Prince hits out at 'vulture' touts as he's forced to postpone ticket sales for European tour

Prince has likened touts to vultures as he hit out at them after being forced to postpone the sale of tickets for his upcoming European tour.

The pop star is due to play shows as part of his Spotlight: Piano and A Microphone tour in Glasgow, London and Birmingham later this month.

Tickets were due to go on sale at 10am but less than an hour beforehand, primary ticket agency Ticketmaster announced the postponement.

Tickets for shows in Europe also appeared to be postponed as Prince tweeted about an upcoming show in Vienna.

Prince later tweeted a picture of a vulture asking "Multiple Choice: A. Scavenger B. Vulture C. Tout D. All of the above."

A fan tweeted in reply asking: "Can I ask how these people get tickets in advance and charge such ridiculous amounts before tickets are even released?"

Prince replied: "? of the year."

He then tweeted a link to a Which? report about touts and wrote: "Answer Therein."

The star then quoted some of his fans who had tweeted him.

Some fans were initially angry at the delay but after the explanation many were more than happy to wait.

Prince also thanked his fans for their patience but said it was crazy that die hard fans "are always shut out."

No further details have yet been given on when the tickets will now go on sale.

The tour is scheduled to start in Vienna on November 24 and is expected to go to 11 countries, although not all dates have been announced.