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Prince At The Hop Farm: The Greatest Show On Earth
Eccentric, enigmatic and egotistical he may be, but Prince proved yesterday that he is still untouchable as a live performer...
A couple of months ago the list of festival headliners, with the exception of Pulp, was a pretty unappealing load of cobblers. We had U2, Bongo and The Privet hoping they wouldn’t slip a disc at Glastonbury. Coldplank hopping around like a special needs Morris Dancer, and Beyonce giving it Hair and Lungs but no tunes. Eminem and Arctic Monkeys hold little appeal and for many a lack of Acne or Ginger Hair (dyed black) makes them ineligible to like Muse or My Chemical Romance. Watching The Strokes these days is even less appealing than suffering one.
Then, out of nowhere came the news that Prince, The Purple Yoda, was going to be giving it some leg in a (potentially muddy) field in Kent. A tacked-on day at The Hop Farm Festival. To a long suffering Prince Anorak like myself this is incredible. He doesn’t do Festivals. Not since the catastrophe (so rumour has it) of when, as a fledgling artist, he nipped for a pre-show wee at an open air gig, became trapped after his heels sunk in the mud, and thousands of people unwittingly walked past him thinking he was a ‘cheeky gnome’ water feature, installed by the organisers, subsequently his band got booed off after playing a set of instrumentals without him.
But seriously, none of Prince’s peers and parallel artists enjoyed the lengthy and steady rise and plateau of creative and commercial success that he did, Stevie Wonder peaked, in that sense, for 3 long players, Sly Stone for two, Marvin Gaye for two, Michael Jackson for three, Hendrix for three. For James Brown only ‘In the Jungle Groove’ and a couple of live albums were truly cohesive. But Prince had seven consecutive superbly executed and presented albums, they were the three before, and the three after and including, ‘Purple Rain.’ Plus many great B-sides and rarities from the same period. Prior to ‘Dirty Mind’ he was finding his feet. At ‘Lovesexy’ the quality of his output became spasmodic.
Presented with this aspect even the die-hard fans agree that his edgy days are behind him, but that wasn’t the concern at Hop Farm tonight, it was whether he could win over an audience outside of the boundaries of his comfort zone, a sleepy smallholding in the English countryside, consisting largely of Newbies and Cooler Box Casuals.
Luckily the (regular coloured) rain stayed away. Prince and his band ambled on stage, he apologised in advance for using the opening instrumental as a soundcheck. It wasn’t the intro people wanted to hear. There was apprehension.
He could have played George Formby songs and we would have been convinced it was appropriate. He finished the main set with ‘Purple Rain’. I saw people crying as they swayed
He then proceeded to play the greatest show I have ever been lucky enough to witness. He blasted through pretty much everything one would hope for. Gave us exactly what we wanted. ‘Lets Go Crazy’, ‘1999’, ‘Raspberry Beret’, ‘Little Red Corvette’ ‘Kiss’, ‘Cream’, loads more, interspersed with lesser known numbers and interludes, during which he displayed serious footwork, spins and pirouettes, and remind us what a superb guitarist he is.
As the sun set it dawned on the audience that this performance was special. Hop Farm was no longer a gig, it was a party. 40,000 people danced, they didn’t mosh or get crushed or wait for the anthems or express angst or beat their chests, they danced! Shimmied their Tushes and waved their hands like they just didn’t care. He is not just the world’s finest song and dance man, he is an entertainer with the prowess and chutzpah to make the punters feel that the show is a celebration and it belongs to them.
Amongst the choice pickings from his archive he dropped in Michael Jackson songs, cracked a few jokes, cooed through a couple of ballads, thanked Sinead O’Conner for paying for his house, then stepped aside and let the backing singers cover Adele, by this time the choice of tune didn’t matter. He could have played George Formby songs and we would have been convinced it was appropriate. He finished the main set with ‘Purple Rain’. I saw people crying as they swayed. The whole audience was won over. Job done. It all seemed so effortless.
He then returned for several encores, more favourites plus covers of ‘Play that funky Music (White Boy)’ by Wild Cherry, Sly Stones ‘Everyday People’ segued into a groovy-gospel version of The Beatles ‘Come Together’ then segued into Sly’s ‘I Want To Take You Higher’ plus other shamelessly full-on disco workouts. It was a Funk Frenzy. He kept reminding us that ‘This ain’t nothing but a party y’all.’ He was having a ball, we were having a ball.
Long after the floodlights came up people chanted for more. On the way out I saw a girl sat inspecting her feet, telling her friends that she’d danced her toenails off. I asked strangers what they thought of the evening. Their opinions matched mine. If word of this incredible night gets out the biggest draw at future of festivals may well Prince. Fit some dance floors!
Live musical performance is the domain of Prince. He continues to set the bar. If you don’t believe me go and see him for yourself, or ask the people there tonight. He makes every other act look stale, clumsy, inept or boring. Yesterday was a great day. Thank you little fella!
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COMMENTS
So pleased to read this review, Prince has always been above any of his pop contemporaries. Great to hear that he's still the best in his field.
I was there, and im also a massive prince and Michael Jackson fan, and was moved to tears when he dropped in a Jackson song. The article really sums up everything for me, but have shared on facebook, as some people still dont know what an amazing performer he is, and they are really in short supply these days. Well done Prince, you rocked!!!!
What a preformer, and another great read Mr Lee. Thank you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHOCIT6Sgjg
I was not able to go,but no just how it feels to see this man live, everytime is like the first time no matter how many times you go.
What a gift it is to momentarily convince 40,000 white people that they're funky.
Prince is and always has been the best live performer I have seen, ( and I have seen many) he makes you dance and sing and have the greatest time of your life. Didn't know if he'd turn up to a festival, but love Larry Graham so risked it. Well worth getting home at 3am for, wish he'd stay in the UK longer!
I was there last night and it was all of the above and soo much more.....best performance I have ever/ will ever see! Just Awesome....
Wholly accurate report. Prince was the master last night. Blows everyone else off the stage.
well didn't we all have a lovely time!
Nice one Roubles. Ended up @ Roundhouse for the Manics, but know where I'd rather have been last night. Was it filmed?
Best live show I've ever witnessed. Hope it not the last time i get to see it. Pure class
BTW you look suspiciously like a guy standing behind me screaming "i love you, prince!" sporadically
was an amazing night...everything i hoped for and more.. big thankyou to hop farm to...very well organised festival too...no queuing or endless advertising...the spiritual vibe of glasto got lost a long time ago when behind massive corporate sponsorship and middle of the road headliners....can't wait to see prince again
Gutted I couldn't go. Everyone should go and see Prince live at least once. He is the benchmark.
Wow what a great night! Have seen Prince many many times but think this has to be the best! Also I too always get the urge to yell 'I looooovvvveee uuu Prrriiiiiiiince from the top of my voice... Apologies if u were stood next to me! Great review too!
Summed up beautifully! It was indeed the best I have ever seen him play(too many to mention. It was exciting, moving, overwhelming and I feel very privilged to have been there.
That review totally summed up my Hop Farm Prince experience..was an absolutely stunning night !
Like a lot of the people commenting on this piece, I've seen Prince quite a few times. The show that I use as a yardstick is the Lovesexy Tour in '89. Saw him twice at the 02 a few years back - "Yeah" I said to my mate Lee on our way out - "he was good, but not as good as when he did the Lovesexy Tour". Same thing when I saw him in Melbourne on my birthday for the Diamonds and Pearls tour. (My girlfriend at the time bought me a ticket for the show and an E)"Thanks darling! That was fantastic! (but not as good as when I saw him do Lovesexy)" The bit in brackets I said under my breath, otherwise I'd have got walloped. So on Sunday night, I knew it was going to be good - but would it be as good as '89? I was with a couple of friends who'd never seen him before - "Oh just you wait" I said "He's fucking AMAZING live" and as kick-off approached, I was thinking "please don't let me down, Prince, I've been telling everyone how good you are". The Purple Geezer didn't let me down. This is my new yardstick by which I will measure Prince concerts. He had nothing to gain and everything to lose by playing a festival - he just doesn't do them, does he? But by the end you'd have thought that he'd been doing festivals all his career. Thanks, Mr Prince you are a bonfide genius.
Right up there with my wedding and the birth of my kids....I just want to do it and see it all again. He was magic!
Reading this was like being back there again...by the time I started decending from the high Prince's performance put me on (no drugs required beyond a few overpriced beers) around Tuesday night, I started to fear my imagination...was it really that amazing (I never thought it possible to out do some of his O2 shows...how wrong I was), but it was...nice to see it reflected back in someone else's words. Thank you Robin Lee and as for Prince...Glastonbury next?...if not you're always welcome to pitch up and jam in a little flat in Tooting!
I've never had the pleasure of seeing the wee sex god play a live show, but after reading all of this i shall make it a priority. Let's hope he comes back to the UK.
My wife loves Prince.We were driving past the Hop farm on our way back from Tonbridge.My wife said to me Prince is singing.We stopped our car at the side of the road and heard Prince in action.It sounded really good. Prince is an amazing performer and he brought the traffic to a standstill. Charles
Ive seen Prince at nearly every gig he has done in the uk but they were all to his fans ... this was different coz there were loads of non fans mixed with Prince fans and by the end of the show they were all Prince fans... even heard some hells angels guys saying how unbelievable it was !!! it made me proud of him... and btw it was so special to be a part of his festival experience!!! MORE !!! MORE !!!
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