Prince and 3rdEyeGirl @ The SSE Hydro, 22 May

Whereas the first leg of this ‘Hit and Run’ tour arrived by stealth in the South, Glasgow was afforded a few more days to dust down its raspberry beret for Prince Rogers Nelson’s first state visit of the 21st century. Turning the funk up to full bore, 3rdEyeGirl's first order of business is to resurrect, redesign and drag original dancefloor thrillers like Let’s Go Crazy and U Got The Look into the modern day. "Dig!" he periodically screams with contagious gusto, Ida Nielsen at his back, cranking out more bass solos than a perilous season of Seinfeld.

"30 years ago this summer, this was the sound," he declares, casually dropping When Doves Cry, Sign “☮” the Times and I Would Die 4 U – a sublime trilogy of undiminished landmarks, both in his own career and for pop music in general. Perpetuating his own enigma by letting the tunes do the talking, Prince is a living, breathing reminder that sometimes it pays to just let myths be and lock the gossip mongers out. Just a fortnight shy of 56, the voice is still pristine, with a range which only seems to have broadened over time.

"Can I get a friend tonight?" he implores midway through Purple Rain, apparently lost in its youthful angst all over again. Two hours and three encores into an unceasingly exhilarating set from our diminutive ringmaster’s evolving circus – ostensibly an appetiser, the main event and a hazy afterparty lounge rolled into one – His Royal Badness teases the dishevelled hardcore punters who kipped by the Clyde under their purple sleeping bags last night."You know how many hits I got? We could be here all night.” He’s not even joking now. “Way into tomorrow.” [Dave Kerr]