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Archieved Prince news - 2003

Prince and NPG expands 'tour' to Hawaii

Prince is chasing the sun this winter, and when you live in Minneapolis "the land of snow" you can't blame him. Because of the success with October's Hong Kong Festival and his tour in Australia just performing his old hits, a full-scale tour which Prince will air his old hits one final time before they go into retirement is slated to begin sometime in the New Year.

N.E.W.S up for a Grammy

Prince's latest album N.E.W.S is up for a Grammy in the best pop instrumental category. The 46th ceremony of the prestigious Grammy awards will take place in Los Angeles on 8 February. If Prince wins the Grammy, it would be his fourth.

Prince joins the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

In the best N.E.W.S of the year, it has been confirmed that Prince will be inducted into the Cleveland-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March for his (outstanding) contribution to the music industry. Artists are eligible only 25 years after their first commercial release. Prince came on to the scene in 1978 with the album For You, making 2003 his first year of eligibility, so it was a no-brainier for the panel to induct one of the greatest solo performers of the 20th Century, on the first opportunity. The induction will take place in New York on 15 March 2004.

The artists formally known as Prince's

Shelia E is reuniting Princes former band-mates-come-hangers-on and spring off bands for a special concert to be held in Los Angeles' Great Western Forum on 13 December. The concert is in aid of a care centre for abandoned children. Artists appearing at the event are; The Time, Chaka Khan, Apollonia, The Family, Jill Jones, Patti LaBelle, The Revolution, Shelia E, Carmen Electra plus others. The man himself, however, will not be attending.

Archieved Prince news - 2002

First CD from Music Club

One Nite Alone, entirely piano and voice, the first of the four disks, has been shipped (as a digi-pack) to NPCMC members at this moment. The album includes 10 tracks, 4 of which were previewed to members in January.

Celebration 2002 "Xenophobia"

The Celebration this year will take place at Paisley Park from 21-27 June. Prince will be headlining every night and will be joined by guest performers. The Celebration this year will be available only to members of the NPGMC at a cost of $250 for the whole week. As well as the performances there will be musical workshops, listening sessions, a look at Princely artefacts and exclusive merchandise.

NPGMC + world tour + Celebration 2002

From February members of the NPGMC will no longer be downloading Prince's music from the internet. The good news is that he is going to mail members at least 4 CD's this year, and that's not it. The CD's will have the aesthetic quality of the ones you buy in a store. It does not end there there will also be a chance for non-Americans to get those preferred concert seats as 2002 will boast of a world tour at arena sized venues. Chats with the NPG will be now be a regular fixture and the members retail section will be re-vamped to contain many more videos, music and merchandise. Finally the Celebration will take place in June (21-27) for the 3rd year running. The annual membership of the club will remain at $100 and opened its doors for 2002 mid-February.

2nd Royal wedding for Prince - apparently (well sort of)

Prince has, apparently, married Paisley Park employee and long time fan Manuela Testolini (26) in Hawaii on New Year's Eve. Prince, still on good terms with Mayte and her phoned to tell her the good news. We wish them well. Mayte is currently with Tommy Lee. There has still been no official confirmation that any wedding has actually taken place.

Prince features on No Doubt's new album - Rock Steady

It is now confirmed that Prince will feature on the track "Waiting Room" from No Doubt's new album. Prince performs and sings on the track with Gwen. The album is out now.

Prince's mother dies, aged 68.

Prince's mother, Mattie Baker died on 15 February 2002. His father, John Nelson died, on 25 August 2001, the couple had divorced over 30 years ago. She was a singer in the Prince Roger Trio in the 1950's and married the jazz bands pianist John, who was originally from New Orleans, he immense influence on Prince's music. Our deepest sympathies for Prince.

New Album Launched on NAPSTER

Talk is rife again of a new album but this time the source of the rumors look a little more official. Earlier this year an album (already completed) entitled High was slated for a spring launch, but now it looks set that the next, The Rainbow Children will be released later in the year containing the track The Work - Part 1 bluesy in style and recorded live. The track is now available from Napster as part of Prince's anti-record company/middle-man stance. Warners are part of a consortium which have filed lawsuits against Napster which offers MP3's for free download.

No Prince on Kings CD

Prince has denied rumors that he will be appearing on Michael Jackson's new album which is due out in the summer.

NPGmusicCLUB Opens its Doors

The new site to access and download Prince's music the NPGmusicCLUB has finally opened in what fans will agree was the longest Valentines Day in history. Prince, who's wish back in 1995 to give his fans (fams) direct access to download his music via the internet has now opened up it's doors for fans to register to join the NPGmusicCLUB. Unlike NPGonlineLTD which offers only samples, the new site offers complete high-resolution MP3 (80% of Prince's music is unreleased) and video downloads of previously unreleased music though a specially designed player. The annual subscription will be $100, but what you get for your money is, the CD Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (which is currently being manufactured), exclusive releases, merchandise, VIP seating at all shows and after-parties, plus interviews with Prince and band members. The site will be updated on the third week of every month. Go get that CD burner.

Archieved Prince news - 2000

NPGonlineLTD Offers Free Downloads

Prince is really freeing music these days, he is now offering two full songs, U Make My Sun Shine and, When Will We Be Paid?. A downloadable CD cover is also available. So all you need now is a burner. It is expected that this single will also be released via the mainstream. Though it is available from Brother Jules' Record Emporium.

L4OA Garage Sale to Return to The UK

Once again L4OA will be holding a sale of exclusive merchandise in London in benefit of the Centrepoint charity for London's homeless. This time it will be held on 25 & 26 November at the Wembley Exhibition Centre (Hall 3) in North London. Items from June's Celebration event will be included in the sale. Also 1-800 NEW FUNK has launched new products as part of its recent re-launch.

Prince to Take Saturday "Chats" on NPGonlineLTD

Prince is to take a weekly voice chat with his fans on his website. The first chat on the evening of Saturday 7 October was so clogged with fans pouring thousands of questions onto the scroll-screen meant that no one could read a thing that was being posted. However Prince did say that 2 new complete songs would be posted for download by November. For the next chat, the room is likely to be moderated to restrict the number of participants.

Green Light For Rave Tour

For the latest news on the Rave tour, please see the tours section. NPGonlineLTD has announced that rehearsals for a fall tour start on September 3rd with the new line up of the NPG. It was not confirmed that the tour will especially promote Rave as the album has been out for some months now.

NPGONLINELTD Turns Up The Heat on "Summer" Release Fest

According the NPGonlineLTD we can expect a very "hot summer". Paisley Park is churning out vault videos and tapes. The summer is also set to see the release of the Hot With U remix and the much awaited Rave Special Edition: Rave In2 The Year 2000. NPG have also hinted that the show at the Northrop arena may be released as his first official live album. Finally, it sounds like there is a new "Prince" album in the works, entitled Dolls House (unconfirmed) rumors suggest that the album is a return to the Purple Rain sound, and may be released through Sony early 2001, however this is speculation only, fake track listings are already appearing on the internet from people who have supposedly heard this unfinished album.

The Artist Formally Known As, The Artist

If you take a look in the Guinness Book of Records, Prince has had more name more times than any other entertainer. Now he has gone full circle. At the LA Sports Club in Manhattan (16 May) he announced to a packed press conference that he would revert back to his name PRINCE.

New Years Eve 1999 was the last day in his last remaining contract through Warner Bros, a publishing contract with Warner-Chappell Music. Prince originally signed the contract worth $100m in 1992. The restrictive terms in the contract caused his relationship with Warners to break down. Causing him to change his name to the glyph in 1993 and writing Slave across his face until the contract expired in 1996, upon which he released a triple album Emancipation through EMI. Warners still owned his material recorded during his days when he was called Prince. The glyph remained and became his trademark for free music. In 1998 Warners released the album The Vault consisting of previously unreleased material owned by them. In the credits of his 1999 album Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic, the Producer was listed as Prince. Now that the "name" Prince is now no longer covered by contract with Warners, he cast aside the glyph (which, in recent years, has bought him more press coverage than his music) and reverted to his birth name, Prince Rogers Nelson.

House Warming at Paisley Park 8 May 2000

Paisley Park will be opening its doors for a Prince "celebration" week during 7-13 June. The $70 [SOLD OUT] ticket includes a half hour tour of the Park, a visit to his prop room, wardrobe and party till 2am every night. More interestingly attendees will be able to vote for tracks to go on the Crystal Ball 2 album. The week will be rounded off by a concert by the Paisley Parker himself at the Northrop Auditorium. Tickets for the Prince week go on sale from 13 May [SOLD OUT].

All Clear Given For Rave Tour?

According to NPGonlineLTD our friends in the US and Canada may be treated to a tour this summer promoting the Rave album. New band members are currently being head-hunted by Prince to perform on the tour - names include drummer John Blackwell and woodwind ace Najee. He is also seeking a female guitarist.

Prince's Arista Fury

Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic may have gone gold but Prince is seeing red with Arista?s promotion, or lack of, to leave the album to "languish" at the back of the charts. Due to the nature of the agreement between the two parties, gives Prince the option to release his next single from Rave on his NPG Records label. He is in negotiations with Gwen from No Doubt to shoot a video for So Far, So Pleased. The agreement allows Arista to promote his next album, however this is unlikely.

New Official Website Launched

On 4 March Prince launched his latest internet site www.NPGonlineLTD.com. The site features images, sounds and news previously available through L4OA. NPG Online was opened after the broadcast of the Soul Train Awards which Prince received the award for Male Artist of the Decade (Whitney Houston was handed the female award). Currently there are no plans to re-launch/update the L4OA site.

L4OA "Garage Sale" To Visit UK

The L4OA charity will be holding its first sale of old tour memorabilia outside the USA. The sale will be held at the Rock and Pop Fair in London on 1 and 2 April. All proceeds will go the the charity for London?s homeless, Centrepoint, which benefited from a clothes drive held at the Jam of the Year show at Wembley in August 1998.

Later News (2004-2007)