????????????????

But seriously, Purple Rain was bigger here, than in Europe. So not touring here for the whole decade is a bit weird.

Australia is a scary place, lots of scary ass insects!

Well.

He isn't the only big star who actually almost never comes to Australia.

Look at Madonna!!!!!! With it's even more worse, lol.

Madonna has been there once with couple of dates back in 1993 with the Girlie Show and after that she never came back. lol

First she wanted to come in 2006 with her Confessions Tour, didn't happen.

Also she wanted to come in 2009 with her Sticky and Sweet tour,also didn't happen.

I think a lot more artists also almost never come to Australia... strange i think.

The old story has always been exchange rate.

The amount you can charge for tickets in certain countries, and what it costs to bring the tour there.

MrLee192 said:

Australia is a scary place, lots of scary ass insects!

[img:$uid]http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp189/Gern186/comedy/kangaroo.gif[/img:$uid]

paniuroczy said:

MrLee192 said:

Australia is a scary place, lots of scary ass insects!

[img:$uid]http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp189/Gern186/comedy/kangaroo.gif[/img:$uid]

I actually NEVER understood why Prince never did tour Australia in the '80s as he always has had a big following over there...

[Edited 8/21/11 13:24pm]

nursev said:

Really who did at the time except Men at Work?

Well, given that they are Australian and their biggest hit was called "Down Under", we'd be pretty friggin' annoyed if they didn't

Australia had a really thriving local live music scene in the 70s and 80s, moreso than a lot of our overseas counterparts according to some bands who were actually disappointed when they toured abroad and discovered that what they had at home in Sydney and Melbourne was quite special compared to other cities they visited.

The exchange rate is one factor, the distance is another. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about Australia as well which might be part of the reason we sometimes get overlooked.

Certainly we have lots of excellent acts that tour here now. I went to a lot of events during the Melbourne International Jazz Festival recently and that is definitely gaining momentum every year with more and more overseas artists taking part - similar with the Blues festival that happens further north.

IIRC, after her last attempt to come down here, Madonna stated that she wouldn't ever tour Australia again, which I respect on the basis that at least she's been clear about it and her fans aren't left wondering.

That said, of course I hope other artists don't decide to follow suit!! Artists who have come to Australia, particularly artists like Pink who did a long residency here, have done very well out of it. I think at one point during her visit, something like all of Pink's albums were in the top twenty simultaneously and she was getting tons of media attention.

We might have missed out in the 80s (though there was plenty of local talent keeping concert-goers and pub-crawlers busy), but hopefully we'll be seen as more and more viable an option by Prince and other top acts in the future.

he was 2 busy

he didnt have 2

its 2 far away

AND

i prob should not have sent hiim those letters

802 said:

But seriously, Purple Rain was bigger here, than in Europe. So not touring here for the whole decade is a bit weird.

He only toured Purple rain on the Nort American continent.

how was the reception of Parade, Sott etc?

huge in Europe, so enough money to be made in europe ...

It's pretty strange that he would tour Japan (a country that speaks an entirely different language), but not Australia.

[Edited 8/22/11 6:45am]

Vict0r said:

It's pretty strange that he would tour Japan (a country that speaks an entirely different language), but not Australia.

[Edited 8/22/11 6:45am]

you know how many languages are spoken in Europe then???

remko said:

Vict0r said:

It's pretty strange that he would tour Japan (a country that speaks an entirely different language), but not Australia.

[Edited 8/22/11 6:45am]

you know how many languages are spoken in Europe then???

Indeed. It isn't about the language, it's I think about the high costs they have to make. Because Australia is pretty far away.

xLiberiangirl said:

remko said:

you know how many languages are spoken in Europe then???

Indeed. It isn't about the language, it's I think about the high costs they have to make. Because Australia is pretty far away.

I think so,

far away and pretty dense populated. So a lot of costs for a few/not enough shows.

But with his current show, it should not be a problem.

Chiquetet said:

nursev said:

Really who did at the time except Men at Work?

Well, given that they are Australian and their biggest hit was called "Down Under", we'd be pretty friggin' annoyed if they didn't

Australia had a really thriving local live music scene in the 70s and 80s, moreso than a lot of our overseas counterparts according to some bands who were actually disappointed when they toured abroad and discovered that what they had at home in Sydney and Melbourne was quite special compared to other cities they visited.

The exchange rate is one factor, the distance is another. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about Australia as well which might be part of the reason we sometimes get overlooked.

Certainly we have lots of excellent acts that tour here now. I went to a lot of events during the Melbourne International Jazz Festival recently and that is definitely gaining momentum every year with more and more overseas artists taking part - similar with the Blues festival that happens further north.

IIRC, after her last attempt to come down here, Madonna stated that she wouldn't ever tour Australia again, which I respect on the basis that at least she's been clear about it and her fans aren't left wondering.

That said, of course I hope other artists don't decide to follow suit!! Artists who have come to Australia, particularly artists like Pink who did a long residency here, have done very well out of it. I think at one point during her visit, something like all of Pink's albums were in the top twenty simultaneously and she was getting tons of media attention.

We might have missed out in the 80s (though there was plenty of local talent keeping concert-goers and pub-crawlers busy), but hopefully we'll be seen as more and more viable an option by Prince and other top acts in the future.

Don't forget INXS was big time in Australia at the time too.

Timmy84 said:

Don't forget INXS was big time in Australia at the time too.

INXS, Midnight Oil, Icehouse, Men At Work, The Angels, AC/DC, plus tons of other great acts.

I was talking to a friend the other day who's a bit older than me and she recalls a weekend where she had to choose between seeing Midnight Oil at one pub gig and INXS at another (amongst dozens of other possible acts). I was too young to appreciate it, but I realise now that it really was a bit of a golden age of live music here.

Who knows? Maybe the fact that international acts were more reluctant to tour here was partly responsible for the local scene becoming so strong.

I recently saw an interview with Iva Davies (Icehouse), who suggested that it was the isolation in Aus/NZ that was inadvertently driving the local music scene.

He said that he and his bandmembers and no doubt other bands around the place had a perception of this frenzy of live music activity in other cities around the world and were attempting to emulate it in Melb/Syd/etc... only to discover that the scene here, at least in terms of live activity (helped primarily by the number of large pubs and other venues regularly offering live music), was stronger even than cities like London at one point (http://www.undercover.fm/...interviews - he starts talking about it from around the 8min mark).

Sadly, many of the venues that used to offer live music have opted for other ways to utilise the space (or have closed down completely), meaning that, although there is still plenty of activity here (and of course a bit more love now from overseas acts), the local live music scene is really a shadow of what it was in the late 70s and early 80s.

Sorry for meandering OT...

Chiquetet said:

Timmy84 said:

Don't forget INXS was big time in Australia at the time too.

INXS, Midnight Oil, Icehouse, Men At Work, The Angels, AC/DC, plus tons of other great acts.

I was talking to a friend the other day who's a bit older than me and she recalls a weekend where she had to choose between seeing Midnight Oil at one pub gig and INXS at another (amongst dozens of other possible acts). I was too young to appreciate it, but I realise now that it really was a bit of a golden age of live music here.

Who knows? Maybe the fact that international acts were more reluctant to tour here was partly responsible for the local scene becoming so strong.

I recently saw an interview with Iva Davies (Icehouse), who suggested that it was the isolation in Aus/NZ that was inadvertently driving the local music scene.

He said that he and his bandmembers and no doubt other bands around the place had a perception of this frenzy of live music activity in other cities around the world and were attempting to emulate it in Melb/Syd/etc... only to discover that the scene here, at least in terms of live activity (helped primarily by the number of large pubs and other venues regularly offering live music), was stronger even than cities like London at one point (http://www.undercover.fm/...interviews - he starts talking about it from around the 8min mark).

Sadly, many of the venues that used to offer live music have opted for other ways to utilise the space (or have closed down completely), meaning that, although there is still plenty of activity here (and of course a bit more love now from overseas acts), the local live music scene is really a shadow of what it was in the late 70s and early 80s.

Sorry for meandering OT...

Yeah I kinda read about how the local Australian music scene was different from everyone else's.

some one stupid told him not 2

[Edited 8/23/11 3:09am]

paniuroczy said:

MrLee192 said:

Australia is a scary place, lots of scary ass insects!

[img:$uid]http://i410.photobucket.com/albums/pp189/Gern186/comedy/kangaroo.gif[/img:$uid]

I like this!

xLiberiangirl said:

it's I think about the high costs they have to make.

Probably, although he would've been able to sell-out his shows.

remko said:

Vict0r said:

It's pretty strange that he would tour Japan (a country that speaks an entirely different language), but not Australia.

[Edited 8/22/11 6:45am]

you know how many languages are spoken in Europe then???

Bad choice of words on my part. I was more making the point that Japan has an entirely different culture. I mean, with Europe you could say that he's still playing to Westerners.

[Edited 8/23/11 6:48am]

802 said:

xLiberiangirl said:

it's I think about the high costs they have to make.

Probably, although he would've been able to sell-out his shows.

Yes, I think so? I know he hasn't been there in years but is he still popular in Australia/does he have a big fanbase out there?

It was very expensive for bands at the time to fly their equipment, tour the continent, and make any money from it. It's also why British bands decided to make music videos instead of touring in the 60s and 70s, which in turn led to Australian and NZ bands making their own videos. It created a demand for homegrown artists, which to me is a good thing.

Even when the Bee Gees had some hits in Australia, they still had to take a boat all the way to England.

xLiberiangirl said:

802 said:

Probably, although he would've been able to sell-out his shows.

Yes, I think so? I know he hasn't been there in years but is he still popular in Australia/does he have a big fanbase out there?

No idea.

xLiberiangirl said:

802 said:

Probably, although he would've been able to sell-out his shows.

Yes, I think so? I know he hasn't been there in years but is he still popular in Australia/does he have a big fanbase out there?

I would suggest that he has quite a dormant casual fanbase out here, boosted by a small but devoted hardcore fanbase.

When I put something on facebook about travelling to LA to see Prince earlier this year, all sorts of friends came out of the woodwork, saying how much they loved Prince and how jealous they were, despite the fact that they'd never mentioned liking him before (in addition to the half-dozen or so friends that I know are big fans and were going to be crazy jealous!)

I realise people generally talk a good game until they have to book tickets, spend money, etc... but this seemed very genuine.

I think it if were marketed properly, Prince could not only sell-out shows, but, perhaps coupled with a proper album release, could really re-invigorate his popularity down here.

Granted, that's pretty much textbook, though - I guess he could presumably do that almost anywhere

But still, if Australia is of any interest to him, he could definitely make it worth the trip and then some...

...and obviously we'd love to see him!!

You did get "Automatic" released as a single. Doesn't that make up for it?

nursev said:

Really who did at the time except Men at Work?

Heaps of big artists at the peak of their careers tour Australia during the 80s including:

KISS - 1980 (the most hyped about tour at the time)

Simple Minds - 1985 at the height of their Once Upon A Time success

Michael Jackson - 1987 - for BAD

U2 - 1988 for Rattle and Hum

So it's not like no one was coming over for tours.

Prince's first trip to our shores was in 92 for D&P. He's been back once since in 2003.