Prince performed two surprise shows in London on Wednesday night (05.02.14) – treating fans to new material and his greatest hits.
The hitmaker sparked a buzz online earlier in the day that he would be performing at intimate venue the Electric Ballroom in Camden – which holds just several hundred people and was the venue for his brief show on Tuesday (04.02.14) – and thousands of fans queued for hours in the rain, despite not knowing details of the performances or ticket prices.
Eventually, more than 800 people were allowed in the venue after the doors opened at 7pm and each lucky fan paid just £10 to see the legendary singer perform with his new all-female band 3RDEYEGIRL.
The set included new single ‘Pretzelbodylogic’, along with ‘Let’s Go Crazy’, ‘Funk ‘n’ Roll’, ‘Guitar’ and ‘She’s Always in My Hair’, in which the 55-year-old singer changed the lyrics to, "always in Prince’s big curly hair".
Audience members shouted, "London loves you", before he handed his guitar out to the crowd and dozens of fans surged forward.
The 55-year-old musician came back on for a second encore before fans were ejected from the venue and security let in hundreds of people who were still queuing outside for the second performance.
The pop superstar powered through several of his most famous hits, including ‘When Doves Cry’, ‘Housequake’, ‘I Would Die 4 U’ and ‘Purple Rain’.
VIP guests at the gigs included Paloma Faith, Nicole Scherzinger and Lianne La Havas, who welcomed Prince into her home for a secret press conference this week.
Prince has ruled out playing any large venues while in London with his band this month, hinting instead of his desire to play small club gigs.
Speaking to BBC 6 Music, he said he wants to play venues such as Ronnie Scott’s and the Bag O’ Nails Club in Soho – although details for future gigs are being kept under wraps.
He described his trip to London as "open-ended" and told last night’s audience: "We’re gonna try and find somewhere else to play in this city. We’ll stay as long as you’ll have us."
Prince performs two surprise shows in London
