News
THIS IS A LINK FOR PRINCE CONCERT TICKETS !!
Codeword: "PEACE" 4 January NPGMC Retail Deals
Greetings NPG Music Club,
Now thru the end of January, enter the code word "peace" at checkout
and receive 15% off any apparel u purchase.*
We've just lowered prices on loads of items, including the True Funk
Soldier military jackets and caps, golf shirts, the NPG belt buckle,
and more.
Thru January only, there's a $10-off deal on the Prince in Hawaii
Gift Set... it's the perfect oppor2nity 2 get one if u haven't
already. This set has received nothing but rave reviews from NPGMC
members.
B sure 2 check out the other goods we've added lately, like the
Sterling Silver Rose Symbol Pendant, the ultracool Cinnamon Girl
enhanced CD single, the vintage backstage pass sets and the NPG Music
Club membership card (it's a great way 2 introduce ur friends 2 the
funk). Grab some of the NPG incense, 2.. all 6 scents r intense!
Peace and love4oneanother in 2005,
NPG Music Club
Blue Note Plays Prince CD out in the New Year
In the wake of it's successful launch earlier this year come a further four releases in the highly innovative Blue Note Plays series:-
BLUE NOTE PLAYS PRINCE
Tracklisting:-
When Doves Cry- Cassandra Wilson & Greg Osby with Bob Belden
Venus De Milo- Bob Belden & Tim Hagans
Diamonds And Pearls- Phil Perry & Everette Harp with Bob Belden
1999- Bob Belden & Peter Bernstein
Purple Rain- Holly Cole with Bob Belden
Kiss- Jimi Tunnell with Bob Belden
Electric Chair- Wallace Roney & Kenny Garrett with Bob Belden
The Ballad Of Dorothy Parker- Bob Belden & Tim Hagans
The Question Of U- Holly Cole with Bob Belden
Power Fantastic- Bob Belden & Tim Hagans
The other 3 releases are devoted to Ray Charles, Sting and Jobim
peace, Soulyacolia x
Prince Heads List of Concert Moneymakers
By JAKE COYLE, Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK - Prince is the concert tour king. He's in the No. 1 spot on Pollstar's Top 25 tours chart for 2004, grossing $87.4 million.
His 69-city/96-show tour was "by far the biggest tour he has ever done," Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar, the concert industry trade publication, told The Associated Press. "It's kind of a renaissance for him."
Celine Dion (news), who's been appearing at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for a long string of shows, was in second place, coming in at $80.4 million, followed by Madonna (news - web sites), $79.5 million; Metallica (news - web sites), $60.5 million; and Bette Midler (news), $59.4 million.
Other acts in the top 10: Van Halen, Kenny Chesney, Sting, Toby Keith and Elton John (news).
It was a good year for country music. Chesney's tour had a total gross of $50.8 million and Keith's grossed $43.7 million. Tim McGraw, Shania Twain and Alan Jackson's tour with Martina McBride were also among the top 25.
Bongiovanni said he wasn't surprised that most of the top acts were familiar faces.
"Just because baby boomers are older now doesn't mean that they turn into Glenn Miller band fans," he told the AP Thursday. "They are a large population base of people that have the funds."
Usher and John Mayer (news) were two of the younger acts to gross over $20 million.
"I don't know if today's kids look at music the same way the aging baby boomers do," Bongiovanni said. "We don't seem to be developing the long-term headliners."
Another factor could be the cost of tickets, which for the top 100 acts came at a record average of $52 each.
The most expensive concert ticket? Elton John, at an average of $158 per ticket.
Star Tribune's Artist of the Year for 2004
Another award out to Prince
Last update: December 26, 2004 at 7:37 AM
Artist of the Year: Prince
December 26, 2004 AOTY1226
Whereas, he stole the show at the Grammy Awards in February with his opening performance (with pop-soul princess Beyoncé) that showed the world that, baby, he's still a star who matters.
Whereas, his medley to kick off the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies in March had Mick Jagger, Yoko Ono, Kid Rock and a roomful of rock royalty dancing along to his still-vital-and-youthful-after-all-these-years performance.
Whereas, this new inductee blew away the Hall of Fame crowd for a second time with his expressively soaring guitar solo during an all-star band (Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and others) rendition of inductee George Harrison's "While My Guitar Gently Weeps."
Whereas, his sold-out Musicology Tour became the year's biggest concert success -- both with critics and fans, drawing rave reviews and nearly 1.5 million fans to 99 concerts.
Whereas, he became the first artist to play three sold-out concerts at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center -- shows that were personal, playful and exciting, especially his special and spontaneous tributes to the recently departed Ray Charles.
Whereas, his "Musicology" CD was hailed by critics as his best album in years, and it became his top seller in more than a decade, spending most of the summer in Billboard's top 10.
Whereas, he landed on the cover of Rolling Stone a decade after people thought he was irrelevant.
Whereas, he showed a newfound maturity -- he even preached monogamy -- on "Music- ology" and returned to pointed political commentary, in song and in video, for the first time since the 1980s.
Whereas, he came up with the brilliant marketing strategy of handing out free copies of "Musicology" to every ticketholder at his concerts, thereby boosting his profit margin per CD, guaranteeing sales of tens of thousands a week and prompting Billboard magazine to rework its rules for tabulating its charts.
Whereas, his landmark 1984 movie "Purple Rain" was re-released on DVD (without his cooperation) and once again fans and critics sang "Purple" praises.
Whereas, he was recognized by his peers in the music industry with five Grammy nominations connected to "Musicology," the most Grammy citations for one project by a Minnesota artist.
Whereas, his comeback resulted in the most lucrative year in his career, with his tour grossing more than $90 million and his money from "Musicology" soaring because he shrewdly eliminated the middlemen -- CD retailers and distributors -- at his concerts.
Therefore, we, the Arts & Entertainment staff, proclaim Prince the Star Tribune's Artist of the Year for 2004.
Spin's 40 best albums this year- Musicology Nr.18
18
PRINCE
Musicology
After (not) dropping his own Black Album, America's sexiest five-foot-two Jehovah's Witness could have retired as Lord Mayor of Erotic City-and some of his recent, herniated jazz-funkathons made us almost wish he had. But this shockingly concise single disc album shows there's still plenty of (pop) life left in him. He burns through the uptempo numbers-particularly the 2-good-2-B-true war-jam "Cinnamon Girl" -like he's got a crankcase full of Crunk juice. And the do-it-all-night ballads are both introspective and unfailingly elegant. Mr. Kiss-his-ass-crack remains a class act.
(C) 2004 - All rights reserved