Prince announces surprise tour
Superstar Prince has brought Perth music fans crashing back to earth, leaving the west coast off his Australian tour later this month.
After hosting a string of high-profile events since the Perth Arena - voted the world's best arena in 2014 by Billboard - opened in 2012, including The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen, Perth music fans will again miss the chance to see the maestro performer strut his stuff. 
After announcing he was coming to Australia on Friday for a 'Piano and Microphone' tour, Prince made fans wait hours before announcing overnight he would play four shows in Melbourne on   February 16 and 17 and two shows in Sydney on   February 20.
The multi-instumentalist, who skipped Perth the last time he toured Australia, in 2012, has sold more than 100 million albums worldwide and won seven Grammy Awards in a career that began with his debut album For You in 1978. 
Perth fans will have to hop on a plane to the east coast to see Prince or hope he makes a surprise appearance in the west - which is not totally out of the question.
Prince is known for performing impromptu, unannounced shows in smaller venues, including one in a Melbourne laneway on his last Aussie tour.
In Manhattan in 2014, Prince played several secret, unannounced gigs at underground clubs after opening an account on Twitter to announce he was back performing live.
Upon hearing news of his comeback, New Yorkers formed massive queues outside clubs to get a glimpse of Prince, who often didn't come on stage until 3am.
The legendary singer's solo Australian performances will be the most-scaled back shows he's done outside his late-night shows at small clubs and bars 
Late last year Prince, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, cancelled several European dates in favour of a short residency at his Paisley Park estate in his home state of Minnesota.
Reviews of those shows suggest not just a intimate show but a personal one, with Prince running through several hours of music covering his hits, entire career and yet-to-be released arrangements.
The shows will be framed by the story of how he mastered the piano and emerged from the shadow of his father, jazz pianist John L. Nelson, according to Rolling Stone. 
"The set moved chronologically (with a few exceptions) through the first decade of Prince's career, including at least one song from each of his first 10 albums," the magazine wrote.
* Tickets for Prince's Australian shows are on sale from 12pm,   February 9 and 12pm,   February 11 for his NZ shows (check local sale times).
- with Martin Boulton