘Paisley Park’ room, in which I felt a really strong emotional connection to what the place meant to him, and how much he has impacted on my life; and (a really lovely personal touch) the final exhibit, a re-creation of the fence outside the Paisley Park complex, where visitors are invited to write and leave their own personal messages in much the same way that fans did at the site after his passing.

So, a flawed and very partial overview in many ways, but ultimately this is, thankfully, a tastefully conceived celebration of a life lived and fulfilled almost exclusively through music and performance. If you’re a fan, it’s essential

The audience:

All ages, from youngsters to young adults, middle-aged contemporaries and older funksters. The casual punter to the die-hard mourner. We’re all the New Power Generation now.

It made me think..

Paisley Park is in my heart.

Went today and really enjoyed it, well worth the £25 entry fee. Was quite emotional at times. Even though it was a Monday lunchtime it was well attended and nice to see people bopping along to the music as they walked round. The headset and guide/music was a great touch and brilliant to have with you on the way round.

Some thoughts...

- Given Prince's ideals of equality and not charging fans stupid money for stuff, splitting the exhibition between standard and VIP seemed unfair. It was a bit 'us and them' between us £25 folk and those that plumped for the VIP. The whole experience for £30 would be a fair price.

- The shop is all stupidly expensive, even more so when much of the stuff there isn't exactly great quality. £70 for a hoodie? Jog on! And god knows whether they will sell any of those £2,200 Cloud guitars!

- More background info would have been good. Felt like it was missing a bit at the start about his childhood and pre-fame days, and there was nothing about those he's collaborated with or his band members. Some more info boards with facts, figures, lists of tours would have been good.

- I agreed with no photos ... would have been tough to look at stuff in detail with people standing next to it for constant photos and selfies.

- I noticed a couple of mistakes (having the Parade section before SOTT when it was meant to be chronological). It would have taken no effort for the curators to let a couple of fans from here wander round before opening to point this stuff out.

... oh and the stands they used to display his clothes looked a little on the short side to me. Having seen the man up close, I know he was short, but not that tiny. Some of the trousers looked ruffled at the bottom of the leg like they didn't fit the stands properly.

I didn't get a chance to ask the shop, but does anyone know if they are selling Cloud guitar cases in the shop? Need a case for my purple Cloud and would love to get one.

JonnyUK said:

I went VIP yesterday. Thoughts (and potential spoilers) below: Was great to see everything SO close and well worth travelling down for (thinking about going back before the end of the run). Although there could of course been more, there was more than I expected. Loved seeing so much iconic stuff but the handwritten stuff was a particular highlight. So little behind glass and not being ruined by people constantly taking photos made it priceless. I imagine that would be exactly how he would have wanted it IF he wanted the exhibit. Our VIP tour guide said he had planned the exhibition to tour but I took that with a pinch of salt. Even if he did he was the type to have a lot of ideas that he'd turn his back on. I did expect more for the VIP as it was sold as 90 minute guided tour and three rooms. Do I regret paying extra? No. I've wanted the book included and would have bought the bag and that almost covers th cost difference. The white glove experience involved the guitar from one of my favourite performances. I liked that there was a recently discovered case of clothes left exactly as found to look at. Was a little disappointed that I couldn't get some of the merchandise I wanted. Although if I hadn't seen pics online then I wouldn't have known any different so can't complain. Main thing I've wanted for a while is the Paisley books so im glad I've been able to get those. Going to enjoy them with a coffee now

Thanks for the report! I'm going again (am I a Prince fan addict?) but this time VIP. Do U mean that one of the book is included? Which one?

Ramzoo said:

I went today as VIP just before midday and I must say I really enjoyed it (as much as you can given the circumstances).

As per usual a variety of ages, ethnicities, just as per the shows I've seen over the years! I met a bloke from Holland who had flew over especially (Sander his name was, I think) and both the group and the young lad who took care of us were very knowledgeable.

We got a tote bag with a copy of Parkes book as part of the VIP package (I have the book already so will gift it to someone for Xmas).

Things that stood out:

I was in there for a good 3 hours...plus a little more in the shop, and I didnt watch all the videos! I am glad they had the RnR Hall of Fame performance with the NPG and the Superbowl performance - I love both and am aware that casual fans may have not seen these and so would have gone down well.

There are a lot of guitars that I hadnt even known of:

The Gibson with P's own carpentry!

The Black Ibanez with the Symbol - lovely looking guitar

An Ibanez Bass

In VIP there was an acoustic with the Earth print, made for the Earth tour but wasnt used during 21 nights.

The 5 string Bass that Sonny used during the Gold era, I thought it would have been something Sonny kept!

The Shop

T-shirts are a let down, sizes look really small (i could have been looking ladies tops!). Again the guys at paisley could learn from some of the stuff being sold online (unauthorized) they are also overpriced at £25. Interestingly my local HMV has officially licenced purple rain t-shirts at 15.99!

I spent a bit too much, however it dawned on me that I wont be spending anything on any Prince concerts, which was almost something that happened every 2-3 years anyways:

I got the official program

The Paisley Park sessions h/back book

The Guitars and Bass book - these are heavily priced at £35 but do look well put together

The keyring, badges and zip hook

They were out of mugs! (something I really was after!)

It would have been nice for them to stock the Shahidi book too.

There were some fams who found it really emotional.

It was nice to see the lyrics to erotic city, not sure why they were placed in "emancipation", and the Funk and Fu#k amendments.

I hope anyone visiting enjoys!

#edit#

oh and the man used Oil of Olay!! That was the secret!

[Edited 11/6/17 23:41pm]

I'll be visiting Friday. Have any of you guys left a message / picture on the fence that is to return to PP? If so did you have to bring anything along to facilitate (e.g. zip-ties or something).

ian said:

I'll be visiting Friday. Have any of you guys left a message / picture on the fence that is to return to PP? If so did you have to bring anything along to facilitate (e.g. zip-ties or something).

Yes, I found a spare piece of paper in my bag and composed a suitably personal eulogy; I found it very difficult to gather my thoughts, so it took a while! I just rolled it up and popped it in one of the holes in the 'fence'. Some of the messages had fallen down, but I'm trusting the staff to gather them all up and store them appropriately. I found this one of the most intimate and touching aspects of the exhibition, and was glad of it.

I thought the exhibition was exceptional!

It's easy to suggest improvements but ultimately to stand next to classic outfits was just magical and emotional - such a priceless experience.

There are so many highlights....

To see the Batman/Joker outfit was just mindblowing! I still can't get over that. Simply amazing and awesome and incredible!!!!!!!

Also to see the Sign Of The Times outfits were a serious highlight for me. It's hard to explain. Those items just hit my hard.

The leather jacket from Graffiti Bridge was really interesting. I didn't realise the metal symbol on the back stuck out so much - that must have been dangerous.

The Purple Rain outfits were cool, but I don't like the fact that everyone seems to be stuck in 1984. It was interesting to see how faded the long coat had become.

Did Prince have a thing for white plastic buttons? Soooo many outfits were over the top with the horrible white plastic buttons. I wonder if someone bought a massive box of them and felt they needed to add them to everything!!!!!!

I only have one negative comment. The lighting was awful in the main room around the symbol shaped stage! It was like a neon search light moving around. When I was looking at the Raspberry Beret cloud suit, I couldn't make out the colours due to this horrible and very stupid light!

On the subject of the cloud suit, oddly, I've just noticed a person that isn't Prince is wearing the cloud suit on the cover of ATWIAD album. I would have thought only Prince would have been shown wearing this.

I really liked all of the merchandise. I already had the main items I wanted as I had them shipped from Paisley Park via a friend. So I bought a few bits and the offical exhibition programme - I wish this had many more pictures of the exhibited items.

It was awesome to be given a 'free' copy of the USA pressing of Steve Parke's 'Picturing Prince' - the one with the extra 16 pages - so it's nice to have both versions of the book.

If I was in the position to add three items to the exhition, they would be....

1. The yellow outfit from Gett Off MTV performance - so sad that wasn't there

2. The fluffy coat from SOTTs worn during U Got The Look and If I Was Your Girlfriend.

3. The main outfit worn in Under The Cherry Moon.

If you get the opportunity to, then do go!!!

I hope one day we have another exhibition with further items such as the Purple Rain motorbike.