When Prince rides into town

Prince arrives in Dublin next week to play his first gig here in almost nine years. After the commotion surrounding his cancelled gig in 2008, what can fans expect this time around? He tells BRIAN BOYDit's going to get 'real funky' and gives us a peek at his tour riders

AS FESTIVAL SEASON goes into overdrive and we’re inundated with the “I love this festival, this has been the highlight of my career” declarations – each as bland and predictable as the next – from pop and rocks stars, it is strangely thrilling to happen upon the curmudgeonly, madly eccentric and total self-absorption of Prince.

The 53-year-old singer and musician has been picking up the best reviews of his decades-long career for his performances on his current European tour, while upsetting the festival love-in going on around him.

Michael Eavis, the founder of the Glastonbury festival, would have given anything to have had Prince there this year (and he’s still the festival’s Most Wanted) but the singer isn’t exactly meeting him half-way, saying: “They use my name to sell Glastonbury. It’s illegal. I’ve never spoken to anyone about doing that concert – ever.”

When he does Nothing Compares 2 Uon this tour, he prefaces it by saying: "Thank you Sinead O'Connor – I bought a house with [your version of] that song." But just recently he seemed to be calling for all cover versions to be banned and expressed his displeasure at other artists covering his songs.

"My problem is when the industry covers the music. There's this thing called a compulsory licensing law that allows artists through the record companies to take your music at will without your permission. And that doesn't exist in any other art form, be it books or movies. There's only one version of Law and Order. There are several versions of Kissand Purple Rain.

Prince is one of the last great idiosyncratic musical geniuses left in a “I want to thank my lawyer and I want to thank Jesus” rock star world. Although efforts were made to push him into that Madonna/Michael Jackson huge pan-generarational cross-over market during the 1980s, he always demurred – preferring to be a free-floating presence who kept his edges sharp.

At the opening night of this tour in Paris's Stade de France two weeks ago, what immediately strikes me is how much the live show is like all the best bits from the classic TV show, Soul Train.

“This is real music,” he bellows at us at frequent intervals during the two-and-a-half-hour funkathon as he gives a good kicking to some soul, funk, rock, gospel, rap and blues music.

Ignoring his recent material, he goes for a Glory Yearsset, interspersed with the odd Sly and The Family Stone cover. Halfway through, he changes into turbo-charged mode as U Got The Lookis followed by P urple Rain, Let's Go Crazy, 1999, When Doves Cry, Sign o' the Times, I Would Die 4 U, Little Red Corvetteand Kiss.

“Do you know how many hits we’ve got?” he asks. “We’ll be here ’til this time next year.”

Dance routines, singalongs, virtuoso solos and performing on top of his grand piano brings a bit of theatricality to the occasion.

Surprisingly, he has added Darling Nikkiback into his set. The song became famous in the 1980s when Tipper Gore – wife of then US vice-president Al Gore – heard her daughter listening to the song's salacious lyrics, prompting her to set up the Parents Music Resource Centre ( or "Parents Against Sexy Rock Music Lyrics" to the rest of us).

It was the group behind the introduction of "parental advisory" warnings on CDs about explicit lyrics. And it was all because of the lyrics to Darling Nikki.Now that Prince is a Jehovah's Witness, however, he plays only the instrumental version.

And he keeps veering off-message: “We’ve made history tonight Paris,” he tells us at the end, leaving some 80,000 of us looking at each other and going “if you say so”.

Prince doesn’t do interviews. Or at least on those rare times he consents to a one-on-one conversation, you are not allowed to use a pen and paper or a recording device. And you cannot ask anything about the past.

He did take my e-mail, though, and true to his word, responds with this: “Hey Brian, I’m going to play as long as they let me at Malahide Castle when I come over. Tell Dublin to bring their dancing shoes. It’s going to get real funky.”

Apparently he has been brushing up on his cúpla focal after seeing President Obama get a big cheer for his efforts, but I’m not sure how that is going, as his last message on the subject is: “I speak the universal language of music. I’ll leave that [the Irish language] to the experts.”

In response to a direct question about a possible “surprise” on the night, he writes: “Brian, I need to talk to you to explain something about this confidentially.”

It seems the “surprise” has not been finalised but, if it comes off, it will be the big picture for the next day’s papers.

Like any star, Prince’s performance contract includes riders that list such requirements as what food and drinks he wants to have. Because I have a troubling obsession with rock star riders, he gladly provided his, in some detail – see below.

There is also a strong eco-message for all working on the event and he insists that all left-over food from band, crew and audience be delivered that same night to a local food centre “for the homeless or less fortunate”.

Prince plays Malahide Castle on July 30th.

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Fit for a king . . . or a prince

Prince sent Brian Boyd the riders for his visit to Ireland. Here's what he asked for

Backstage rider

6 personal-size Fiji water (warm)

6 personal-size Fiji water (cold)

12 sodas (ginger ale, Coke, Pepsi, Diet Coke)

1 bottle Cristal champagne

1 bottle Limoncello

2 bottles Merlot wine

1 bottle white wine

Hotel suite rider

Must be at 80ºF

Please close black-out curtains in master suite

A thick, extra blanket should be folded at the foot of the bed

A large, rolling wardrobe rack with hangers placed not in the bedroom, but in one of the living areas

Please provide a laptop computer (Windows Operating System) with large screen in the suite.

Please have the computer powered on with the web browser displaying the Google home page.

High-quality flower arrangements in suite

Large bowl of fresh, uncut fruit, including fresh berries.