Prince announces London tour

By Mike Collett-White

LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. rock star Prince will play 21 concerts in London this autumn and plans to take time off music to study the Bible, he announced on Tuesday.

The innovative funk artist, who created such groundbreaking works as 1984's "Purple Rain" and 1987's "Sign O' The Times" and sold an estimated 80 million albums, made a brief appearance in the city to announce the gigs.

Outside Organization, a PR company helping to publicise the tour, said in a statement that Prince would be performing his greatest hits "for the very last time", but the artist did not confirm the claim.

Wearing dark shades, a high-collared purple shirt and cream suit, Prince explained why his only appearances in Europe this year would take place in London.

"I love London. I've had some of my favourite shows here."

Prince said he would be looking for a place to live for the duration of his stay.

He will charge 31.21 pounds per ticket, after his recent record "3121", with which he scored his first U.S. No. 1 album in almost 17 years in 2006.

"Last time I was here, a lot of people didn't get to see me, so we're trying to make it affordable for everybody," he said.