I just spent a good chunk of time counting up all of Prince's properly scheduled tour dates using PrinceVault since his Prince Tour in 1979, for no real reason other than to satisfy my own curiosity and happiness in learning, gathering info, and making lists. Here's what I came up with:

• Prince Tour 1979-1980, 15 dates
• Rick James Tour 1980, 42 dates
• Dirty Mind Tour 1980-1981, 30 dates
• Controversy Tour 1981-1982, 60 dates
• 1999 Tour 1982-1983, 88 dates
• Purple Rain Tour 1984-1985, 98 dates
• Parade Tour 1986, 19 dates
• Sign O' The Times Tour 1987, 34 dates
• Lovesexy Tour 1988-1989, 76 dates

Total performances '79-'89 = 456

• Nude Tour 1990, 56 dates
• Diamond And Pearls Tour 1992, 50 dates
• Act I Tour 1993, 25 dates
• Act II Tour 1993, 27 dates
• The Ultimate Live Experience Tour 1995, 20 dates
• Japan Tour 1996, 7 dates
• Love 4 One Another Charities Tour 1997, 21 dates
• Jam Of The Year World Tor 1997-1998, 65 dates
• New Power Soul Tour 1998, 17 dates
• New Power Soul Festival Tour 1998, 15 dates

Total performances '90-'99 = 253

• Hit N Run Tour 2000-2001, 33 dates
• A Celebration Tour 2001 (dates were cancelled), 6 dates
• One Night Alone... Tour 2002, 64 dates
• World Tour 2003, 8 dates
• Musicology Live 2004ever Tour 2004, 89 dates
• Tamar Tour 2006, 13 dates
• Per4ming Live 3121 2006-2007, 40 dates (all at the Rio Hotel & Casino)
• 21 Nights In London: The Earth Tour 2007, 21 dates

Total performances 2000-2009 = 274

• 20TEN Tour 2010, 7 dates
• Prince Live 2010 Tour, 7 dates
• Welcome 2 America Tour 2010-2011 (incl. Welcome 2 America 21 Night Stand), 33 dates
• Welcome 2 America Euro 2011 Tour 2011, 21 dates
• Welcome 2 Canada Tour 2011, 11 dates
• Welcome 2 Australia Tour 2012, 8 dates
• Live Out Loud Tour 2013, 34 dates
• Hit N Run Part II Tour 2014, 13 dates
• Prince: Piano & A Microphone Tour 2016, 20 dates

Total performances 2010-2016 = 154


Overall, 1,143 concerts, just on properly scheduled tours. Not included are after party shows, Paisley Park party performances, shows filmed for television (Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show, Oprah, award ceremonies, etc.), private parties...


I hand counted all of this so the numbers might be skewed. Also might end up making a larger list to include performances outside tours. Did I leave anything out?

The only years with no properly scheduled tours were 1991, 1994, 1999, 2005, 2008, 2009, and 2015.

Let me know if someone else has already compiled a list like this, or there's already a thread. I wouldn't even know what to type to begin searching for a similar one And I like to think I didn't just waste my time for nothin'

What's your favorite tour?


EDIT: Below you can find additions to the list in my replies.

[Edited 6/28/16 16:17pm]

Check this out http://www.prince-live.com/

Wow, you must really enjoy compiling lists as a hobby. Thanks for the effort. Interesting to see comparsons between the decades.

[Edited 6/26/16 7:58am]

I would change the "hashtag" in your post's subject line to "numbers" so that it comes up better in Google/searches on this site. (Just my )

Bet you put a ton of time into this, so thank you for that!

Would have guessed that number was much higher. I was never good at The Price Is Right

I would have thought the number was higher too. I was surprised at difference in the 80s and 90s. No wonder I saw him more often the 80s.

In the 90s he was still going strong with some great albums to promote.

bookwomen said:

Well, in defense of Prince's numbers, the "One-Off Appearances" section of PrinceVault would make that amount wayy higher, and it's not just aftershows and jam sessions mind you.... Lot of full concerts proper. http://www.princevault.co...ppearances

[Edited 6/26/16 8:04am]

I've compiled for the list Prince's one-off appearances/performances since 1979 (thank you WhisperingDandelions for the link). Included in this are private shows, Paisley Park parties, public/open rehearsals, benefit gigs, etc. I believe this would also include after party shows.

• 1979, 4 performances
• 1980, 4 performances (including crashing a frat party )
• 1981, 7 performances (including the infamous two nights supporting The Rolling Stones, and Dez Dickerson's wedding)
• 1982, 1 performance
• 1983, 4 performances
• 1984, 7 performances
• 1985, 8 performances (including three benefit shows)
• 1986, 14 performances
• 1987 13 performances
• 1988, 10 performances (including Cat's birthday party, a surprise show, and a benefit show)
• 1989, no one-off perfomances

TOTAL: 81

• 1990, 2 performances (one being a benefit gig)
• 1991, 11 performances (including the Special Olympics opening, MTV's 10th anniversary)
• 1992, 9 performances (including filming of The Ryde Dyvine)
• 1993, 29 performances
• 1994, 33 performances (including 7 benefit gigs, The Love Experience concert, The Beautiful Experience)
• 1995, 36 perfomances
• 1996, 13 performances
• 1997, 29 performances
• 1998, 32 performances
• 1999, 26 performances

TOTAL: 220

• 2000, 20 performances
• 2001, 7 performances
• 2002, 28 performances
• 2003, 8 performances
• 2004, 18 performances
• 2005, 12 performances (all at '3121' Mulholland private residence)
• 2006, 19 performances
• 2007, 59 performances
• 2008, 10 performances
• 2009, 18 performances

TOTAL: 199

• 2010, 12 performances
• 2011, 27 performances
• 2012, 11 performances
• 2013, 30 performances (including Montreaux Jazz Festival)
• 2014, 31 performances
• 2015, 26 performances
• 2016, 10 performances

TOTAL: 147

OVERALL, 448 one-off performances since 1979. This brings the number of Prince official performances up to 1,591.

I will probably be making a list of television performances next to be included in the list.

[Edited 6/28/16 16:22pm]

NorthC said:

bookwomen said:

I would have thought the number was higher too. I was surprised at difference in the 80s and 90s. No wonder I saw him more often the 80s.

In the 90s he was still going strong with some great albums to promote.

Yeah, but he did much more club gigs in the 1990s especially in Paisley Park that aren't counted, so the number of concerts from that decade is really much higher.

Now that makes more sense. I would have loved to have been at that frat party.

This final addition to the list will include performances in the context of award shows (televised or no), shows recorded for the purpose of being televised (live or at a later date), and guest appearances (singing or playing an instrument on stage with other artists/bands):

Television

• 1979, 1 performance (American Bandstand)
• 1980-1989, 6 performances (including two for Saturday Night Live)
• 1990-1999, 28 performances (including the Oprah Winfrey Show, the Rosie O'Donnell Show, Soul Train, The Arsenio Hall Show, The Today Show)
• 2000-2009, 17 performances (inlcuding nine for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno)
• 2010-2016, 6 performances (including Lopez Tonight)

TOTAL: 58

Award Shows

• 1980-1989, 8 performances (including five for the Minnesota Music Awards and Minnesota Black Music Awards)
• 1990-1999, 11 performances (including American Music Awards, MTV Music Awards)
• 2000-2009, 7 performances (including Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony)
• 2010-2016, 2 performances (including Billboard Music Awards)

TOTAL: 28

Guest appearances

• 1980-1989, 15 appearances/performances
• 1990-1999, 25 appearances/performances
• 2000-2009, 49 appearances/performances
• 2010-2016, 17 appearances/performances

TOTAL: 106

Overall, 192 television, award show, and guest appearance performances since 1979. This leaves the number of official Prince performances at 1,783.

Altogether, 1,783 known performances divided into his 37-year career only comes out to roughly 48 shows annually. This number seems low to me. What do you guys think?

[Edited 6/26/16 14:39pm]

I like the updated numbers! Cool work! And the title does say "Performance Numbers," not concerts per se... I'd personally count any time he played an instrument or sang live myself, even if for only a couple minutes.

[Edited 6/26/16 15:40pm]

Do you include the 2 shows from January 1979 (5 and 7) at the Capri theatre or the Rolling Stones dates (9 and 11 October 1981).

.

They were not part of any tour along with the birthday shows and 1st avenue August 1983.

Adorecream said:

Do you include the 2 shows from January 1979 (5 and 7) at the Capri theatre or the Rolling Stones dates (9 and 11 October 1981).

.

They were not part of any tour along with the birthday shows and 1st avenue August 1983.

They were all counted in the one-off appearances/performances, the second update to my list. Had to check to make sure!

[Edited 6/28/16 16:22pm]

Of course TV appearances count! This is awesome work, logging and totalling all his performances, data historians and biographers can use. Just looking at your numbers, it's interesting to see that huge fall-off from the Purple Rain tour to Parade, indicative of an increased recording schedule or perhaps burnout from touring. And I'm not surprised by the 90s fall-off in his emancipation from major labels years. 48 concerts on average a year for 37 years? That's a concert a week with two two-week vacations. Plus all the recording!

I wonder what the numbers are for other performers. Is this average for a 35 plus career?

Great work!

What I found interesting is that he was the top-earning entertainer in 2004, twenty years after Purple Rain. $56.5 million -- and that was NET. Madonna's concert tour actually took in much more but his economics meant only 12 trucks to haul equipment, rather than her 24.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/09/news/newsmakers/prince/

That's some work on this thread. Thanks for that!

When you take into account his athleticism during the vast majority of his tours and you equate it to a sportsman, who may only play 60 to 90 mins, how many of them have careers lasting that long? I'll answer my own question... NONE!

It's almost unbelievable.

laytonian said:

Great work!

What I found interesting is that he was the top-earning entertainer in 2004, twenty years after Purple Rain. $56.5 million -- and that was NET. Madonna's concert tour actually took in much more but his economics meant only 12 trucks to haul equipment, rather than her 24.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/09/news/newsmakers/prince/

I think I remember reading somewhere that one of his tours took 50-something semi trucks to haul everything. Maybe in Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain. I'll check my Prince tibute magazines as well and hopefully get back to you on this. It's gonna bug me till I do...

[Edited 6/28/16 18:42pm]

Since we're talking performances and numbers, here's a quote from Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain by Alan Light on the Purple Rain Tour:

[Edited 6/28/16 19:01pm]

bookwomen said:

NorthC said:

bookwomen said: Yeah, but he did much more club gigs in the 1990s especially in Paisley Park that aren't counted, so the number of concerts from that decade is really much higher.

Now that makes more sense. I would have loved to have been at that frat party.

I wonder which frat???

Thank you so much for this compilation!

pandaleka said:

laytonian said:

Great work!

What I found interesting is that he was the top-earning entertainer in 2004, twenty years after Purple Rain. $56.5 million -- and that was NET. Madonna's concert tour actually took in much more but his economics meant only 12 trucks to haul equipment, rather than her 24.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/09/news/newsmakers/prince/

I think I remember reading somewhere that one of his tours took 50-something semi trucks to haul everything. Maybe in Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain. I'll check my Prince tibute magazines as well and hopefully get back to you on this. It's gonna bug me till I do...

[Edited 6/28/16 18:42pm]

Eureka--it was the Lovesexy Tour! You can find it in this article.



According to PrinceVault there were 9 band members on that tour, and 94 other people who helped make the tour a possibility, maybe even more. 76 dates.

FlyOnTheWall said:

Thank you so much for this compilation!

No problem! I'm having fun and it's nice knowing other people find all of it interesting too.

FlyOnTheWall said:

bookwomen said:

Now that makes more sense. I would have loved to have been at that frat party.

I wonder which frat???

This is from Prince Vault

Prince and the band crashed a N.C. State’s Sigma Pi ( (ΣΠ) fraternity spring formal, and played some songs on instruments of the hired band for the night.

Can you imagine being in a band and having Prince and band take over your stage and instruments? Too Funny

tahirih said:

pandaleka said:

Since we're talking performances and numbers, here's a quote from Let's Go Crazy: Prince and the Making of Purple Rain by Alan Light on the Purple Rain Tour:

The Purple Rain tour, which ran from late 1984 into the spring of 1985, saw Prince and the Revolution perform just shy of a hundred shows in five months, and sold 1.7 million tickets.

Additionally, the Musicology tour (Musicology Live 2004ever Tour, which according to the book had 96 dates instead of 89?) was the top-grossing tour of 2004, with $87.4 million in earnings. This was also the tour he handed out CDs with every ticket purchase and got the album into the Top Ten for the whole summer.

[Edited 6/28/16 19:01pm]

Yes, the Musicology tour total was $87.4 -- but when they calculated the top-earning entertainers for 2004, they used NET. More than half of what he earned went to overhead, taxes, PP maintenance, etc.
That's why the reported total from ALL sources was "only" $56.5 million for 2004.

Songkick lists 1335 concerts of Prince : http://www.songkick.com/a...820-prince