Prince dies aged 57

It was a very sad day in the music world when Prince passed. Some of his music didn’t appeal to me but a lot of it did and he was a remarkable talent always striving to do something different. He remained an amazingly prolific and sometimes difficult artist to comprehend but he never was less than interesting.

Much of the sadness and shock out there comes from how unexpected this was given his recent tour and release of albums.

Played pool when e was sleeping on moon sound studios couch in uptown Mpls, was in the purple rain filming, saw him shred many guitars, i was then the Sennheiser rep, he loved his 441’s. Many great memories he was one of the best ever.

London 2007. Truly one of the greatest performances I have ever had the privilege to experience. Utterly mesmerising. Creativity simply dripped from the stage. In fact the more i think about it, I’m not sure I have seen any better live….he was that good, as we know.
I can vividly recall David Icke seated around one of the stools by the stage. I remember thinking that there was no he was sitting in some media/press/freebie seat – it turns out Prince had personally invited him after reading some of his books. Out of all the so called media and celebrity ‘tributes’, his (on YouTube) is one of decency and sincerity.

Truly shocked when the news broke – we have the music as a gift.

So Bowie wanted to start a band up there in Heaven. He realized he needed a musical director. So he called the mighty Purple One. I am so sad. The only other act that deserves a separate section in this site, just like Bowie, is Prince. So the reissues will remain to be seen, as not really sure who will control his legacy. Probably his closest family, as he left no wife or children. Hopefully this stalemate with Warner Bros. comes to a good end so his music receives the treatment it deserves.

Is rock dying?

I miss him… FOREVER IN MY LIFE… I luv U Prince…

Daran, I agree. I kind-of like that there’s probably all sorts of stuff which remains (and will remain?) unreleased by many artists. I’d take quality over quantity any day; as an example, the 12″ of Eurythmics ‘Right By Your Side’ seems to go on forever (and not in a good way!)

The capacity of Bluray possibly makes it more likely that artists will release dozens of variations of a song, demos, rough mixes, belly button fluff etc etc. As much as I love XTC, some of the stuff on the recent spate of re-releases doesn’t really make for repeated listening. Good to have them on there, though.

Prince is my favourite artist because he was the very best. Parade is my favourite Prince album.
One of the many reasons this is such a shame is that there’s been some great tracks on the 4 albums he released in the last two years (how many artists can we say that about?) so he was still creative and had plenty in the tank.
I only saw him play once, in Melbourne a few years ago, but I’m glad I have that. During Cream, after the line “make the rules then break them all ‘cuz u r the best” he added “I was looking in the mirror when I wrote that” – hilarious!
Oh dear, this is just awful. Just 2 months after Vanity died, too.

He will be very much missed. Fortunate enough to see him live at the Sydney Opera House in February. Piano & microphone tour. He was incredible. Played for more than 2 hours. I have not seen a performer that had the audience held like that. Funny as well. Lots of the hits very conscious of the audience. He would start playing one of the hits like ‘Diamonds & Pearls’ then stop & pretend to look for the lyrics under the piano while the audience groaned. He played lots of the hits, even from the obscure records he choose the right songs like ‘I love u but I don’t trust u anymore’ & ‘the breakdown’. He did great covers like ‘sweet thing’ & ‘wait in vain’. From his records he would dedicate them to God. So I am trying not to be sad. It’s our loss not his. Cyndi Lauper described him as God’s child. And he was.

What can i say although i am not a massive fan but gee his contribution to music was second to none apparently he was touring our world Australia & New Zealand 2 weeks ago and put on an incredible show a huge loss to the music world especially you the above fans. I could not believe it myself, heard about it 24 hours ago as soon as i checked out my computer that was the first thing i heard a very very sad day and check out a couple of comments i guess everyone is entitled to have their own thoughts, this one is from Justin Bieber can’t say i am a fan of his music and at times his attitude & ego no doubt Well not the last greatest living performer & one of his friends sux real bad.

Way too soon, so sad. Gonna drink banana daquiris ’til I go blind.

I have noticed already on youtube you can find loads of his songs. Something he was totally against. So though it’s meant as a homage at the same time it’s kind of disrespectful.

At the age of 14, I waited 36 hours in line to get tickets to see Prince. Purple Rain Tour, Miami Fl. Outstanding performer, and one of my first musical favorites.

It is a shame the younger generation has no avenue (like Youtube) to watch the early videos, or listen to some of his best music. This might prompt them to buy more of his vinyl and cds.

After his massive battle with Warner, Prince faded from the limelight. He later musical output, never reached the heights of the earlier stuff.

Hopefully, we will get a serious Warner retrospective (with all of the 12″s released on cd). I could never figure out why Prince was so hell bent on not re-releasing his early stuff (with decent remastering). His decision, but it as a big loss to later generations.

Can’t quite come to terms with this. Prince has been a constant feature on my turntable, and in my life, for over 30 years and I’m more upset than I have any right to be. I’m paraphrasing something I read many moons ago not only was he the last truly great rock star, he was also, arguably the first…
I always though there was another Prince gig on the horizon and I was looking forward to taking my son to see him the next time he returned to the UK. Can’t believe that’s not going to happen now.
Rest in peace little guy, rest in peace…

Hey Darren

Most of Prince’s tours are represented with pro-shot concert films floating around on the bootleg circuit

You have to see Prince at the Montreux Jazz Festival from 18th July 2009.

He performs Empty Room live – simple breathtaking!

Also of note, live at the Staples Centre in LA 29th March 2004.

and…

The Earth Tour live at the 02 Arena 3rd August 2007.

There was also a concert on PPV Canadian TV but I can’t remember those details.

Cheers.

The London Times reported that they had published 27 entertainment related obituaries so far this year.
2016 – what the f*ck is going on?!?

Crushed by the loss…

And as with Bowie:
one of the first artist I bought albums from, one of the first I saw live, leaving while still having plenty left to say, shrouded in secrecy and unpredictable (for better or worse)…

While I could live without anything coming out of the “vault” , I hope the live CD from his piano & microphone tour he announced and played for half an hour when he showed up a few days ago at his Paisley Park’s party will be out soon.

Just watched the YouTube video of him on stage with Jeff Lynn and Tom Petty performing While My Guitar… for George Harrisons RnR Hall of Fame induction. Wow, and double wow… I saw him only once, during his 21 nights at 02. Lucky me it was the night Elton John came up on stage and sang with him. I remember two things about that night: he’s a god on any instrument he plays, and he changed his clothes far too often! I wish there were more concert DVD’s of his. I know he did not like live performances recorded visually, but we don’t have anything past the Aladdin 2002 performance do we?

I’ve just been listening to his final ever concert, held at 10pm at the Fox Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, USA – 14 April 2016.

The final track – Purple Rain (medley with Diamonds & Pearls) – sang at the piano with the audience in full voice.

That iconic song seems like a fitting tribute to a superstar in ever sense of the word!

I miss him so much already!

:-(

Shocked beyond words, the soundtrack of.my youth, and the first music act i got eqch album as they were released from Purple Rain going forward, i had one the best teachers in my music education, he showed me rap, soul rock, pop, funk, he showed me what was possible in music,and guided me down interesting alleyways off the mainstream, and then he had the very simple.material lime the excellent “Sometimes It Sniws In April” thank you Prince and RIP

soon all that will be left is us.

An article from March 2015 about ‘The Vault’ for those who’ve not read it

http://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/mar/19/i-would-hide-4-u-whats-in-princes-secret-vault

RIP

Baward, perhaps he’s made his wishes/arrangements for his music ownership in a will. Maybe it’s best that the vault isn’t opened up if Prince himself was not 100% happy with his unreleased songs. We may never know that, but I would hate to see his legacy profiteered on by an avalanche of releases the great man himself would not have put out if he had any say in it – even if being Prince songs none of them will be too shabby of course.

For me, there were three living legends in the 80s – Madonna, Michael and Prince (all born in 1958). The seems larger than life, untouchable… Can’t believe that two of them are already gone, way before their time. Madonna MUST live forever! RIP Prince – there will never be another. The doves are crying…

I appreciate this page, thank you. Talk about “The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long.” It scares me to think who else might get to play that great gig in the sky in 2016, and its only April.

To be slightly tasteless (apologies), what gets released depends on who actually owns it, surely? Or at least who its licensed to (probably no-one if its not been released.) I imagine that Bowie legacy releases might be quite sparse, as presumably Iman and the family own the masters – and its not like they need the money. By all accounts, the Prince vaults are crammed with recordings.

Numb.

Speechless.

It wasn’t his time to go…

:-(

I wasn’t a huge fan but I have to admit that his synths on Stevie’s Nicks classic ‘Stand Back’ are superb.

Would now really love to hear the duet he and Nicks recorded in 1984 which has been locked away for 30 years.

It is sad and frustrating news. Like Bowie, Prince was still capable of surprising and delighting his fans. Like Dylan, with his Basement Tapes he was capable of producing great music and leaving it unused due to his perfectionism or, frustratingly, being distracted by the next project.

You the feeling that if he lived to be 100 he would have continued making new music and giving great performances.

His is not an obituary that lets you reflect fondly on a great and fulfilled career, like for example George Martin or Richard Attenborough, it is one that makes you sad for the music you won’t get to hear and the performances you won’t get to see.

I saw the great man perform 3 times ,the lovesexy tour was my first . I’d never seen any rock /soul artist with that much energy on stage and I’d seen a lot by then . The thing was we always knew American artist where well rehearsed but this was just mind boggling, the speed of his guitar licks , dancing all over the stage and vocals spot on . Later gigs he dropped the props and it was more about his talent , but on one occasion he had a high bar on stage on which he would swing over and hang onto like a gymnast , he started talking whilst on it basically saying if you believe all this show business stuff we were as mad as him , which stuck with me cause all we ever saw in the press then was how crazy he was and ignoring his music .
To him music was everything and to a lot of us on here we feel exactly the same .

BBC Radio 2, Thursday 21st April 2016, 18:34

Simon Mayo:
“Elton John and ‘In The Name Of You’ and before that it was Ronan Keating. Six Thirty-four, BBC Radio 2 and Clare has breaking news for you”.

Clare Runacres:
“Thanks Simon. In the past few minutes the publicist for the American singer Prince has confirmed that the artist has died at his home in Minnesota. The star who was 57 had been suffering from ill health and had to cancel two recent concerts. His private jet was forced to make an emergency landing last Saturday because of his condition. His staff said he’d had a bad bout of flu. Prince sprang to international fame in the early 80s following the success of his album 1999. He sold more than a hundred million records during his career. And we’ll have more on that in the news at Seven”.

Simon:
“Thank you Clare. 2016 is turning out to be a bit of a rubbish year”.

Prince and the Revolution – Purple Rain (all 8 minutes and 45 seconds of it)

Me:
sobbing uncontrollably

I saw Prince 6 times, once in 1993 at the NIA in Birmingham, once in 1995 at the NEC in Birmingham and 4 of the shows at the infamous O2 residency. The O2 shows stick in my mind because every show was different and he the atmosphere was electric. I remember almost screaming when he played The Beautiful Ones and Sometimes It Snows In April in ’92. In ’95 he played the Gold album before it had come out and although it wasn’t a popular move, I was in awe. This 18yo fan boy was craving new music and he delivered. I own every song he’s ever released (and manythat he hasn’t) and I am heartbroken.

I hope his music is treated respectfully by whoever ends up owning it.

Simply cannot believe it: seeing the guy on stage he seemed superhuman – like he was not subject to the same laws of nature as the rest of us.

Can’t remember who first said this but right now “it’s not the end of the world. it just feels like it”

Saw him first in 1980 in Amsterdam at the Paradiso when he did three shows in Europe prior to The Dirty Mind Tour. Because not a lot of people knew about his music then the venue was only half full but in later years everybody in Amsterdam claimed to have been there…
Saw him 2 times more at sellouts at the Ahoy in Rotterdam at the height of his fame. During one of these the videoclip for You Got The look was made.
Am hoping for some special editions of his albums.
RIP.

This is so sad! I really can’t believe that.
I grew up with his music, he inspired me making music, one of the greatest artists in the world!
I can’t find the words….

He was more King than Prince, a rare total master of songwriting, producing, performing, singing, and playing all the instruments. I think his “later” (and by later, I mean after 1994) work is underrated, by the way. It’s inconsistent, yes, but gems abound throughout.

I think we’re all waiting for some definitive remastered, multi-disc box set career retrospective that collects his primo early material, the best of the last 20 years + essential rarities and live tracks. With his passing, maybe this will become more of a possibility? . . . (Granted, I’d rather sacrifice my selfish music collector desires for the sake of Prince actually remaining alive and well and thrilling audiences, but I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was thinking about this a bit.)

There are simply no words. I always thought of Prince as the most talented musician ever. Played his own instruments, wrote and produced his own music and that of many others and had hit after hit. If there is ever a sad day in the music industry, it’s today. I saw him in concert 4 times. The first time was at the rock n roll hall of fame induction when he played a medley of his hits and then guitar on the jam of “when my guitar gently weeps”. A legendary performance. The entire ballroom (at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel) was in awe. I later took my 6 year old to one of his concerts because I wanted my kids to learn to like his music. And they loved it. What a horrible loss. What a horrible day.

Prince was a doer & he wasn’t afraid to be judged because he believed in himself and he believed in others. He had faith in the possibilities of living his life. I sincerely will always admire him for that. He was incredibly talented, and he was incredibly courageous to get in touch with that talent and let it out. Remarkable & unforgettable by being him & noone else. My heart goes to family & loved ones, can’t imagine the loss…

Just finished listening to the 5CD edition of Crystal Ball (end-to-end & non-stop). Wow!
Rest well Mr Nelson, you earned it.

As sad as circumstances can be, it’ll be a noteworthy to see what happens with his back catalogue.

Sickening news.

“How can a light that burned so brightly suddenly burn so pale?”

Thank you Prince. I hope you were as happy as your music has made me.

Far more upset about this than Bowie’s death even though I liked their music equally. Maybe it’s because I grew up with the music of Prince whilst it was being released but with Bowie I was playing catch-up in the eighties. To call Prince a multi-talented genius would be an understatement.

So much respect for a truly innovative artist. R.I.P

Thankfully I got to see him live at the London O2 on the the last of his 21 night run. Great stadium concert & he didn’t miss a beat. Fantastic show which I thought he could not top, how wrong was I.

We had tickets for the after show gig at the O2 Indigo he & his band on fire, 2 1/2 – 3 hrs. 28 song set featuring 12 of his songs & 16 fabulous funky covers, Beatles, Stones, Led Zep, Chic, Jimi Hendrix, Wild Cherry, 2 yes 2 Mother’s Finest tracks and a slew of others. Some of the tracks were stretched out into full on funk jams. I felt privileged to have witnessed him in full force.

Breathtaking!

One of my top 5 all-time gigs for sure.

Paul, with the news of Prince’s death, as with Bowie’s and others, I am again reminded why I love your website. Reading all the comments from your readers helps to make these events more tolerable. I truly feel this is a unique community, and this is just one of many reasons why SDE is my first and last stop each day. Thanks for continuing to do all the work that is required to keep this machine running.

RIP Prince, a true genius. His sequence of albums from Dirty Mind to Lovesexy is the greatest run ever.

RIP Prince, can’t believe it

What a shock. This is what it sounds like when doves cry! RIP Prince

2016ad – A cultural annus horribilis like no other….

I am deeply saddened to hear the news.
I’ve been a fan of Prince all my life, since I’ve discovered and loved his music since I was still a baby in the 90’s, thanks to my parents. It was litterally “a life listening to Prince” for me, since I’ve been a fan all those years, seeing him 5 times on stage across the years (and even in a legendary aftershow in Brussels, all night long, with no more than 300 other people).
Prince and David Bowie were my all-time favorite musicians. Both losses hurt me a lot. I haven’t even had the time to recover from David’s passing, just to hear that Prince has left us too.
I do feel bad about that and my heart is heavy tonight. I actually still find all this very hard to believe.

I’ll never forget Prince’s genuine talent, his one-of-a-kind music career, his unique sense of humor, his guitar playing and his kindness. He’s “forever in my life”.

This is a nightmare, all my heroes are dying.
It feels like all the talent in the world is disappearing.
Good night Prince – He’s up there tonight jamming with Hendrix