Desmond Homes In On Princely Payout

The issue has rumbled on since June 2008, when Prince gave Desmond 13 days notice that he wouldn’t be playing a date at Dublin’s Croke Park.

Last February Dublin’s Commercial Court awarded Desmond undisclosed damages after ruling the superstar committed to perform in Dublin and withdrew without reasonable excuse or explanation.

Desmond, the Dublin-based MCD chief who promotes the country’s Oxegen Festival and has a major share of the UK’s Reading, Leeds, Latitude, T In The Park and V festivals, told Pollstar a non-disclosure agreement prevents him from revealing how the money was paid or where it came from, but he confirmed the full amount was received May 18.

A month after the Dublin court awarded Desmond the undisclosed damages, Irish High Court Justice Peter Kelly said he was making the amount public because Prince hadn’t paid any of the money agreed in the confidential settlement that was reached at the original hearing.

Desmond’s pursuit of his money then took him to the European courts and on April 13, 2010, his lawyers secured a European Enforcement Order, which permitted the Irish promoter to pursue the pop superstar throughout the European Union to obtain the payment.