Prince

I guess this is how it begins, getting older, you start losing people that are part of your life’s soundtrack. First Bowie and now this…sad.

I was over in London when I first heard that Prince had died and the sense of shock and disbelief, which quickly spread across a city still reeling from David Bowie’s passing, was palpable. Everyone was talking about it in hushed terms, a quiet acknowledgement that even in this far European portal, his loss was deeply felt.

That’s how iconic Prince was – that’s how much his music mattered.

Like Bowie, Prince was an artist who challenged things, who refused to play many of the industry’s games. A man who was known to sleep only three hours a night, he was constantly creating and he toured tirelessly. An image-shifter and musical chameleon. 

A prolific musician and auteur, Prince was the star of his own show. And although he toured with an ever-changing ensemble of players, most his albums were famously all him. He produced, recorded and played all the instruments on most of his projects … something few artists of his stature would dare to claim.

Prince could play 27 different instruments – most artists today can barely command one.

I once saw Prince at a private record company event, at the height of his stardom. He appeared unannounced, to perform in front of a music convention full of jaded industry professionals – and he absolutely destroyed the room. For almost three hours he played a brilliant genre-hopping set that seamlessly melded pop, funk, soul and rock with psychedelia, rock and “anything goes.” 

He ended his surprise showcase at almost 2 am in the morning, with a blistering 10 minute guitar-god solo, as he worked his way through the crowded banquet hall. Then jumping back on stage, he quietly thanked the blown-away audience for “hanging around” and disappeared as anonymously as he’d arrived.

And now he’s gone, just like that… and I can’t help but feel, all the more mortal.

57 is a young age for anyone to die and it feels especially wrong for Prince…a man who never stopped creating, never stopped touring and never stopped following his own unique musical muse.

So raise a glass to Prince Roger Nelson, he’ll be greatly missed…And the world, a sadder place, without him.