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» Prince Concert Review

The Daily Telegraph, August 16, 2007 Thursday

CONCERT 7: TUES This is what humanity can achieve Prince Report

BY: BILL ODDIE

PEOPLE are often surprised that I am a Prince fan: they think because I'm into nature I should listen to Vaughan Williams. But I've always loved Prince. I saw him the first time he ever played in the UK in the early 1980s, at the Lyceum in London on his Dirty Minds tour. He took the stage in nothing more than a leather raincoat and a pair of pants, but he was absolutely sensational.

I've seem him dozens of times but this time I was really struck by how he is one of the best examples of what humanity can achieve. He is all about people and music.

The O2 is enormous but he can fill it with his personality. He's a generous performer and walks around the stage to make sure everyone is included.

The show starts with video clips of his whole career with musicians from Sheila E to Joni Mitchell talking about why he is such a great musician. He's often compared to people like Miles Davis and Jimi Hendrix but I think he's better than any of them because has the complete range.

He has a real social mix in his band: from Maceo Parker in his sixties to some young dancers. And he always includes women in really important musical positions around him - at this show he's got a blistering female drummer.

Prince looked fantastic. He can move almost as well as Michael Jackson although he's toned it down a bit and there weren't any splits in the air like he did in his younger days. His voice has got much better and his musicianship has evolved as well.