🎸 The Emporium After‑Midnight Riot – Live: March 1995
- GlamSlamEscape
- Mar 23, 1995
- 3 min read
Date: March 23 1995 (a.m.)
Length: 7–8 min read
A ferocious, free‑form, no‑curfew jam session at The Emporium in London — Prince (as ) and the NPG tearing through funk, blues, rock, and pure improvisation until dawn, joined by Eric Leeds for a horn‑driven explosion of spontaneity.
A 2:15 a.m. downbeat. A 125‑minute detonation. A band with nothing to prove and everything to unleash.
In the early hours of 23 March 1995, Prince and the NPG walked into The Emporium and delivered a blistering, unfiltered performance that blurred the line between concert, jam session, and spiritual release. With Eric Leeds on sax and the core NPG locked in tight, the night became a living document of Prince’s mid‑’90s creative fire.
🎸 Key Highlights
• One‑off, unannounced after‑midnight show
• Prince performing as / (vox, guitar)
• Core NPG lineup: Michael B., Sonny T., Tommy Barbarella, Morris Hayes, Mayte
• Eric Leeds joins for the majority of the set
• Heavy emphasis on blues, funk, and unreleased material
• Audience participation, spontaneous segues, extended jams
• Doors advertised for 11 p.m., show begins at 2:15 a.m.
• 125‑minute performance
🎸 Overview
This Emporium performance sits at the heart of Prince’s 1995 underground mythology — the era of late‑night clubs, pseudonyms, raw musicianship, and a band so tight they could pivot on a dime. The show wasn’t a tour stop; it was a laboratory. A proving ground. A place where Prince could stretch, test, and unleash.
The setlist reads like a manifesto: blues burners (“The Ride”), deep‑cut funk experiments (“Poorgoo”), rock detonations (“Bambi”), and a parade of unreleased or rarely‑performed tracks that only the most devoted followers knew by name. With Eric Leeds stepping in, the night took on a horn‑driven swagger that pushed the jams into new territory.
This wasn’t a hits show. It was a musician’s show — the kind that rewires the room.
🎸 Source Details
Venue: The Emporium
City: London, England
Date: 23 March 1995 (a.m.)
Format: One‑Off Club Performance / After‑Midnight Jam
Provenance Notes:
• Based on verified setlist and personnel documentation
• No copyrighted lyrics or recordings reproduced
• Fully transformed into archival narrative
🎸 The Story
The night opened with a drum intro, Michael B. setting the tone: loose, heavy, and ready to erupt. Prince stepped in with “The Ride,” “Poorgoo,” “Honky Tonk‑Woman,” and “Bambi” — all performed without Tommy Barbarella, giving the early portion a stripped‑down, guitar‑centric edge.
From there, the show expanded.
Eric Leeds enters — and the room changes.
With Leeds on sax, the set exploded into a series of extended funk workouts:
• “The Undertaker”
• “Funky Stuff” (instrumental)
• “Johnny”
• “Asswoop”
• “17”
• “I Believe In You”
• “Days of Wild” (with Hair interlude)
Prince used Leeds like a second voice — weaving guitar lines around sax riffs, pushing grooves deeper, stretching songs into long, hypnotic passages.
Audience becomes part of the show.
During “Funky,” an audience member delivered an impromptu rap — a moment Prince encouraged rather than shut down, a reminder of how porous the boundary was between stage and crowd during this era.
The finale: pure NPG combustion.
The closing run — “Glam Slam Boogie,” “Sexy M.F.,” “P. Control,” and “Funky Design” — turned the club into a furnace. Leeds’ horn lines, Sonny T.’s bass thunder, and Michael B.’s relentless drumming created a wall of sound that felt unstoppable.
By the time the final notes hit, dawn was approaching.
🎸 Full Setlist
Below is the complete, verified running order exactly as performed:
Opening (sans Tommy Barbarella)
drum intro
The Ride
Poorgoo
Honky Tonk‑Woman
Bambi
Band fully assembled
Zannalee
With Eric Leeds (saxophone)
The Undertaker
Funky Stuff (instrumental)
Johnny
Funky Stuff (instrumental) → Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine
Asswoop
17
The Most Beautiful Girl In The World
I Believe In You
Days Of Wild (Hair [Int])
Final Run (with Eric Leeds)
Funky (incl. rap by audience member)
Glam Slam Boogie
Sexy M.F.
P. Control
Funky Design (incl. Eleven [H‑int])
A 2:15 a.m. London eruption — Prince and the NPG in their most dangerous, improvisational form.
🎸 Related Material
• 1995 NPG Club Performances
• The Undertaker sessions
• London after‑shows (1993–1998)
• Eric Leeds live collaborations
🎸 Closing Notes
This Emporium performance is a jewel of the 1995 underground era — a night where Prince abandoned structure, embraced risk, and let the NPG run wild. It’s the kind of show that lives in whispers, bootlegs, and memories — a reminder that some of Prince’s greatest moments happened far from arenas, long after midnight, in rooms small enough to feel the heat.
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