In 2016, we lost one one of the finest. The death of Prince is an event that falls into the realms of “I know exactly where I was and what I was doing when …”
I was lucky enough to have seen Prince play many times and felt numb at the loss of a musical genius. The last time I saw him was the opening night of his stunning 21 night residency at the o2 on August 1, 2007 when Prince himself declared “it doesn’t matter who came before or who comes after. From now on the O2 is Prince’s house”. He was supported on stage during that tour by the New Power Generation as he belted out a total of 504 songs in 52 and a half hours on stage. He would often take to the stage again later in the evening at the gigs after party held in Indigo at the O2. So it is perhaps fitting that eleven years later on August 2nd, the New Power Generation will be bringing the music back to the Indigo in a celebration of Prince.
The NPG reunited after the outpouring of positive feedback from the fans after the official Prince Tribute Concert in Minnesota in 2016. Morris Hayes, Prince’s long serving musical director and original member of NPG, was asked to direct the concert and brought the original band members back together to act as house band with guest musicians joining them to produce an epic musical celebration of Prince. Soon after this the band felt they had to reunite and joined with other world class musicians to bring their own tribute to life.
After years of touring with, recording with and writing with the Purple King, NPG have the work ethic that defined their mentor, brother and friend. Most importantly New Power Generation have huge respect and love for the music. The NPG now boast an official lead singer after touring with many different guest vocalists. MacKenzie is an LA based singer from Virginia whose reverence to the material doesn’t stop him from letting his own unique artistry shine through and fans of Prince have quickly taken him to their hearts.
The performance at Indigo at the O2 promises to include many of Prince’s hits from all eras of the artist’s exalted career. Songs that originally featured NPG like “Diamonds & Pearls”, ‘Gett Off” and “Cream” will be joined with classics from four decades of brilliance and personally I can’t wait to see the New Power Generation bring the magic back to “Prince’s House”.
Tickets for New Power Generation’s show at the O2 London are available here.
