Prince (The Artist)

Vinyl Discography:

Biography:

One of the biggest artists of the eighties who achieved world fame thanks to his album Purple Rain. In the nineties (from 1994 to 2000) Prince goes by the name The Artist of TAFKAP. He survives the 90s and also releases successful records in the new millennium. On April 21, 2016 Prince dies at the age of 57.

Prince was born in 1958 in Minneapolis as Prince Roger Nelson. His mother Mattie Shaw is a jazz singer and sings in the combo of father John Nelson. Dad's stage name is Prince Rogers and that is another explanation for the somewhat striking first name of His Royal Badness.

Piano

When Prince is only seven years old, dad Nelson runs away and leaves mother and child alone. Fortunately, the piano stays behind. Little Prince quickly learns to play the opening tunes of his favorite TV shows. Prince-je has now been infected by the musician virus and teaches himself to play the guitar and drums.

Debut album

At the age of twelve, Prince moved in with his friend Andre Cymone's family, with whom he founded the cover band Grand Central in 1972. In 1976, the band was renamed Champagne. Prince then lived with his father and sister for a short while, and in 1977 he signed a contract for three solo albums. He also convinced the record company to let him produce the albums himself. In 1978, his debut album For You was released. The follow-up was Prince, an album that was made in six weeks. The single 'I Wanna Be Your Lover' was released from the album. It became his first American number 1 hit. For the album Dirty Mind, he put together a real band again. The album was full of dirty lyrics and caused quite a stir. In the meantime, Prince is doing some extra work (under the pseudonym Jamie Starr) with projects such as The Time and Vanity 6. With the title tracks of the solo albums Controversy and 1999, Prince also gains a foothold in the Netherlands.

Breakthrough

His worldwide breakthrough, however, came with the soundtrack of the film Purple Rain, in which he also played the leading role. After that, Prince continued to produce albums and hits, both by himself and by band members Wendy and Lisa and Sheila E. In the meantime, his own studio, Paisley Park, was built. Between 1985 and 1993, Prince released a laundry list of releases and became an indispensable part of the Dutch charts. During that time, he had no less than 25 singles in the Mega Top 50, an average of more than three per year!

TAF CAP

Real commotion around Prince arises again in April 1993 when he announces that he is dissatisfied with Warner. He will no longer release new material with this record company, but only things from his archive. On June 7, his 35th birthday, he announces that he is renouncing his name and will henceforth be known as an unpronounceable sign or The Artist Formerly Known As Prince (TAFKAP). In 1995, the relationship between TAFKAP and Warner reaches a new low when Warner refuses to release the album The Gold Experience. From that moment on, TAFKAP only appears in public with the word 'slave' written on his cheek.

Prince back

TAFKAP continues to work tirelessly while his complete biography increasingly threatens to take on the size of the entire pop encyclopedia. He releases records on his own NPG label, while Warner continues to release albums from the archives under the name Prince. This confuses the public and because there is no promotion for those Warner albums, the name Prince is no longer synonymous with success. In 1996 TAFKAP releases a 3-CD box, which he promotes on Oprah Winfrey. Around that time he has just had a child, but this child dies a few days after birth. Not a word is said about this in the entire conversation. It illustrates the strange attitude that Prince has towards the press.

In 1999, the single '1999' is, how appropriate, re-released and it becomes the 40th Dutch hit of the little man from Minneapolis. In the summer of 2000, TAFKAP is released from the strangulation contract with his record company and TAFKAP announces that he wants to be called by his real name again from now on. Prince is back.

Prince plays a lot with his musical heroes, such as Chaka Khan, Maceo Parker and Larry Graham. This bass beast was part of Prince's band, The New Power Generation, for a few years in the late nineties. Larry turns the deeply religious Prince into a Jehovah's Witness. Since then, Prince has avoided coarse language and sexual lyrics in his music.

The Fans

Prince first released new music over the following years via the Internet, on his NPGMusicClub. Fans were invited to the studio for music listening sessions, etc. The albums The Rainbow Children (2001) and the instrumental NEWS (2003) were also released to the general public. He received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Album for that same album. He released his first live CD One Nite Alone.. Live! in 2002. This album contains recordings made during the One Nite Alone tour.

Success

During the Grammys, Prince performed with Beyonce Knowles, actually as a last-minute replacement for Janet Jackson, who had become an unwanted guest due to the 'nipplegate' the week before. Prince was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004. A real commercial release took place in April 2004 when Musicology was released. The album reached the top 5 in the US, UK, Germany and Australia. During the Musicology tour, Prince performed a total of 96 concerts. With the album, Prince won a Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 2005. Prince also played guitar on Stevie Wonder's new single that year: 'So What The Fuss'.

3121

3121 is the next album by Prince (March 2006). It seems as if Prince has adopted the number, because not only does the album bear this name, but also on the facade of his club in Las Vegas these four numbers are on the facade. His website can also be reached nowadays via www.3121.com

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

The second single from the album Black Sweat (February 2006) is very successful. Like a true Willie Wonka, he gives away seven Purple Tickets with his album, which give access to a concert at the singer's home in Los Angeles. Prince apparently has a warm heart for his Dutch fans, because the Netherlands is the only country outside America where fans also have a chance to win a ticket.

Planet Earth

Prince released the album Planet Earth in July 2007. On the record he worked with Wendy and Lisa again. For years the ladies were permanent members of Prince's backing band, until the singer and the ladies parted ways after the album Sign 'O The Times. On Planet Earth, however, the two ladies are fully involved again. The first single from Planet Earth is the song 'Guitar' which also made it to the Mega Top 50 again.

21 times London

Because Prince wants to let a large audience hear his music, he performs no less than 21 times in the summer of 2007 at the O2 Arena in London. Every night, some 23,000 people witness the little man's skills. Tickets for these concerts cost… 31 pounds and 21 pence. In 2008, Prince releases the photo book '21 Nights'. The book contains photos of his 21 performances and a live CD that is not available in stores.

Of course, a lot has happened since 2007. What do you think of the 3 nights of North Sea Jazz with three completely different live sets? In addition, he releases albums through, for example, only a Belgian newspaper (20Ten -2010). The little man no longer scores singles and hits.

Paradise

All of musical Holland is in an uproar in August 2013 when Prince announces that he will be giving multiple concerts in Amsterdam's Paradiso within a few days. Tickets are sold for hundreds of euros each.

Dead

On April 21, 2016, the world was shocked by the news that Prince Roger Nelson had died at the age of 57. According to a spokesperson, the artist had been struggling with the flu for several weeks.

On April 15, 2016, he had to go to the hospital due to a medical emergency. Prince's private plane had to make an unscheduled landing in Illinois, because the American pop star was not feeling well. This did not stop him from performing briefly in the club in his own home two days later, the so-called Paisley Park After Dark concerts. He assured his fans that everything was fine: "Wait a few days before you waste any prayers", according to Prince.

Prince's body was found on Thursday, April 21, 2016, at his Paisley Park estate. "It is with great sadness that I must confirm that legendary, iconic recording artist Prince Rogers Nelson passed away this morning at his Paisley Park home at the age of 57," his manager said in a statement. His body was found in the studio at his Minnesota home.