Review: Mark Anthony as Prince, Princess Theatre, Hunstanton

The Purple One came to Hunstanton on Saturday night bringing with him a little of the magic that made him such an amazing star.

Mark Anthony is a British guy who looks incredibly like the star from Minneapolis and also makes a very convincing sounding version of the star too.

He first appeared on Stars In Their Eyes and his career as a tribute act has since taken him to the US, where he met his hero more than once.

He doesn't play the guitar, leaving that to his able woman lead guitarist Rosie, but otherwise you get the full Prince package. The swagger, the dance moves, the falsetto.

The set starts with Let's Go Crazy and contains all the hits you would expect, such as Raspberry Beret, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Little Red Corvette, When Doves Cry, Kiss, Get Off, Most Beautiful Girl In The World and finishing with 1999 and Purple Rain.

There were a few others he did that he wrote and that ended up as hits for other people, including Feel For You (a hit for Chaka Khan) and C.O.O.L. which was not one I knew particularly and was a real highlight of the night.

It was a fun evening and I really enjoyed it. I wouldn't count myself as anything more than a casual Prince fan and so I brought along a friend who is a massive aficionado and she declared herself mightily impressed and couldn't wait to get a selfie with him at the end in the bar.

Another good night at the Princess Theatre, which has just won the Leisure and Tourism Award at the Mayor's Business Awards. The size of the audience was disappointing but those there threw themselves into it, so a round of applause for them too.

Mark Leslie