before the concert dates were announced , a lot of people said that prince wouldnt be able to sell out arenas in this country ????...i always found this view very short sighted considering his position as a legend in the music business....some people think that just because he hasnt been in the charts much in the last few years that this means he is no longer popular ???...or because they dont know many prince fans that this means that next to nobody likes him anymore ???....
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for example...here is a post from last month from an orger and my reply to it...
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I don't think he would sell that many tickets in the UK now. The last show was at the Hammersmith Apollo, only a couple of thousand seats. If he went 'on tour' in the UK he would struggle to play more than one date at any of the larger venues around the country. Since the heyday of the Nude Tour, when he did something silly like 18 nights in a row at Wembley, he's always had problems putting bums on seats in the UK.



bollocks...prince would sell out 10000 seater arenas in the uk no problem....if he plays the hits and gets a bit of promotion ,maybe a single out before the album for a change...do you realise it has been a good 12 years since prince released a single before the album????...sounds basic stuff for pushing a record but he hasnt done it for years..
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HE NOW HAS THE FASTEST SELLING CONCERTS OF THE SUMMER...LOOKING LIKE IT ISNT JUST GOING TO SELL OUT ONE ARENA SHOW BUT AROUND TWENTY !!
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TRUE TALENT WILL ALWAYS BE POPULAR...

I've seen those comments here and over at HQ and I notice those same people who always say that are noticeably quiet all of a sudden. I never pay attention to people who claim to speak for countries and continents because you just never know.

I never pay attention to people who underestimate the power of Prince, that has proven to be a big mistake!

In the UK? Not necessarily... Prince is A LOT of people's favorite artist (or one of their all-time favorites).

Maybe a few months ago it would have but Ive been told hes much more popular over there than he is in the states which if true, then why doesnt he perform more over there?

I always understood that Prince got much love from the UK. Not the UK press, but the fans.

I would hazard a guess that because the shows are the only European dates this year, the success of the ticket sales is more likely attributed to visitors from other countries and 'repeat antenders' (im copyrighting that). Not necessarily that Prince could sell 140,0000 tickets in the UK alone.

A very shrewd and obviously sucessful move by prince.

Put it this way, the British have always appreciated a genius. We've got good taste.

It doesn't bother me, just as long as me and my sister are there, dancing away!!

I was stunned as there isn't a single person I know that likes Prince. I couldn't give a ticket away to friends, even if I wanted to.

no it didn't BUT you know that all the usual suspects will be talking shit and saying he sold that many tix because 1] the cost was cheap, 2] cuz it was the only Euro date [forgetting the fact that those in Europe have to fork out lots more to get to the U.K.!] ETC.
This is a 100% succes, it would be truly churlish and rather pathetic to deny otherwise.
[Edited 5/13/07 8:31am]

Yep, I had a convo w/ somebody on this site re: this topic and they swore he couldnt sell out a single show across the pond. LOL Glad hes getting the luv and energy he deserves. America has Dubyaitis. Alot will get better once hes gone.

Peolple still love Prince, that's why his shows sold out.For those who did'nt believe

3121 said:

I think this is a very valid point. Expect the first few rows to be populated by Netherlanders every night!

Nah, even in the UK there obviously is still a lot of support for Prince as a legendary live performer (less so as an album act, his last few albums have sold fairly poorly). People willing to see him live, less so to buy new music from him. The speed as to which these gigs sold-out did surprise me though.

I do tend to worry that casual UK concert-goers have no idea that Prince rarely does a solid hit-fest type concert and instead mixes it up with rarer songs and indeed covers sung by backing singers! I can imagine quite a few concert-goers leaving the stadium bemoaning the fact he didn't play such-an-such a hit.

Yeah, I would suggest that loads of people over here will be out of touch in terms of what Prince does and does not play live now.

I reckon there have been three big factors in the popularity of his shows.

Firstly, the ticket price is outstanding for such a renowned artist, one that every reasonable person will admit is supremely talented at what he does.

Secondly, the Superbowl performance caused a stir, as did his Brits performance, and made people aware he was still capable of the magic.

Lastly, the concert on Thursday, and the likes of Chris Moyles raving about it on Friday morning, made people sit up and think "£31 for a show like that! Why not??"

Prince is the most talented artist on the planet... and has been for over 20 years.

I'm a college tutor, and from what I have heard, the youth of today still recognise him as a genius even if they don't like his music...but most like at least one song!!

Prince is so diverse he appeals to many people... I expect him to sell out 21 gigs no problem...

Am I going... wouldn't miss it for the world...

don't underestimate the very, very lot of people from Europe who are going to attend a lot of shows !!!!!

I'm glad Prince is proving the naysayers wrong. It was the same thing here in the States in 2004. Even I wondered if he could sell out arenas and he proved me wrong. God, I love it when he does that.

metalorange said:

So lets see, the thing that has happened didnt really happen cuz it was aliens buying tickets and before the first note is played, people will definitely be disappointed. - Ok - Pay him. Hes worth way more than hes getting to tolerate the bi-polar, schizo ride this is turning into .

JonnyApplesauce said:

Not saying the shows didn't sell out, just saying that without doubt numbers have been bolstered by all the non-UKers attending. The Prince-fan catchement area for these gigs is not UK alone but the entire of Europe, whether he could have sold out to just UK fans there's no way of knowing. The title of the thread is 'Prince's popularity in the UK' but that doesn't take into account the European factor. Another factor is fans attending multiple shows - most everybody I know is going to 3 or more dates, that 'artificially' so to speak inflates the apparent demand.

But that is just observations on the make-up of Prince's audience, it isn't meant to take away from the success of this venture so far.

I was stunted that 280,000 tickets sold out within an hour and even if i have to go alone to london from glasgow im not missing the greatest gig of the summer.

Are you kidding, i nearly shot my load when i heard he was playing London and i live in Glasgow, anyway August 1st O2 dome i will be there and cant fucking wait

I think the shows will be a great crowd pleaser. Seems Prince is up for playing hits-laden shows, which is what the general audience wants, so everyone is happy I guess.

The UK shows are the only European dates announced, so there's bound to be a lot of ticket sales from outside the UK, but I don't think without that the shows would be a flop. Part due to timing, and Prince taking advantage of that what with the Superbowl, Brits, Hall of Fame etc, Prince gets a lot of props these days from being a "living legend", from younger artists and the press so I think there's a lot of younger music fans who've never seen him and a lot of older music fans who haven't really paid attention to Prince since the very early 90's, so the popularity might have been surprising, but definately justified.
[Edited 5/14/07 4:59am]

Yep, I was someone who suggested that Prince might struggle to sell out his shows. I'm really happy to see that he's done really well and a little relieved that I've got lower teer tickets to boot!

I think my points were not that I don't think he is obviously the most multi-talented pop musicain of all time etc but the ignorence of the mainstream towards him. However, I do think his fans are few and far between (I don't know any) and the reaction of most people is, "he's a poof".

I read a 'news' item in The Mirror calling him a, "...tiny purple idoit..." for some completely uninformed reason. How can he be idoit with the business plan that he's working to, the one that made him so much money (and about to again) touring the US in 2004!! This is just one example and it pisses me off!!!

It's sad but I have a very low opinion on british taste and culture which prompted me to suggest the dates would not sell out.

No.

I'm sure people who don't even own a single Prince album bought tickets.
he's one of those 'legendary' acts people wanna c regardless..

It'll b a lot harder 4 him 2sell 140.000 albums than tickets.

Xplanet said:

"Journalists" at somewhere like The Mirror just can't take it that he won't play their game and give them interviews to sell their crappy paper. That's why I think they resort to calling him names.

Why can't people understand that they can't hurt Prince, not with words. He's been called everything under the son in his almost 30 years career, everything but what he is which is a child of GOD and he's still going strong. Honey if Prince is known all over the world and he does music better than anybody out there,nobody can hold him down, nobody!

Well to answer the subject,then no because no matter where the bums in the seats come from. Prince is still packing them in and wish I could have be there but couldn't get to Vegas so I know I will not make it to UK.

Bear in mind that the 02 is pretty close to City Airport, which has regular flights to places like Holland (where Prince is much-loved), so the location was a smart choice.

I also think that the fact that the advertising (huge billboard ads by the side of the M4 motorway, for example) is drumming home the idea that this is a HITS tour, "for the very last time", and not some crazy Jehovah-funk indulgence, will help shift tickets.

It's like The Rolling Stones. Who's actually bought a new Stones album since 1981? And yet they're still probably the biggest-grossing live act on earth.

Prince is the man. I believe he would put more behinds in the seats than Michael Jackson or others of the iconic status. I was wondering, does anyone know if Prince ever played at the Wembley Stadium? And if so, was it packed?