No Purple Rain for NZ

While Prince has announced a shower of Purple Rain for Australia, New Zealand will be left dry.

After months of rumours, and following a final none-too-subtle clue from Chugg Entertainment on Twitter last night that "Hmmmm. Just checked the weather report. It's predicting purple rain for tomorrow..." it had been confirmed today that Prince will be touring Australia for the first time since 2003 in May.

Dubbed the Welcome 2 Australia tour, the multi-platinum selling artist will be performing his arena shows in the round, with a 360-degree stage, in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Promoters say that it was unlikely at this stage that the artist will drop by in New Zealand as well.

The enigmatic artist who has seven Grammy awards, in addition to a Golden Globe and an Oscar, is well known for experimenting with sound, styles, concert formats and even his name. For those still unsure, the formerly named Artist Formerly Known As Prince is Prince once more.

The statement also demurely claims "this tour of Australia is destined to be one of the greatest concert events in years."

- © Fairfax NZ News