Only Prince could pull it off! After an opening blitz of five crushing diamonds that had the crowd positively steaming with ecstasy he launches straight into a six and a half hour version of "Purple Rain".The joint is rocking, and what does Prince do? He hits us with a ballad!
And he gets away with It.
Prince came out all guns blazing, machine-gunning through "The Future", “1999”, "Kiss" and "Sexy Dancer" before anyone could even register that 'Yes, It's really Him!'. The slow motion guitar antics of "Purple Rain" come as a necessary breather, a (long) chance to let His presence actually sink in. But how do you follow such an explosive opening?
With a House-boosted "Alphabet St", that's how - this was beginning to be too much! My expectations were naturally high, especially after reading Liam Fay's rather excellent Paris live review in the last Issue of HP but I never expected this. I thought you were always supposed to keep the best 'til last - Prince was belting out the hits like there was no tomorrow!

But the (Incredibly) short one had a cunning game-plan here.
He'd turn on the heat 'tli boiling point with a fistful of death-or­ glory thumpers, and then suddenly slip into something more comfortable as he seduced 55,000 people with another wall-to-wall lush ballad. "The Question Of U", a track from the upcoming "Grafitti Bridge" movie/album, was one such ballad, blending sweetly into another brace: a powerful Mavis Staples sung soul/lung jerker, and the awesome "Nothing Compares 2 U", after that i simply gave up trying to keep track, as Prince turned the heat up to 'Wipe Out!', and the band bumped and grinded through the beautifully familiar and the teasingly obscure.
Somewhere in the midst of It all Prince danced his butt off (as is his want!), licked, undressed and humped a mike stand (just to let certain GAA members know that their concerns were well­ founded!), and the crowd took over the show for a while as they sang "Ole, Ole, Ole" during one of the many funk breakdowns,
prompting Prince to respond teasingly, "Yo, whose show Is this anyway?".
The band were incredibly tight (not one of them bought a round!), so much so that when Prince took his exit with a pared-down "Batdance", after being onstage a little over an hour, it took the audience completely by surprise. It seemed like he'd only been on stage for 20 minutes, at most!
Naturally he returned, delivering a powerful "Partyman", another handful of high-powered, cool-Injected funk workouts, and a chilling "When Doves Cry". Another exit, more screams, and we're treated to a bouncing "Take Me With U",a thumping "Respect" (Mavis Staples once again attempting to burst her somewhat considerable lungs!), and a deliciously menacing "Good Foot", the old JB classic.
And then - blink - He's gone. "Prince has left the planet, please file out in an orderly fashion!".
The Partyman cometh, and in his wake he left a gaping crowd, a drunken town, and one pregnant mike stand!

- Paul Byrne

You can Buy Hot Press 40-07 – our Prince Special Collectors' Issue – direct from hotpress.com

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