Prince never made it up the A12 to perform in Ipswich but on Friday night Suffolk born Jimi Love did, bringing his show ‘A Celebration of Prince’ to the Corn Exchange Grand Hall.

Jimi Love played for over two hours, and had the whole audience partying like it was 1999.

The eight piece band opened with Let’s Go Crazy and 1999 – ‘too early’, my friend shouted at me - and it did feel like the encore before the night had even begun.

However, this didn’t matter as there were so many more tracks showcasing the genius of Prince to come.

Of course it was great to hear the classics – When Doves Cry, Kiss, and Alphabet Street - but it was when the band got funky, playing lesser known tracks that things really started to get moving.

Gett Off and Musicology turned the heat up in the room with the former featuring an outstanding harmonica solo from local man Giles King.

I counted over twenty songs packed in to the two hour show which also included an audience dance party (on and off the stage) and even a deftly shoehorned slice of Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love.

There was only one song to close the show – and after Jimi asked us to stand and ‘take a moment to remember Prince, the reason why we all here’ – the band delivered a note perfect Purple Rain.