He did look thinner. Here's a photo from October 2015. His face looks a lot fuller here. Whatever was happening, he seemed to be losing weight within the last few months.

lrn36 said:

SeventeenDayze said:

TurnItUp said:

We didn't say he didn't touch millions!!, but those are millions of people he didn't know personally.

He needed his loved ones! A FAMILY! Remember you're part of EVERYONE alive on this planet on a daily basis. No sarcasm.

[Edited 5/14/16 21:01pm]

What does it mean to "know" someone though? I have had HORRIBLE experiences at the hands of "family" and if I never see them again I wouldn't be surprised and would actually be relieved.

Please don't assume that everyone has or comes from a loving family. That's just not reality for a lot of people. Don't you see how those leeches are all fighting now about Prince's estate?

All that glitters ain't gold

But how sad is that that you're not close to family. I see the leeches that you're talking about and it's sad. You need family. I mean a close family. It's terrible to be by yourself. You say I'd rather be alone, but really you don't want to be.

toshi said:

Love the 3rd pic

geetee71 said:

TurnItUp said:

cardinal said:

beacheemom said: yes i see it too. also in some photos even from late last year. i see tired eyes, something that make up can't cover up. the spark was gone. it could hsve been due to fatigue/withdrawal from pain meds or even the pain itself, but something looks very different even beyond the horrifying thinness. "do i have a friend tonight?" --prince at his last concert in atlanta

I wasn't gonna reply on this tread, but I just wanted to say that I agree with the above comments, but I also had to say this: Prince was the ultimate live showman and he had many fans that showed him love at these shows including this one. (I listened to it and folks in the audience said I love you repeatedly),but at the end of the day your fans are not your family. It may have not mattered 5-10 years ago, but fast foward to last year and now he was 56 and 57. There comes a time when you need family in your life. He might've regreted not presently having a wife, having children or grandchildren to lift him up. Plus with everything in the media with this "no will" business he was still divided from his siblings. I only knew Tyka and Sharon. The others I've never seen before.

When you leave that stage and the audience roars and applaudes and you go home and everything is quiet and you're all then what? I think he started getting more and more lonely. Regardless if it was his choice.

I also wanted to add about his health. I sures hope it wasn't what I think it was. The big C. Listen to The Breakdown, Way Back Home, and U Know from Art Official Age. U Know is the first time I've ever heard him mention the C word in his songs. I was wondering why now? It was something I didn't want to hear for personal reasons.

[Edited 5/11/16 20:43pm]

Like his "sombody's somebody"

and add that to some people who were his contemporaries sick and some dying- that is heavy on anyone esp if you are having your own health issues . It makes me sad.

those pics of young prince in the afro and last pics of him on stage are so eerie

no words

so similar-it is errie

GeniusLuv said:

cardinal said:

TurnItUp said: a lof of people have talked about the vanity affect, but i think some of us, including myself, didn't pay enough attention to how devasted he reportedly was when bowie passed. i mean, bowie was a tad older, but basically a contemporary, a peer, a mentor all rolled into one. and word is also that besides bowie and vanity passing, he was reported to be depressed and concerned that his career was stagnating (perish the thought)...so it does seem that there were a number of things bothering him besides whatever physical issues he had to contend with. sigh. [Edited 5/14/16 13:16pm]

Losing your mother, your father, an infant son...2 marriages, the death of a friend/love and soulmate.......yeah that would get to anyone, especially if you are living with chronic pain----that alone is depressing and very difficult to fight through day after day after day...i can't imagine what he was going through the last few months. Sad.

.

Don't forget, a member of the Hornheadz passed, too, from a blood clot (after Denise passed).

PurpleMusic07 said:

Strive said:

[img:$uid]http://i.imgur.com/B53Zulh.jpg[/img:$uid]

That's the first time I've ever seen 'help' in his eyes. Damn. Loved you since 1982. Never seen this...

this picture was taken at Paisley, see the new piano.

PurpleMusic07 said:

geetee71 said:

Was this pic taken in Atlanta?

.

Bohemian67 mentioned that the second ATL show was the first P&M show where he showed photo backdrops throughout his career - the redfoxbandit pictures - which this has.

.

He definitely looks rather frail and sick to me here, and I don't think it's retro-projecting.

.

.

FULL SIZE IMAGE: http://i.imgur.com/Xh4qrSg.jpg

It's really neither here or there at this point, but me he looks like a 57 year old man that has been battling the flu. Honestly should look much worse. Yah hrs pretty damn thin. But he's been crazy thin in the past, so it's not that startling from that perspective.

PURplEMaPLeSyrup said:

PurpleMusic07 said:

Strive said:

With his chef saying that sometimes he'd only have a single bite of cake and Prince himself talking about not eating/drinking for days at a time, it almost makes me think that he had some type of eating disorder.

So not at all to downplay the possibility of an eating disorder cause thats a really serious thing, but lets keep this in context. The chef was talking about how Prince had a sweet tooth, but was concious of overindulging - so thats where the 1 bite of cake thing came from. Re: having to be reminded to eat and drink, I notice thats a very common occurence in creative fields. I work in film and video and it routinely happens to me that i'll be editing something or doing some other brain power heavy task and i will go for hours without getting up for anything. I workk a normal 8ish hour work day. I could only imagine how I'd be in my own space, working on my own projects in a home studio. DIsordered eating/not eating is very different than anything thats come out about Prince recemtly. and like I said. thats not to diminish the possibilty bcuz ultimately it is what it is. But imo thats really not something that you'd want to put out there on somebody w/o good reason.

We all know that Prince was very aware of his appearance, even vain. He was growing older, and there is evidence of increased eating disorders among the middle-aged and older. Life transitions and losing ones appeal/power can be triggers. I have worked with this population and it is is not uncommon for co-morbid pathology to occur with addiction/eating disorders. I think it makes very good sense that he wasn't eating well, and kept taking amounts of opiates he took at a heavier weight. A very deadly combination. I personally would have loved the guy if he were 40 lbs. heavier and healthier. This is just all too sad. (he also looks depressed) He was seeking help, just too little too late:( It breaks my heart that he died when he did I truely believe it could have been avoided with the right inervention and people around him.

[Edited 7/3/16 19:31pm]

cardinal said:

beacheemom said:

So so sad to me. He looks really sick to me. Not just because of how thin he appears, it's something else that I can't put my finger on. He looks as if he is someone who has been slowly dying for quiet some time. Breaks my heart to say that too.

yes i see it too. also in some photos even from late last year. i see tired eyes, something that make up can't cover up. the spark was gone. it could hsve been due to fatigue/withdrawal from pain meds or even the pain itself, but something looks very different even beyond the horrifying thinness. "do i have a friend tonight?" --prince at his last concert in atlanta

It's called depression...

derrick31 said:

http://ww3.hdnux.com/phot...20x920.jpg Sorry I don't know how to post pictures here, but this pic from the Golden State game at Oracle arena clearly shows how emaciated Prince looked. Prince was ill. Just look at recent photos and compare them to a year ago or two years ago. Someone in good health would not age this fast. Percocet is not just used for pain due to injury or surgery, it's also used to treat people with chronic pain from terminal illnesses. [Edited 5/10/16 8:25am]

Other than the fact that he is bundled from head to toe, I don't see anything wrong with the pic from the Oracle arena.

headtripparade said:

I honestly don't think he's any thinner than normal here. His clothes are somewhat baggy and his hair is giant so that's going to affect how his body looks. However, I do see something off with his face. He was definitely fatigued. The bags under his eyes seem slightly more evident (and with how much he retouched his photos I'm not sure I understand why he would go on stage without 5 pounds of makeup to cover it up) and he just looks so effing tired. Part of me feels like he looks slightly pale but concert lighting is always wacky so that's not really a statement I could make and be confident in.

If the reports about the labwork RBC are correct, he was anemic so probably why he looked pale.

http://www.jukebo.com/prince/music-clip,rock-n-roll-love-affair-a-jimmy-kimmel,xsvpku.html

Hope this this video works. This was just 3/12 years ago and he looks great.. Bless his heart. Tears.

http://www.jukebo.com/prince/music-clip,rock-n-roll-love-affair-a-jimmy-kimmel,xsvpku.html

PurpleMusic07 said:

His skin had been the color of death for months.

He'd been dead in the eyes b/c he knew he was terminal.

Its so obvious, but carry on then folks.

Charm4ever said:

rightbluecheek said:

Hi everyone. I wish to share with you the perspective of someone like me who at a certain point distanced herself from the Prince persona and music. I did that because I was not getting good vibes anymore from this guy. I remember the last time I saw him live in Barcelona in 93...I just did not get him or his music anymore. I always knew there was something very special about this guy, but it wasn't for me anymore. A month before his passing, something made me reach out for him again. I remember watching the Arsenio interview and thinking...this guy has finally become an adult. The look in his eyes was completely different. Gone was the attitude and the arrogance. He seemed to be finally at peace with himself. It seemed to me that he had struggled all his life to keep his persona alive, somehow destroying the person. I saw a grown up man, aware of his age, and cool with it. It really made me wish to go see him live again, and I started to look for the dates of his Piano and Microphone tour. I was ready to make peace with him. Of course I will not have that opportunity, but it really does not matter because, I really am glad I finally saw the man I imagined he could be, and I made peace with him just the same. Maybe like someone said here, he was sad. I prefer to think he was just finally aware.

Thank you for sharing. I experienced something very similar.( I think it had something to do with having kids and raising them during that time frame.) But I always recognized the genius. He evolved over the years and though there were still stories of his attitude at times, he seemed to reflect often about his impact on the world. Fascinating man.

Bunsterdk said:

I agree, the Arsenio Hall show was wonderful. He was very relaxed, at ease with himself and the audience. That's why I say the last year or two as I can't pinpoint it exactly. But between the Arsenio Hall show and the last tour something certainly changed him. And it's not old age. He was aging really well, into another kind of deeper beauty. I loved Purple Yoda.

I agree. I am of Prince's generation and aging a bit does not equal looking unhealthy, just older. He tried very hard to take care of himself. I have noticed periods in his life where he just looked too thin. He was looking too thin again. That concerned me. (it is easier to OD when one is too thin and dehydrated, etc) I wish we really knew what was going on, but I doubt that it was just addiction. He had some medical condition and was dealing with the medication that got out of hand, and frankly, he seemed depressed. A lot going on. He was trying to deal with it there at the end tho.