I was peeling the potatoes for this evening’s meal, when my other half came in the kitchen, obviously in a state of shock.
She showed me the message on her phone.
Fuckin’ hell. Prince has gone.
2016 has been a terrifyingly brutal year for cultural heroes, and some will effect the individual more than others, but for me the passing of Prince is a particularly weird one in terms of how it has left me feeling, because despite the fact I can’t confess to being anything more than a fair-weather Prince fan, there have been precious few individuals in the music industry that I have respected more than Prince. After all, how could I not? The man was a mind-bogglingly prolific songwriter, visionary producer, perception-altering singer, phenomenal guitar player, genius publicist, an unparalleled showman and all round musical genius. Simply put, there was no aspect of the music industry that Prince did not master at some point in his career. He was one of the biggest recording artists in the world, yet shook the music industry to its core by taking on one of the biggest record labels to make a point, simply because it was the right thing to do. He wasn’t selfish with his brilliance either, as he frequently wrote songs for other artists, which often resulted in their biggest hits. He often also went out of his way to connect with and highlight young talent in the industry, something which he became ever more brilliant at in recent years.
Prince wasn’t just a singer, musician and producer. Prince was a genius. Prince was unique. Prince was probably the most important musician of the last forty years. Prince was an absolute one off and we are never going to see his like again.
And yes, I’m going to miss him. We all are.
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