7 June: Prince

Born on this date in 1958 was Prince Rogers Nelson, US musician. Today would have been his 62nd birthday. 10 things you might not know about Prince.

1. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and his name really was Prince – his full name was Prince Rogers Nelson, after the band his father played in, The Prince Rogers Jazz Trio.
2. He wrote his first song at the age of 7. It was called Funk Machine. He belonged to a band at the age of 13, called Grand Central. Their music was inspired by Sly and the Family Stone and Earth, Wind and Fire.
3. His debut album was called For You, and he not only sang and played Guitar and Piano on it, but every other instrument as well, including Drums, orchestral bells and finger cymbals.
4. He wrote songs for others as well as himself. Manic Monday, Nothing Compares 2 U and I Feel For You were all written by Prince. In fact, he single-handedly wrote more songs than The Beatles did.
5. He wrote for film soundtracks, too. The Song of the Heart in Happy Feet was one of his. He also worked on the soundtrack of Tim Burton’s Batman, though mainly because he had a thing for Kim Basinger, who was in it. He ended up going out with her for about a year afterwards.
6. The symbol Prince used instead of his name was officially known as Love Symbol #2. Also known as Love Symbol #2 is the shade of Purple that Pantone created in his honour in 2017. The colour was inspired by a piano Prince was going to take on tour.
7. He may have taken some inspiration from Willy Wonka. 14 tickets were hidden inside his 2006 album 3121. People who found a ticket were invited to an exclusive private performance at Prince’s home. The difference? Prince’s tickets weren’t gold – they were purple.
8. He was just 5’2” tall. He’d wear heels to make himself look taller and his grand piano was modified by having the legs shortened so he could reach the pedals. Even so, he was an excellent basketball player and was on his school team.
9. He became a Jehovah’s Witness in 2001 and would even go round knocking on doors as well as attending meetings at Kingdom Hall. His faith was the reason much of his philanthropy and charitable work wasn’t made public until after his death.
10. He was a vegan and animal rights activist.

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