i have an obsession with this man!!

kate, oxford, uk

I went to 7th August show, i thought it was fanatastic but i'm a hrad-core prince fam, i've seen him twice before i thought he was brilliant!!!
He played nearly one song from his released albums over the years!!! Managed to get aftershow tickets as well, and the gut told us there was NO guarentee he would show up but 4 £25 i'd rather take that chance!!!
Anyway 5 songs into this cool band playing, he walked on stage and was in such a great mood had us all jumping up, clapping it was great!! I even touched his hand TWICE!!! Still on my prince high I loved every minute of it, especially the aftershow, but his aftershows are more famous than his main shows anyway!!!!

Jenny, Wigan, UK

The August 11 show at the O2 was my first ever Prince live show and it definitely was not a disappointment despite the bad sound on the arena floor (the sound fas far better during the O2 opening night's Bon Jovi gig). Although I can't call myself a hard-core Prince fan (addmittedly, I didn't know about half of the songs he played), the energy the band and Prince put into the show was undoubtedly infectious. Perhaps the only damper on the night was the encore set that came after prolonged stomping and screaming by the audience and consisted of short "preview" snippets of Prince's hit songs. I ended up feeling a bit like a kid who's teased with candy but is not given any in the end. The show lacked a closure, but maybe leaving it with a kind of "to be continued..." instead of a full-stop is just another cliff-hanger a la Prince. After all, there are still more gigs to be played at O2. All in all, it was a good time worth the 31.21 ticket price for seats within 10 strides from the stage.

Jade, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

We were there on Saturday the 11th and were vastly disappointed. The sound system was terrible but I won't try and pin that one on Prince.
What I wil pin on him is playing 30 second samples of songs, if that's what I wanted I would have stayed at home and had a quick browse through the itunes music store. Maceo might be a decent saxophonist but he isn't Prince and it's Prince we went to see.
At the end of evening two things struck me, one was the fact that he thought that the audinece would find entertainment in being driven to booing a guy they had spent a lot of time and money on whether it be playful booing or not as was the case with us and plenty of people around us. The second was the hundreds of people who, like us, decided to leave early.
And this from a guy who even bought the Batman album!

Alan Chambers, Brighton, East Sussex

The US were reminded at the Superbowl whilst the UK had the unforgettable 'blow everyone else into oblivion' at The Brits in Feb 06. Excitement was high for the first night on Aug 1 and if you were thinking that 12 minutes was all that he was likely to be that good for, think again. Two and a half hours of absolute perfection. Start off with a ten minute Purple Rain with a guitar solo to match the world's greats and then five minutes later have the whole 20000 arena acting as if they are all 20 again in the Ministry of Sound. It can't get any better than this and then it does on numerous occasions. Everything in time with the beat and then houselights on ( not sure if by mistake ) and he's back striding through the crowd for another 15 mins.
Reports coming in a few days later that he plays piano like Mozart (as if guitar like Hendrix wasn't enough) and then where is he at one of the aftershows.............behind the drum kit of course!
Having seen some legends, NO ONE CAN TOUCH HIM.

Phil, BRISTOL, UK

Prince is the best in music history..... There is NO other artist like him. I have seen about 5 shows,as an adult. My very first show was in Washington DC @ The Capitol Ballroom with my husband who liked Prince but, not like me. After that show he knew that Prince is and always will be the greatest artist every. Keep doing what your doing... We love you in DC

maria, leesburg, VA

I saw Prince in 1990 and 17 years later was lucky enough to see his opening nite at the O2.Wow what a brilliant performance yet again and he doesn't look a day older!! I was thrilled he began his set with the awesome "Purple Rain" and was so glad i didn't leave when all the band had gone and the lights came on cos he suddenley appeared from nowhere and took to the stage alone to play "little red corvette" and "sometimes it snows in april".Only wish i could go to all 21 nights he is a true genius.Prince all i can say is "Nothing Compares To U"!!!

tracey, Littlehampton, west sussex

Forget what the media would have us believe about Prince. He is possibly the most talented showman of this century. Forget all the hype... just listen to the music. I saw the movie Purple Rain at 15 years old and have been captivated ever since, thats 21 years ago and i've never been disappointed with a new Prince release. Even the lesser known such as 'Rave unto the Joy Fantastic' all have his dinstinctive sound that cannot be replicated or faked.
The fact he keeps his concert ticket prices at an affordable price shows he does actually care that the people who have supported him, his fans, can still get to see him perform live.
I for 1 will be there in London on Saturday and in awe of his talent as always!!

Lynda Eckersley, Loughborough, UK

Prince is unparalleled in his all-around talent of musician, lyricist , vocalist. There may be some talents that equal his one of the areas, but nowhere does it arrive at such a confluence as it does in Prince. One of the comments put Michael Jackson on equal footing, au contraire. Another comment attempted to marginalize hm by "just attribute it to an atavism that we have come to expect from certain White music writers" and "your article was a pretty OK appreciation of a great R and B talent". He can't be mimimized. He is the Best.

Gerry M. , Chicago,

Peter, thank you for your 'pretty-OK' reply, but put your hands down. I do not underrate the first two Prince albums. They contain some glorious moments (in particular, "I Wanna Be Your Lover", "I Feel For You", "Bambi", hmmm, all on the second album). But they are decent genre albums, nothing more, nothing less, and if he'd continued in that vein, he would be remembered as a mere genre artist, a johnny-come-lately, a footnote to history. I think the greatest proof of my argument is that Prince himself clearly agreed, because he did what he did from Dirty Mind onwards. He is now as likely to namecheck Gustav Mahler as James Brown, as likely to draw upon Joni Mitchell as Sly And The Family Stone, which is why he is so often able to come up with the mindblowing and the utterly unexpected. He's a lateral, unconventional thinker, which is a major constituent of genius. (Oh, and you say "snigger and condescend", I say "have a sense of humour", let's call the whole thing off.) Yours, Simon

Simon Price, London,

Your observation that Prince's artistic flowering was only possible after he "crucially" became influenced by elements "outside Black music" is factually wrong- indeed, it is wrong in so many ways that I must throw my hands up ("774 characters left") and just attribute it to an atavism that we have come to expect from certain White music writers. And you undervalue his first two albums. Lightweight pop- funk, indeed: How about "Sexy Dancer", and his Herbie- Hancock influenced piano solo, or "I Wanna Be Your Lover", and its classic guitar solo? And the hard grooves throughout those earlier albums? Thank God "new- wave" and "synth pop" came along to save him...
Still, your article was a pretty OK appreciation of a great R and B talent, even if you could not resist the temptation to snigger and condescend. London is fortunate to have him; enjoy.

peter, new york, new york

what an awesome

psyvie, seoul, skorea

Businessman my ass: the regular ticket sale started May 11th. Tickets were sold by Ticketmaster as ‘best available’ on a first come first served basis. Ticketmaster claimed a sell out in the media soon after but went on selling considerable amounts of tickets bit by bit for several of the 21 London concerts which often turned out to be better than the tickets sold at the start of the sale cumulating in a widespread notice that new tickets for the concerts would go on sale on Sunday July 15th. Ticketmaster sold ‘new’ tickets for all concerts from that day on. The seats were much better than many fans and regular concert goers had been buying earlier as ‘best available’. On the 20th of July Prince’s official website made it possible to obtain tickets at Ticketmaster even closer to the stage, also for the regular price, after registering at his site for free. Many fans bought new tickets for the 2nd or 3rd time. See: http://www.prince.org/msg/12/236224

Bob, Voorschoten, Netherlands

Prince is a genius, and I can't wait to see him in concert next month, as I grew up with his music in the 1980.

But I have to say, this 1980's Prince, Michael Jackson & Madonna triumvirate is rubbish. For a start, although not every song on Michael Jackson's albums are written by him, half or most of them are.

Most of MJ's classic songs are written by him without collaboration, and he co-produces and produces nearly everyone all of the songs he writes. This makes Michael Jackson just as much an auteur as Prince. Madonna's not a genius, she has no raw natural talent is isn't in the same league as Michael Jackson and Prince. Also growing up in the 1980's no one was anywhere bear as big as Michael Jackson.

I'm so happy Prince is playing the O2, and it will teach people what really talent is after the media hype up an average talent like Justin Timberlake. No new artists will ever fill the void of Michael Jackson & Prince. And Madonna is just their support act !!!

Ben Scarr, London, UK

How refreshing, in a world full of Pop Idol this- X-Factor that, to see once again the real, true talent of a musical genius like Prince.
His enthusiasm is infectious, his musical genre appealingly varied, and to watch his live performance is what the word awesome was made for.
Wannabe celebrities and gossip mags prick up your ears - this is REAL entertainment!

Anney Sparkle, Manchester, UK

Prince is an enigmatic and eclectic person. He is very religious and he's a vegetarian for moral reasons. He's a dynamic guitarist and his music combines funk, r&b, soul, rock, pop and hip-hop. My favorite CD was the three disc "Emancipation" released in 1997. Like David Bowie, Prince has a vast vocal range (high to very low).

Brien Comerford, Glenview, United States

Most lyric writers, music writers, musicians, singers, dancers are blown out of the water by this man.
Dont forget he has a heck of a sense of humour going on also. Ive seen him live many times, the best of which are unforgettable, the worst, er , dont remember.
Hope he paints teh town purple. I couldnt get a ticket. too bad.

A Woodentop, london, Uk

Great article Simon, perfect set piece for the forthcoming 21 nights. No doubt we'll see you at some of the shows.. here's to re-living the feeling of every live Prince performance: the Ultimate Live Experience!

Omar, London, UK

Your observation that Prince's artistic flowering was only possible after he "crucially" became influenced by elements "outside Black music" is factually wrong- indeed, it is wrong in so many ways that I must throw my hands up ("774 characters left") and just attribute it to an atavism that we have come to expect from certain White music writers. And you undervalue his first two albums. Lightweight pop- funk, indeed: How about "Sexy Dancer", and his Herbie- Hancock influenced piano solo, or "I Wanna Be Your Lover", and its classic guitar solo? And the hard grooves throughout those earlier albums? Thank God "new- wave" and "synth pop" came along to save him...
Still, your article was a pretty OK appreciation of a great R and B talent, even if you could not resist the temptation to snigger and condescend. London is fortunate to have him; enjoy.

butchbond, new york, new york

Yes, the press would titter at mention of religion or spiritual aspirations, wouldn't they?

Such a pity some of them aren't joining Prince in his future studies, it might make them less bigoted.

Anthony of Brougham St, Sydney,

Well, then you also forgotten the hypnotic beat and lyrics of ''Baby I'm a Star'' with the fantabulous line, ''take a picture honey, I ain't got time to wait''
Loved it.

Colin Bowley, London, UK