...what a curiosity.

The performance was interesting: I though Lolita worked brilliantly live... not so sure about Satisfied, drags the energy levels down a little too far...

With regards the whole appearance: it was interesting to see the, apparently genuine, confusion he caused - don't know if that was entirlrey necessary? I did like the way he simply turned on his heels and walked off at the end, that was pretty good. I still wish, however, he'd never turned up in the first place. He still gets no credits for doing this show, in my jaundiced book.

Watching his face as he lapped up the applause I was reminded of a conversation I had with Liz Jones at the time of the release of her "Slave to the Rhythm" book. She had been out to see Prince just before Emancipation was released and she had formed the picture of a man who simply craves the limelight. She told me to forget the whole idea of Prince being in this game for the artistic kudos. He was in it for the fame just as much. She interpreted Prince as being chart-hungry, craving the attention of the media etc. The look on his face at the end of this performance said it all. Having said that, who wouldn't be thrilled at the reception he gets? I would probably vomit with all the excitement, but hey, I'm not the one bleating about corporate slavery before appearing on a ball'n'chain show like AI.

Saw it in New Zealand on Youtube at May 26, yeah Lolita was all good, but Staisfied was was rather tired sounding.

Yeah, but it's more about how Prince adores the limelight. I've no qualms about this at all, none what-so-ever, I just wish he'd come on out and admit that he loves the ovasions, the plaudits and the faux- or sincere respect paid to him.

Friends of mine who are not Prince fans by any means, and don't know one thing about him saw the show. And they made comments like this.....
Too much make up
I didn't even know it was Prince (no intro)
He didn't seem "into" the performance
and
It was very rude the way he handled the whole thing.

Hey BoySimon, Dunedin here.

BoySimon said:

I don't think he'd deny it though he'd probably pretend that it wasn't as important to him as it really is. The guy is torn between being a serious musician and being a pop star (the two being almost mutually exclusive these days), how else do you explain the release of two fairly uninteresting by-the-numbers pop albums after TRC and NEWS? He was obviously worried that he was drifting too far from the mainstream. I think its a mistake, in the long run, for him to pursue the pop limelight like he is at the moment. He risks losing whatever credibility he has left, and when history is written its credibility that counts.
[Edited 6/3/06 21:47pm]

Credibility within or without the industry? I wonder if the moguls at ... who's he signed to now? ... are pissed at him appearing on such a popular show?

Prince has lacked credibility within and without, I reckon, for a number of years now... It's just people like us, those who financially invest in the music he creates, that have any form of vested interest... and we know what he thinks of us, really, don't we?

Dunedin? Just up the road... Oamaru.

Your profile says London, England?

Yeah haven't changed it yet.

So why New Zealand?

Fabulous place, fabulous people... the beer needs some work, but you can't have everything... Just an all-round nicer place to exist in than the UK.

Fair enough

so, are you a born'n'bred or are you an immigrant like me?

Been in Dunedin all my life

It's quite a nice city. Terrible for wind and rain, though.

BoySimon said:

What do you mean by credibility? Do you base that on record sales and charts?

It's an odd one, isn't it? My personal response is that I think TRC and NEWS were "credible" albums; artistic expressions and wholly commensurate with the given aims of what the NPGMC is supposed to about - in my view. "Credible" as far as the "industry" is concerned, again in my view, is about the bottom line - making money. Record companies are in it for the cash, simple as that. I think that whichever one he's signed to at the moment would have been delighted by his appearance on AI - possibly not so delighted at the manner of his appearance and departure, but delighted he was on it (profile heightening, etc). When I say "we know what he thinks of us", I'm referring to the constant flip-flopping regards release of records, tour dates, etc. The reversion to 'media-friendly' (almost industry friendly) albums. The apparent non-acknowledgement of NPGMC members, who will buy a song on-line and have to buy it again on CD when its 'released' again - the whole TAC CD single idiocy, etc. So, an extended answer to your question, but credibility is depending on your point of view... I just think that, for all the furore whenever he appears, for all the, obvious, influence he has had on American pop-music, his credibility has wavered... but then, that's just me... what do I know?

Not necessarily, he dosent promote the music like he used too, and thats going to cost him the New fans. He cant even do this in America let alone New Zealand, our charts are going to be under siege from rap and hip hop forever. I had to go to Oz just to get the singles, no promotion. Prince has a lot of credibility, just he dosent really want anyone to know.
Did you get the snow today? We got it thick in Christchurch.

Oamaru was stuck in a little pocket of serenity! All around us was chaos and discorder

Again, I think that Prince's credibility is based on a 'mythical' Prince that existed somewhere in the mid-80s... Once it became apparent that he was unable to evolve with new musical styles successfully (rap, for example) the memory of him became tarnished. Once he bagan his spat with WBros then his commercial career altered irretrievably, and he henceforth be playing to ever decreasing returns. That's why I suggest in another thread that his sojourn to Vegas is so perfect for him. As a live 'entertainer' he still thrills and excites... on CD, not so much anymore.

Definitely hes still ahuge live draw, and hes electrifying on satge, even with the idol performmance, Prince is a consunamate showman rather than a bankable recording artist.
And thats not such a bad thing, I mean how many of todays artists could light up a stage like Prince. Keep him on the road, don't resign him to Vegas yet or the Oamaru Senior Citizens meeting rooms or the Christchurch Town Hall!!!