"Money don't matter 2 night," sang pop superstar Prince, but this week he may find that €1.6m of it could change his mind.

Music promoter MCD is suing the singer for that amount after he cancelled his performance in Croke Park last year and the legal proceedings arising from that are due before the big business division of the High Court tomorrow where the concert promoter will seek to have the case entered into the Commercial Court list.

The singer was to be paid $3m for appearing in Dublin but later decided he wanted to cancel.

More than 55,000 tickets had been sold and MCD alleges it was never given a reason of substance for the cancellation.

The promoter has admitted that it has no written contract with the singer.

It says, however, that email correspondence between its director Denis Desmond, who has already lodged an affidavit with the court, and Prince's agent Tony Goldring of the William Morris agency, makes it clear that a concluded contract had been entered into.

Arthur Cox is acting for the concert promoter while Gerald Kean's practice is acting for the singer, who is listed in court documents as Prince Rogers Nelson.

MCD is claiming financial loss and damage to its commercial reputation as a result of the concert's cancellation.

Born in Minneapolis in Minnesota, Prince's best-known album is Purple Rain, which has sold more than 13 million copies since its release in 1984.

The singer has been to the forefront of the digital revolution in music and charges fans $77 to access his website where songs and albums can be downloaded. He is also his own producer.