"But life if just a party, and parties weren't meant to last." - Prince, 1999
MY NAME IS PRINCE: 36 INTERESTING PRINCE FACTS
He was a visionary. A revolutionary talent. A true artist. A shy genius. A musical freak. An icon of both music and style. Heck he even became a symbol for a time. For music lovers around the world Prince was a kind of spiritual leader.
On April 21, 2016, it was only a couple of months after Australian fans had been thrilled by his Piano & A Microphone Australian tour, which was suddenly announced just two weeks from show dates and was, by all accounts, an unforgettable, magical experience. So it is was a huge shock when the sad news broke that the beloved musician had died at the far-too-young age of 57 (after an accidental overdose of painkillers).
Prince had a keen interest in music from an early age, an interest that was nurtured by his musical family. He was a virtuoso on every instrument he touched with an incredible vocal range, yet he wasn't uptight in his performance style, able to express himself through his microphone, bass, guitar, drums, piano, or the studio desk. In a TV interview, he was asked how many instruments he could play. "Thousands", he responded.
It was 1978 when he released his debut album For You via Warner Bros. Records. But it was in the '80s that he altered the path of pop music with the release of his brilliant and groundbreaking albums 1999, Purple Rain and Sign 'O' the Times, firmly establishing him as an international superstar.
Not only was he extremely intelligent (with an IQ reported to be over 150), he was emotionally intelligent too. During his recent Australian shows he performed alone, just a piano and a microphone - an example of the diversity of his genius - able to tear up the stage during one of his electrifying rock shows with band 3rdeyegirl, or have fans on the edge of their seats, hanging onto every word and emotion.
He was an artist who marched to his own beat and could straddle both the mainstream and the avant garde - mixing funk, soul, pop, jazz and rock into a imaginative cocktail. Prince wasn't afraid of controversy and played on sexually explicit themes in his lyrics.
Prince left behind an incredible legacy that is almost unparalleled, both in his recorded body of work and the countless hits he wrote and produced for others. Over the past year since his passing, the tributes from fans and fellow musicians have not stopped.
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Here are 36 interesting facts you might not know about The Purple One. We miss you, Prince...
1) Prince made his British debut in June 1981 at the Lyceum Ballroom. The attendance was so poor all additional scheduled UK dates were cancelled.
2) During his Purple Rain tour, Prince would play unpublicised free concerts for disabled children.
3) In December 1993 Prince placed an ad in Entertainment Weekly stating “Eligible bachelor seeks the most beautiful girl in the world to spend holidays with”. Some of the respondents featured in his "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World" music clip.
4) Purple Rain sold 1.3 million albums on its first day of release.
5) The heartbeat of Prince’s unborn son Boy Gregory Nelson was included on the Emancipation track "Sex In The Summer". The infant died from Pfeiffer’s Syndrome just days after Prince’s wife Mayte gave birth in 1996.
6) With its references to masturbation, the lyrics to Purple Rain’s "Darling Nikki" indirectly led to the introduction of parental advisory warning stickers in the United States.
7) Upon appointing protégé Denise Matthews as the frontwoman for his Vanity 6 side-project, Prince suggested she change her name to Vagina. She refused, instead becoming Vanity.
8) Prince’s 1989 Batman soundtrack is among the vinyl records thrown at an approaching zombie in the Simon Pegg film Shaun Of The Dead.
9) In 1986, Quincy Jones rang Prince and requested he duet with Michael Jackson on the track "Bad". Prince declined.
10) After Batman director Tim Burton showed Prince an early cut of the film featuring songs such as "1999", Prince instead recorded him a whole new album soundtrack.
11) Prince kept a swear jar at his Paisley Park home in Minneapolis.
12) Bob Marley refused to collaborate with Prince since he thought him to be a “batty boy”.
13) Prior to recording it himself, Prince offered a 10-minute instrumental version of the song "Purple Rain" to Stevie Nicks. She turned it down because “it was so overwhelming”.
14) Prince asked Taxi Driver and Goodfellas director Martin Scorsese to helm his 1986 film Under The Cherry Moon. Prince ended up directing it himself.
15) In a rave review of 1980’s Dirty Mind album, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau opined “Mick Jagger should fold up his penis and go home”.
16) Prince’s dad John L Nelson, who was credited as a songwriter on Prince albums including Around The World In A Day, Parade and Purple Rain, released a solo album called Father’s Song in 1994.
17) In 1993, Prince oversaw his girlfriend Carmen Electra’s move into the music business with a self-titled debut album. Promotional copies were sent to strip clubs around the US, but it sank without a trace.
18) Prince’s backstage requests for his 2004 tour included Yogi Cocoa Spice Tea, Pepsi and jasmine candles.
19) Condoms branded ‘Purple Raincoats’ were sold at Prince & The New Power Generation gigs in 1995.
20) On his wife Mayte’s 1995 album Child Of The Sun, Prince included samples from Back To The Future on a cover version of The Commodores’ "Brick House".
21) During some of his tours, Prince’s preferred transport to the stage was a black equipment box.
22) Andy Warhol called Prince’s 1981 show at Madison Square Garden “the greatest concert I ever saw there”, although he “wasn’t even a good dancer”. Now Warhol's estate is suing a photographer who claims the famed pop artist copied her 1981 publicity photo of Prince.
23) In 2001, Clerks and Dogma film director Kevin Smith was employed by Prince to direct a documentary for him. The footage remains largely unreleased.
24) Pulled from its December 1987 release at the last minute, The Black Album became one of the most bootlegged albums of all time. It is believed to have sold in excess of 200,000 unauthorised copies on vinyl and CD before being officially released in 1994.
25) Prince played guitar, keyboard and bass guitar on Kate Bush’s 1993 song "Why Should I Love You". Kate Bush returned the favour by making a rare appearance on Prince’s 1996 song "My Computer".
26) In 2011, Prince revealed to the Heavy Table online food magazine his fridge contained yak milk, 18 varieties of mustard, smoked pork liver sausage and a gallon of maple syrup.
27) Bob Dylan attended Prince’s Minneapolis gig on March 9, 1981.
28) Following Prince’s star turn as a conflicted superhero in his Batdance music video, DC Comics gave the Purple One his own comic in 1991. Naturally, Prince solved Minneapolis gang violence and saved everyone with his awesome tunes.
29) In 2008 Prince told The New Yorker his 2001 conversion to the Jehovah’s Witness faith was “like Morpheus and Neo in The Matrix”.
30) On April 27 1993, Prince released a statement announcing his retirement from recording music. He ended up releasing more than 20 studio albums after making this claim.
31) Prince was a massive fan of folk singer Joni Mitchell. He included a copy of her Hejira album in the background of a scene in his Under The Cherry Moon film. Prince also played Mitchell's song "A Case Of You" from her Blue album throughout his career. He recorded a version, retitled "A Case of U", for his 2002 album, One Nite Alone His rendition was also included on the 2007 tribute album A Tribute to Joni Mitchell.
32) Madonna, Prince and Michael Jackson were all born within three months of each other in 1958.
33) Prince’s pseudonyms included Alexander Nevermind, Christopher Tracy, Jamie Starr, Spooky Electric and Joey Coco.
34) On his 1980-81 Dirty Mind tour, Prince would perform in a raincoat, high heeled boots and female underwear.
35) In the secret 20Ten song "Laydown", Prince refers to himself as the “Purple Yoda”.
36) In 1999 Prince held a garage sale at his Paisley Park home, selling keyboards, Prince perfume and neon signs from the Sign ‘O’ The Times tour.
- SM & RB
