With Chris Rock returning as host and Prince as the musical guest Saturday Night Live was set to have an attention-grabbing show.

And neither star disappointed, with Prince performing four new songs in an incredible eight-minute jam - and Rock refusing to pull punches as he joked about ISIS, the Boston Marathon bombing and even the Freedom Tower and the 9/11 attacks.

Prince's star-turn had been one of the most eagerly-awaited SNL musical performances in years, and some online fans were soon praising the Purple One for having delivered one of the best musical moments in the show's history.

Musical guest: Prince and his band 3rdEyeGirl jammed out on Saturday Night Live as Chris Rock returned to host

After Rock excitedly introduced him by saying that the crowd was 'so lucky tonight', Prince and his band 3rdEyeGirl started a slow, soulful funk of upcoming single Clouds.

Prince - eye-catching in sunglasses with three lenses and his new afro - gave over many of the vocals to UK soulstress Lianna La Havas, his co-star on the single, even allowing her to stand by the central mic stand with his trademark Prince symbol.

Wearing a beautiful white gown, she then walked offstage as Prince switched from keyboards to guitar as the lead 3rdEyeGirl on the Led Zeppelin-sounding instrumental PlectrumElectrum, from their upcoming album of the same name.

Triumphant return: Chris was a former cast member on SNL in the 1990s

That soon kicked into the upbeat, rocking pop of Marz, also from PlectrumElectrum - before slowing down for his cover of Alice Smith's Another Love, building to an emotional high that may have reminded many fans of his Purple Rain era of 30 years ago.

It ended with Prince trading solos with bandmate Donna Grantis, who performed many of the key solos during their amazing jam.

His set ended with rapturous applause from the crowd and Prince bowing gracefully from behind his symboled-microphone stand, raising his hands to his face in thanks.

Three lenses: Prince wore a pair of funky shades with three lenses

In perhaps predictable Prince fashion, he made a quick exit and was gone by the time Rock gave thanks to everyone at the end of the show.

While Rock's comedy sketches were rather tame, it was his opening monologue that grabbed most attention - and not all of it favourable.

Despite being in New York, the funnyman did not pull away from making jokes about terrorism and 9/11, a topic most still steer away from.

Seeking investors: Chris portrayed an ISIS leader seeking funding on Shark Tank in one skit

He even suggested that New York stands a good chance of facing another terrorist attack the morning after his show because of the marathon being run there.

'Yesterday was Halloween, tomorrow's the New York City Marathon… yeah, scary - what could go wrong there, right?' he said right from the off.

'It'll be all right - New York's gonna be fine, just like Boston's fine after the marathon.'

Date night: Chris also played an older man who argued with his wife before they went on a date

After insisting that he 'loves Boston, loves the people there' he then joked that the Boston Marathon bombing was 'probably the most frightening, sadistic terrorist attack ever' - because it targeted people after they'd already run 26 miles.

'I mean 26 miles is a long drive,' he said, insisting friends would tell him to 'call Uber' if he wanted a lift that was that far.

'People jogging for 26 miles, your knees are hurting, your knees are killing you, if you're a woman there's blood coming out of your titties,' he added.

'You've been training for a year, you finally get to the finish line and somebody screams ''Run!'' Whoa, that is horrible, man.'

Again seemingly predicting another attack, he said: 'But hey, the good people of Boston will bounce back. And New York will bounce back.'

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That brought him to 9/11, with Rock saying: 'New York, we had our own terrorist attack, and we bounced back. Now we have the Freedom Tower.

'They should change it from the Freedom Tower to the Never Going In There Tower.'

He continued: 'What do they have? Does this building duck? What were they thinking? Who's the corporate sponsor - Target?

'Stop it! In the same spot they put another skyscraper? What kind of arrogant Floyd Mayweather crap is this?'

He insisted: 'I don't care if Scarlett Johansson is buck naked on the 89th floor in a plate of ribs - I'm not going in there.'

Political skit: Chris played a black voter on the fake PBS show How's He Doing about President Obama's job performance

He then turned that into a riff on how 'in America there are no sacred days, we commercialize everything', joking: 'We're only five years away from 9/11 sales. ''Come on down to Red Lobster, these shrimp are nine dollars and 11 cents.''

To prove his point, he joked about Christmas, saying: 'From what I've read, Jesus is the least materialistic person to ever roam the earth - no bling on Jesus.

'And we turned his birthday into the most materialistic day ever.'

He also spoke of his horror when he joined a celebrity event to protest about guns in America and the hateful backlash he got afterwards.

'In the same way I can't drive a NASCAR down the street, I shouldn't be able to have a machine gun in my house across the road from the street,' he argued. 'OK? It's simple, right?'

Taking a bow: Prince delighted the crowd with his eight-minute performance

But he said after doing the event he got 'all these threats' on his website.

'And I realized, ''Oh my God! I need a gun! I need a gun right now!'',' he joked.

'From that moment on I vowed that I will never get involved in another charity or cause for the rest of my life. You're on your own.

'If you see me talking about a disease - I got it.'

He once again touched on politics for one of his skits - pretending to be an ISIS leader trying to raise funding on TV's Shark Tank.

Saying their business started with the plan to 'rid the world of the filthy Western pig and the vile Jew',

Rock's character told the TV panelists: 'Now, just a few years later, our small hateful perversion of Islam has grown into a multi-national brand!'

'We are seeking 400 million American dolls in exchange for a one percent stake in our new kingdom!' Rock's character told the financial backers, who seemed at least interested in the chance to make money, especially when they said they were stealing oil.

TV parody: ISIS made their pitch in the parody of ABC's hit show Shark Tank

The ISIS presentation even showed they were prepared to change their logo - producing one with the famous Geico gecko on it.

But the skit ended with them arrested by Homeland Security - after the actor playing investor Daymond John pretended to call to collect on a $30 million bounty.

In another skit, Rock and SNL cast members pretended to be in an ad as sufferers of vertigo - after realizing they actually liked Taylor Swift's music.

'I felt nauseous. I don't like Taylor Swift, I know I don't,' Rock said - as a doctor introduced a cure called Swiftamine.

'Pink and bubbly, just like Taylor herself,' the doctor said of the drug.

In other skits he played a dad bursting in on his daughter recording raunchy YouTube dance videos, an elderly man going on his anniversary date, a professor on a black interest chat show and also a manager on a video showing diversity issues in the workplace.