Most people never realised how much they wanted to hear Prince backed by a marching brass band until the 2007 Super Bowl. The Miami Dolphins’ stadium was hemmed in by gathering stormy clouds, but that didn’t stop Prince taking to his drenched symbol-shaped stage, and signalling his intent by opening with the riff from Queen’s We Will Rock You.
While Prince hurtled into Let’s Go Crazy and Baby I’m A Star, the Florida A&M University Marching 100 providing a fitting backing band. Prince then deserted his own back catalogue in favour of a trio of songs from other artists – Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Proud Mary, Bob Dylan’s All Along The Watchtower, and bringing proceedings more up to date with Foo Fighters’ Best Of Me.
The finale, however, couldn’t have been timed more perfectly. The heavens opened as Prince closed proceedings with none other than Purple Rain. It’s unlikely Shakira and Jennifer Lopez will be able to top having Mother Nature as an accompaniment.
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