FANS have already been told to don purple at tonight's sellout gig in honour of the pocket-sized superstar and now the venue has joined in the fun.

PRINCE’S purple reign in Glasgow has been marked with a special light show.

The SSE Hydro announced the imminent arrival of the pocket-sized superstar in Scotland by bathing the giant arena in purple – his signature colour.

Fans have already been told to don purple for the diminutive funkster’s first gig in Scotland for 19 years.

Ticketmaster emailed them ahead of tonight’s 12,500-seat sellout with the dress code … and also asked them not to take photos or video at the event.

Boss John Langford said: “We are honoured to have one of the greatest artists in the world at the SSE Hydro. We will of course be welcoming him in style and turning the venue that
signature colour. It would be rude not to.”

Tickets for the gig are in such high demand that sellers on auction site Stub Hub are demanding as much as £500 for a single.

Fans are also trying to guess where the 55-year-old might stage one of his famous after-show gigs.

The Berkeley Suite, at Charing Cross, has been sporting a giant “Prince, play here!” sign for weeks, which might mean it’s the only place you can be sure he won’t turn up. Unless they’re in on a perfectly executed double bluff.

The Raspberry Beret singer staged a surprise performance at the Garage nightclub on Sauchiehall Street after his last show in Glasgow 19 years ago.

Club owner Donald MacLeod yesterday recalled how he struck an unlikely deal to bring Prince to his venue after his show at the SECC in March 1995.

He said: “Elliott Davis, Wet Wet Wet’s manager, had visited Prince and he asked me if I wanted him to play The Garage.

“At 11pm, everything was on stage and the crowd was filling the place up but there was no purple one. Then his gear arrived and the next thing he waltzed across the stage and the crowd went mental.

“I was told I wasn’t allowed to call him Prince, only ‘The artist formerly known as’. I said, ‘If he turns up, I’ll call him whatever he wants.’

“What a show from a total legend. He played for over an hour and a half. The gig is now the stuff of legend and the highlight of my career. I hope he comes back tonight. We’re ready to go if he does.”