“London loves you” shouted audience members as Prince handed his guitar out to the crowd and dozens of fans surged forward.
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The adoring crowd were present as Prince performed two surprise concerts at the Electric Ballroom in London last night (05.02.14) – treating fans to new tracks with his band 3RDEYEGIRL and a selection of 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”.
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.”
Lianne La Havas: Prince playing at my house ‘like a storm’
Lianne La Havas claims it was “like a storm had hit” when Prince and his new band 3RDEYEGIRL played an impromptu secret gig at her house in London on Tuesday night (04.02.14) as part of his Hit and Run tour.
Lianne La Havas claims it was “like a storm had hit” when Prince played an impromptu gig at her house on Tuesday (04.02.14).
She explained: “It’s been a weird few hours but a lot of fun.
“They put amplified equipment in my lounge, Prince came, conquered and left. It was like a storm had hit.”
The 55-year-old star – who is playing a series of secret guerilla gigs at small venues across London throughout the month of February – performed two acoustic tracks in Lianne’s front room, including new single ‘PretzelBodyLogic’.
Lianne explained: “His plan is music and music alone. He just wants to play and promote his new band and make a name for them.”
However, Prince’s turn-up at Lianne’s house wasn’t completely out of the blue as the pair have met before.
She told the Daily Star newspaper: “Prince and I had hung out before in my old house, he enjoyed my music.
“I had always had music jams at my house, it’s a way of having a conversation with musicians.
“So this was a way of Prince doing something he had never done – he just thought let’s go back to basics.”
