The King, the Queen and now the Prince of pop has gone.
The Prince of Purple was an enigmatic character, who went to a lot of effort not to be pigeon holed or typecast. 
The arguments with record companies to keep hold of his publishing rights are well documented.
Bunkered in his own version of Neverland – Paisley Park, Prince stayed close to his past near Minneapolis. The huge mega star he was – he stayed with his roots rather than living in New York or LA. Was this so he could be private? Why would he need to be in LA when he was effectively a one man monster band, who could do everything better than anyone else. Like Hendrix he came across as a deeply shy man who became extrovert on stage.
His brand of sexy funk ranged from futuristic madness of George Clinton’s Funkadelic & Rick James to a weird almost perverse perspective around men and women. His music twisted and turned but always sounded like Prince. Born to be a musician – the music poured out of him so fast that you wondered if even he could keep up with his own output. Watching him Prince Unplugged came across as distant and intimate at the same time.
Like most people Prince was full of contradictions. He stayed close to home town with a global fanbase. His sex created no heir so his sister is to inherit his wealth. He lived alone producing music all the time, almost enslaved by his talent. Yet was politically racial escaping stereotypes of race and gender. He was a freak for young people to follow who also felt like freaks. And a deep conservatism belonging to the Jehovah’s Witness religion.
Yet there is something enslaving about prodigious talent. It is there for us all, we want some of it so the artist is beyond retirement. Reportedly in constant pain in his knees, from high heels and jumping off stage: his light couldn’t be turned off.
His light burned bright with constant energy day and night. Is every bright light of a life shortened?
Long live the Prince of Purple
Copyright Adrian Scott North London Counsellor Blog 2016
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Disclaimer:This weblog is the view of the writer and for general information only. 
This article is designed to provoke argument and critique