Here's my best Prince story: In October 1988, during my senior year in college, a couple of buddies and I got a wild hair and decided to skip Friday classes and drive to Atlanta (from New Orleans) to catch Prince on the LOVESEXY tour. We figured if we wanted to see Prince on that tour we'd have to road-trip to do it b/c Prince had not yet scheduled New Orleans on the tour (he actually did so shortly after out Atlanta trip). We got to Atlanta by mid-afternoon. Prince was playing the Omni arena so we checked into the adjacent Omni Hotel and walked over to the Omni arena to look for tickets for that night's show. As luck would have it we were able to purchase great box seats for a more than reasonable price. Now psyched up for the show, we went back to our hotel for a quick rest. As we rode the hotel's elevator up to our floor, a couple of Prince fans also on the elevator told us that they had heard that Prince and his tour group had the entire 5th floor of the Omni Hotel rented out and that the hotel management had it set up so that the 5th floor elevator button would not even light up or stop at that floor (and it didn't). We thought it pretty cool that we were staying in the same hotel as Prince and his entourage. So we go to the show that night and it was incredible. Great seats, great performance by Prince and his band. So my buddies and I head back to our hotel room still on a major high after the show. We started talking about how there must be an after-show party on that 5th floor and how we would so love to be there. So I speculated out loud about the chance that we might be able to get onto the 5th floor via the stairs. So we headed for the stairs. As we got to the 5th floor we could see a door which lead onto the floor itself. The door had a small window and through it I could see about 50 or so people standing in a line streaming into a suite. It was obvious that was the post-show party headquarters. Believe it or not, the door to the 5th floor was neither locked nor guarded. So we walked onto the floor and headed for the line. We slipped into the middle of the line and acted like we were supposed to be there. No one questioned us and the next the we knew we were in. We played it cool for the first ten minutes but once we were secure that we were safely in we started to mill about the party. There were videos being played via projectors all over the (very large) suite. It was incredible - within the first hour we met Sheila E, Cat Glover (Prince's dancer for that tour), Miko Weaver (guitar) and Levi Seacer (bass). To our pleasant surprise they were all damn friendly folk. Talked about the show with each (they thought the show went really well), talked about New Orleans (they were all fans of the city and in fact Sheila said she had cousins who lived there). Probably the coolest guy we met, hands down, was Billy Glover - the heavy-set guy who played the owner of First Avenue in the Purple Rain film. What an awesome dude. He talked with us for about a half an hour - all about Prince and the tour itself. We had not seen Prince at the party and we asked him where Prince was. he told us that Prince was in his private room playing on a grand piano and composing songs. Billy said that Prince had his tour managers place a grand piano in his hotel room wherever they stayed. He said that as soon a concert was over Prince would head straight back to his room every night to write music and compose songs. Said they couldn't keep him away from the piano if they tried. We were at the party for about 3 hours and people started to gradually stream out. We were getting ready to leave ourselves when sure enough Prince and a couple of bodyguard types walked into the hotel suite. We saw Billy and Levi Seacer go over and talk to Prince for about 5 minutes. After they talked, Prince left. It was pretty amazing to see Prince that close up (about 20 feet away) in that type of setting. When Prince left we decided to leave as well. We were floating on a cloud after that for weeks.
Thank you for sharing that. It's an awesome story. I wish I had something to share like that, but I only saw Prince once, and being a Prince fan got me laid a lot; otherwise, I never got as close as 75 yards (or more) from the Purple Yoda. If only he was still alive. I bet he had some big plans for 2016.
Wow! Great story! I got about two feet from Prince once, back around 2010 or so - only time I ever saw him in person. It was a total fluke. I was dawdling around after work one windy, freezing San Francisco evening as the sun slooooowly set. I'd been down by the San Francisco Center on Market at the end of Powell, and was now winding thru the eastern edge of the Civic Center on my way back to my Nob Hill apartment. I came upon the southeast corner of the Hilton complex - it consumes a city block - and decided to cut thru the hotel to get out of the chill. I passed thru the entrance to the parking garage, slipped in an interior entrance and marched up the stairs to the ground floor. I walked thru the wide hallways between the large ballrooms at the back of that level, headed for the front lobby and the exit, and noticed out of the corner of my eye a short guy in flamboyant dress charting a parallel course to the lobby. I was briefly annoyed, worried I was about to encounter some serious San Francisco crazy, probably a panhandler of some sort. He was wearing a tangerine-colored caftan with a magenta-embroidered dragon down the side. I couldn't help but stare and wonder who the hell this could be? His head looked extremely large compared to his somewhat slight body. Surprisingly, he seemed vaguely familiar to me. He looked at me and smiled, and I smiled and nodded back as our paths to the lobby merged and I got within a couple of feet before realizing . . . HOLY F***! IT'S MOTHERF***ING PRINCE!!! I thought I had to be mistaken - why would Prince be staying at the Hilton? And with no entourage? We strolled into the lobby together and as I looked back over to him he peeled off and headed for the VIP desk, confirming it was in fact Prince I'd just walked into. Immediately whipped out my cell phone and called my Prince fanatic friend Johnny. "Johnny, is Prince in town tonight?" "No, I don't think so . . . why?" "I think I just walked right into him at the Hilton!" "Oh wait, he's playing a show in Oakland this week I think. At the Hilton?" "Yeah, that's what I thought - the Hilton? Wouldn't Prince stay at some boutique?" "Noooo, that sounds right. He needs to stay at a place that can get him a llama or a grand piano or something on short notice - a boutique can't do that. Prince would stay at the Hilton." "Holy sht Johnny. I was just two feet away from Prince." "Did he say anything?" "No, we just smiled at each other and nodded." "Wow. Well, that's closer than I've ever gotten." And now that's the closest either of us will ever get.
I tend to think morbid thoughts sometimes. Not as a general rule, but when people die. Otherwise, I'm a pretty positive person. It's almost 4am, so I guess I'll just write it: When I'm listening to Prince, no problem (except on the day he died), yet when I see a video of him, him just talking, or playing, I get these thoughts that his eyes don't see anymore, he body, his brain, was all burned up in a friggin' crematorium. The whole of him, every part of him, all that he thought, witnessed, touched, tasted, wrote, is now nearly nothing, reduced to the texture of course sand and small bone fragments. It's morbid, I know. I grew up around the funeral business, since my father owned a few funeral homes. When they found Prince they said that rigor mortis had already set in, so I know he must have laid there anywhere from 2-7 hours before he was found. It's usually between the 3-5 our range before it sets in, which means Prince probably passed away close to 6am on the 21st. That's pretty alone...and that makes me sad. That's also life, though, huh? My dad passed away at the age of 61. He chain smoked, drank vodka like water, and painted cars often without a mask...and here was Prince, still performing, writing, jumping around, eating healthy, didn't smoke or drink, and he dies at 57. But that's life, though, huh? Babies are born and die within minutes of birth. An 19-year old, in 1944, comes off of an amtrac and catches a bullet, killed on the beach, and who knows, he could have written a symphony if he had lived. What a trip. Sorry for rambling, y'all. I know we'll all one day know what it's like to be dead. Moments like this just make me think if my own mortality, with Bowie and Prince both passing. I hope the end is much better than the thought of it.
Been a big fan here in the UK a lot of the great mans LP's after the Warner Bros label were hard to get hold of. I did however listen to "The Slaughterhouse" album on my Tidal subscription and really digged it. There are a few albums I'm hoping add to my collection. I have everything up to Chaos & disorder. What are the gems after this I should be hunting down?
Emancipation Chocolate Invasion (also on Tidal) Art Official Age MPLSound 20Ten (should be easy to find in the UK) 3121 The Truth One Night Alone The Rainbow Children
I was thinking about the lonely way he died too. Pretty solitary for someone who spent his life surrounded by people (and especially beautiful girls). Guess he just collapsed and didn't see it coming. He might have made it if someone immediately pulled him up and made him come to. Why was he alone with no one looking after what happened the week before? Weird. At least he didn't morph in latter years into a freak like MJ, and he leaves so much more music to dive into.
I know it's mostly speculation at the moment, but we ask these questions because we really and truly thought he was amazing. I just wonder if, or when, we find out, if it will be a soothing balm or just make it worse. Like, if I hadn't been through my particular background I might not be delving into the nuances that I have been. It sucks, but I can't help myself.
When I see that it reminds me of a press quote that was my old "Sign Of The Times" videocassette: "He makes Michael Jackson look nailed to the floor".
It was a very sad way to go. Most likely he had been dead for hours - according to the Guardian rigor mortis had already set in when police responded. Horrible to think, but at the same time, he probably died in quick and painless fashion.
Don't know if this has been posted here, but here's the 12-minute version of "Computer Blue": Btw, I love the instrumental section that starts around the 3:2o mark (2:15 in the 4-minute Purple Rain version). Great stuff!
Lonely sure, but metaphorically, if there is an afterlife (and let's not debate that here - I don't have an opinion on it myself but I'd assume Prince did!) then getting into an elevator and pressing "1" but instead the doors slide open at "heaven" would surely provide him with a bit of a chuckle.
I recall that VH1 was more friendly to independent releases at the time than MTV was. It's jusy my memory, so I might be wrong, but I think MTV rarely considered releases that weren't on major labels, while VH1 would.
Don't know if anyone has posted this-from Billboard.com.... Prince’s albums and songs have sold over 4 million copies in the U.S. since his death on April 21, according to Nielsen Music. That sum combines his sales on April 21 (239,000 albums and 1.034 million song downloads), along with initial sales reports for the days of April 22-27 (496,000 albums and 2.24 million songs). In the tracking week before his death, Prince’s music sold comparably little: just 5,000 albums and 14,000 song downloads in the week ending April 15. Nielsen Music’s latest sales tracking week ends on April 28, and Billboard is scheduled to report the newest official weekly sales data beginning on Sunday, May 1. The top 10 of the new Billboard 200 albums chart (dated May 14, reflecting data for the week ending April 28) is set to be revealed on May 1. A day later, news about the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart will be announced. Here’s a rundown of Prince’s top selling albums and songs from April 21-27: Prince’s Best Selling Albums: April 21-27* The Very Best of Prince - 291,000 Purple Rain (Soundtrack) - 168,000 The Hits/The B-Sides - 73,000 Ultimate - 41,000 1999 - 38,000 Prince’s Best Selling Songs: April 21-27* “Purple Rain” - 377,000 “When Doves Cry” - 280,000 “Little Red Corvette” - 227,000 “Let’s Go Crazy” - 215,000 “Kiss” - 210,000 *Sales according to Nielsen Music. For the period of April 22-27, the sales are for initial reports to Nielsen Music. The final, official sales figures for that period - included in Nielsen’s tracking week ending April 28 - are scheduled to be announced following Sunday, May 1.
Yeah, I'm sure he was aware what was happening to him in that elevator. Not surrounded by friends and family, not in the arms of a loved one, just all alone and slumped on the floor of an elevator. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. Plus, you know, if someone had been with him, they could have called 911 or something. Alan Leeds's article (linked elsewhere) talks about that. It's true. A tragedy that could have been avoided. The world is full of what-ifs.
So people are buying comps and Purple Rain. I guess its a start. My hope is that some of those people will chose to explore some of the other releases too. Some of his best work will never be put on a hits comp.
