21*22 FEB 2014: Prince, Manchester

Back in 2002, the school I taught in used to be one of the car parks for the Apollo, Manchester. One night, Prince was playing and I came out of school to a snake of people round the block. Naturally, I went home rather than queue.

There’s a great review of that night here. Sample:

Prince: “Is it better to Give or to Recieve?” 

A variety of answers flew back, so Prince pointed at a guy in the front row and asked him.. 

“You, is it better to Give or to Receive?” 

“To Give! To Give!” 

“Well if you’re in such a givin mood why don’t you give up your front row seat for somebody over there?” The audience were in stitches especially after realising that Prince wasn’t joking and made the geezer swap seats.

The purple one is back in Manchester this weekend, following some low-key, low-capacity shows which by all accounts are first-come, first-served and for a tenner/£70 face-value depending on the night. My money is on the Albert Hall, but I’m willing to be surprised (Louder Than War are murmuring about the Roadhouse, and the Manchester Evening News are speculating wildly, including an unflattering picture of Ruby Lounge here).

Keep an eye on Facebook and Twitter to find out where Friday morning. This obviously isn’t the real poster, but it is purple.