IT WASN’T UNTIL PRINCE’S FIFTH ALBUM IN 1982
THAT THE WORLD REALLY BEGAN TO TAKE NOTICE
OF THE HIGH PRIEST OF POP. NOW, AS 1999
BECOMES THE PURPLE ONE’S FIRST RECORD TO BE
AWARDED THE SUPER-DELUXE BOXSET TREATMENT,
JOHN EARLS SPEAKS TO MEMBERS OF THE ICON’S
INNER CIRCLE TO ESTABLISH HOW HE BECAME
A BONA FIDE SUPERSTAR...F
or anyone who likes their
musical history linear, it’d be
fair to say that The Rolling
Stones played a key part in
Prince going global – even if
they weren’t aware of it at the
time. Prince’s two shows
supporting The Stones at the
Coliseum in LA in October
1981 have gone down in
folklore as “That time Prince got
booed offstage”. With Prince
dressed in a see-through jacket and
tiny black briefs, The Stones’ audience
weren’t ready for a future superstar.
He lasted just four songs, before the
fl ying detritus got too much and he
left during Jack U Off. Two nights later,
he had to endure it all again.
“The Rolling Stones beatdown was a
dark period,” recalls Bobby Z, the
drummer who had played with Prince
since they both left differentMinneapolis schools in 1976. “When
you play as young musicians you
don’t in your wildest nightmares
expect to be physically, mentally and
audibly ordered off stage with objects
and boos coming at you. It was very
traumatic – and it happened twice.”
It was especially saddening for
Prince, as he was such a huge Stones
fan. Guitarist Dez Dickerson, who
joined Prince’s band in 1979, says:
“In all my time with Prince, I resonated
most with his stated goal when I fi rst
joined – to be a black version of The
Rolling Stones. He’d say to me, ‘I’m
Mick and you’re Keith.’ That came
naturally to me. Actually, the opening
two-thirds of that fi rst show with The
Stones was stunning and memorable.
The part that’s become folklore wasn’t
how that show began. Challenging as
it was, it was still one of my favourite
experiences with Prince.”REVISITING
PRINCE