Reliving the live experience

For many british fans the first experience of Princes spectacular tours was in 1986 when the Parade show hit our shores. It's fair to say the music press gave an enthusiastic response to all of the shows and along with the sign o the times tour we were introduced to many dazzling dance moves:the four man wave effect of Mountains,the new Jersey fall,the fabulous feet propelled hand jive on his back during Housequake,difficult to describe but great to watch,along with many other small but perfectly formed routines.all were innovative and great.Whereas Michael Jackson would have performed them tour after tour if they were his,prince never performed them again and this has been the norm throughout many of his tours.His turn over rate if dances is quite unprecedented and ensures that each tour is fresh and different from the previous one.

The Lovesexy shows were in two halves,the first-the sexy half-was all spooky electric's own.All the songs were sexy,funky,bad and included performances from the "nasty" Black Album.Things reached a head with Bob George where Prince saw the error of his ways and asked for absolution via Anna Stesia.the rest was the "love hour",where everything was spiritual,emotional and Camille took over,performing Lovesexy's gospel according to Prince.

1990's Nude tour was a less extravagant affair than previous tours.More than just a greatest hits set,the show featured some great dancing by Prince and the fledgling NPG and other special moments.One memorable part of the tour was the Electric Man setpiece.This was 1990 and everyone was simulating sex live on stage.It was expected and oh,so predictable it took the king and queen of sex to pull of something truly eye opening.On her Blonde Ambition tour Madonna did a tongue in cheek lavish Egyptian take on "Like A Virgin",huge bed,men in conical bras and corsets,all types of shenanigans.What could prince do to match it.A bigger bed? Copious amounts of the opposite sex? No,as we know,all it took was him...and a microphone stand.What started off as a playful extension of "Head" in 1986 had blossomed into a routine all of its own.taking care to wash his hands first (cleanliness is next to sexgodliness u know),Prince undressed,kissed,caressed and loved that stand in a way only he could,but without doing it in a way so as to "offend or unnerve".It is the most sexually explicit routine anyone will ever do on a music tour,but there was none of the tedious exploitation of women that goes hand-in- hand with such an act.It's enthralling to note that throughout the routine,despite the fact that a few feet behind the mike ,thousands are watching him,Princes concentration never moves from the stand.His eyes focus solely on this thin piece of metal,savouring it,adoring it and yes,licking it.This moment is his and "hers" alone,nothing else matters right now,and to acknowledge the audience with just a single glance would ruin the illusion of two lovers totally involved in each other and each other alone.Prince playing the "expert lover" to the full.

Into 1991 and despite Blenheim being canceled we did get the stunning Gett Off on the MTV awards and perhaps his best ever TV appearance on the Arsenio Hall TV show.The 5 song set contained a uniquely funky version of Cream and the glorious Daddy Pop dance routine in full,probably his best,most energetic and concentrated display of dancing to one song ever.Amazingly there are still people who think that princes dancing is limited to the splits and little else.This view can be forgiven as Prince generally reserves his best moves to live performances,not promo videos.His shows have never been just some live recreation of his videos ,they are so much more.If anyone ever criticizes his dancing,just show them the dynamic,acrobatic Daddy Pop routine from Arsenio's and watch their jaw drop!

The flawless Diamonds and Pearls concerts followed in 1992 showing the NPG at their rapping,dancing,musical best.Two memories stick out in my mind form this wonderful show.The first was of experiencing the initial disbelief,then the sheer joy and exhilaration of the crowd as we simultaneously shouted out "Sexy Motherfucker "aloud,from a song Prince had introduced us to only minutes earlier.The second memory is when prince did purple rain.For the best part of two hours he had been a whirling,multicoloured presence on the huge screens either side of stage,an unstoppable bundle of energy who was obviously having as much fun as the crowd.During purple rain he stood still centre stage and this was the first real chance to study him up close.while performing the song the expression on his face was a mixture of pain and of someone who really didn't want to be there singing that song.In retrospect perhaps this was the time when he first started thinking about abandoning Prince and his repertoire,of which Purple Rain is surely the most oft performed song.I personally like to think of it as Prince reliving the emotions of the song live on stage.

Later that year came the release of the Diamond and Pearls video compilation.Interestingly the video for Daddy Pop (a clip was featured on the BBC omnibus documentary) containing the spectacular routine was not included .Also on the video were some live sections of the recent tour,(Live 4 Love etc..)but in general the main body of the tour was missing.It gave the impression that the clips featured were excess footage cut so the rest of the tour could be squeezed onto a 2 hour video tape for consequent release.Similarly the daddy Pop video was missing so we could enjoy it as part of a fabulous tour.Alas this was not the case.why on earth hasn't this tour been released on video?A full length live tour is long overdue by nearly 8 years.

Into 1993 and the american fans got a chance(at long last) to see Prince on their own shores after a lengthy 5 year hiatus.Its european counterpart (Act 2) was the last time Prince (in name) would appear live.some critics noted that he seemed bored,distracted during the shows,as he played Prince songs for the last time.Indeed ,during purple rain he once said "I'm going to drag this out a bit" before playing the lengthy outro we all know and love.He invited audience members on stage,as if to liven up the shows,something he needed no help with in the past.He reassured the fans that his name change and retirement wasn't the end of the music,just the end of an era,though his retirement speeches arguably raised more questions than answers.It's so hard to tell if he really was bored with "Prince" or not.In the past he has feigned yawning on stage,then next minute amazed us.Was his downbeat performance now all an "act too",hence the name Act 2.

1994 and the Gold Experience tour started,premiering the as then unreleased songs.The Japanese leg of the tour was similar to the european shows for the first hour,then the set lists differed slightly.Both featured old favourites which have rarely,if ever been performed live (e.g.I love u in me,Vicki Waiting,Starfish and Coffee),hopefully setting a precedent for years to come.0(+>,ever aware of what's happening in the music world,covered a song by newcomer and Grammy favourite Joan Osbourne,which only became a hit for her in the UK 3 weeks after 0(+> performed it in Japan.0(+> singing a song with the chorus "What if God was one of us",no irony there then!

Madonna has stated how "painful" she feels it is to sing her early songs,which made her famous. David Bowie is another artist who is favouring the performance of newer material rather than the standard "hits routine". The trick when leaving behind an old classic back catalogue is to make sure you have a lot of new future classics up your sleeve.This shouldn't be a problem for 0(+>,as he sums up how he feels about leaving his old material behind -"I would be sad..if I didn't know i have such great shit to come with".