The purple reign has come to an end.
Prince was found dead aged 57 on 21 April at his suburban Paisley Park estate in Minnesota. He was found unresponsive in an elevator at 9.43 EST and pronounced dead half an hour later at 10.10 am.
Prince was born Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He was epileptic and suffered seizures which led to his bullying at school. According to the CDC, people suffering from epilepsy are more prone to developing serious complications from the flu and this, it is suspected, could have played a part in his recent ill health.
Musically, Prince was a prolific artist who defined genres. Apart from singing, he played the drums, guitar and keyboards and his style of music ranged from R&B and funk to pop and rock.
His debut album, For You, was released in 1978 and since then he has released a slew of records and enjoyed more than $ 100million in record sales.
In 1984 he released the film and album ‘Purple Rain’. The film was a fictionalized version of his biography and went on to win an Academy Award.
During his 40 year long career he won seven Grammies and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
In his personal life he was linked romantically to both male and female stars from Madonna to Boy George (as claimed by the latter during the filming of The Voice-UK in 2015).
He was married twice with his first marriage in 1996 to back up dancer Mayte Garcia producing a son in October 1996. Unfortunately the baby was born with a rare disorder (Pfeiffer syndrome, a disorder that does not allow the head to grow properly due to the premature fusion of certain bones of the skull) and died a week later. The marriage ended in 1999.
He later married Manuela Testolini in 2001 but they divorced in 2006.
He has recently been suffering from ‘the flu’ with his plane making an emergency landing in Illinois on Friday last week to allow him seek medical attention for flu like symptoms. However, according to The Daily Mail, doctors at the Illinois hospital gave him a ‘save shot’ which is usually administered to counteract opiate effects.
There was an outpouring of support following this health scare but the following day during an appearance in Minnesota he told his fans to “ wait a few days before you waste any prayers.”
In the days leading up to his death he was spotted making several trips to the pharmacy (four times according to TMZ) with the last sighting being on Wednesday evening.
His official cause of death is yet unknown.Tributes have been flowing with everyone from President Obama to Madonna and Mariah Carey paying their respects.
