Neither Black Sweat nor Te Amo were big hits im the UK. 3121 went straight in at No 9 and dropped to something like 36 the following week and then down to 50 something the week aftewr. Not a big seller.

The reasons Prince has sold so many tickets is simple. He's playing a string of dates in London, which is fairly (and cheaply) accessible from continental Europe, where he retains a sizeable and loyal fanbase to go with his hardcore UK constituency. The prices are cheap (when most acts of his stature charge three to four times that amount .... for nosebleed seats). And the hype - news items, billboards has helped too.

Correct, neither the album nor the singles did well in England, which is why I didn't mention the U.K. as one of the countries that those songs went top 40. Should have made that clear. Sorry about that. However, the success of the album and the top 40 single positions in several continental European countries may possibly be one of the reasons for coming to Europe. It sure as heck didn’t hurt the cause. Obviously, accessibility and media attention are definitely other reasons to choose London. This is, after all, most likely a European tour (of sorts), and not only a London performance by Prince.