Prince electrifies London venue with secret gig

Music icon Prince surprised fans by playing an open soundcheck in London on Tuesday (04Feb14).

Just days after hosting an impromptu listening party in New York City after the Super Bowl on Sunday (02Feb14), the Purple Rain hitmaker took to the stage at the Electric Ballroom venue around midnight, backed by his all-female band 3rd Eye Girl.

The singer performed songs from his upcoming album, Plectrum Electrum, but also sang his 1987 hit I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man for the second of his three encores.

After his hour-long set, he thanked revellers for their support, and hinted the gig wouldn't be the last at the Camden venue, saying, "You sound like 10 thousands (sic). We love each and every one of you... That was the soundcheck, come back tomorrow for more. We will be here tomorrow, a bit earlier and a lot funkier."

Earlier in the day, Prince held an informal press conference at the east London home of British soul singer Lianne La Havas, who he met last year (13) while she was on tour in the U.S.

The rocker and his band gathered in La Havas' living room and treated reporters to two acoustic tracks from the new record.

Prince told the group, "We're going to be here until people don't want to hear us anymore... We'll work our way up, if people like us, to bigger venues."

The last time Prince played multiple tour dates in the U.K. was in 2007, when he took the stage at the vast O2 Arena over 20 nights.