He's been on stage since age 16. He became famous at an early age. Do you think he's happy about becoming famous or he wished he'd be someone who can walk down a street without bodyguards, without fearing crazy fans ready to do anything and just be able to go to the store and buy his own toothpaste... you know what I'm saying.

Yeah. I dont know .. I think he thinks it all worth it =]

Tough question...

I'm not sure how much he really cares about the whole "being famous" thing.

He'd probably give an answer like, "I'm still the same person inside whether I have fame or not. I'm just a guitar player who has dedicated his life to writing music."

I don't think fame has really changed him all that much. Sure, he's gone thru countless evolutions (his most infamous one due to the name change), but I don't think fame was the thing that did it to him.

Having access to a studio where he can record as he pleases did. Having that luxery, his need to record and write music slowly started to possess him and when restrictions were placed on him by his "bosses", he had to learn a little self-control and such.

Now that I mention that... I'm still not any surer.

I don't think he looks back very much, though, because he's always doing something new. If he's riding on a certain bit of inspiration, going backwards wouldn't do him any good...

other than that, you've got me. I don't know.

Those are good answers, thank you

I think he looks back every now and then and says: "Yeah, I did that. I'm in control."

Then breaks into a Janet Jackson impersonation.

He can always wear a disguise and walk down the street and he probably wouldn't change a thing. However, the downside of fame...the unreal and continual expectations...I'm sure he, and many others, would love to do without.

It must be crazy to have fans expect you to remain young as they grow old...or fans that expect you to continually break new ground, as they break open a six-packs and complain about all that you're doing wrong.

Everything has a price, though.

malbena said:

He became a huge star in his 20's. It's not like he was famous at 11 like Michael Jackson.

krayzie said:

And what do we know about life at that age?

he could still walk down the street like anyone else. bette midler walks down the street by herself. tons of folks in NY and Hollywood walk around without bodyguards.

prince would probably get upset if he did walk down the street and not get harassed. he creates the hysteria that leads to him needing bodyguards.

after one of wendy and lisa's shows (which prince was at btw) eric clapton and john mayer walked out the show and down a long arse street with tons of folks hanging around the street and nobody said or did a thing to them other then a "hi" here and there. they got into eric's car and drove off.

prince on the other hand had a big ass limo pick him up in front of the venue, a bodyguard at the door and ran into his car like he was being chased by Michael Myers.

you do the math.
[Edited 4/28/07 14:16pm]

sosgemini said:

But doesn't that go back to Prince not liking it when people take pictures of him, or come up to him and ask for his autographs and stuff. Maybe he used to cruise freely around and people just kept bothering him.

wonder505 said:

if you act like a human you will get treated like one...thats all im saying. event folks like julia roberts go out shopping on their own. if you walk in high heels, stage make-up and extravagant clothes 24/7 dont be shocked when you get noticed and harassed.

and when hasn't prince had bodyguards? Purple Rain on...right? shoot...even madonna doesn't always have bodyguards around her.

Other famous people manage to walk down the street with little or no drama

maybe he feels safer w/ a bodygard.. alot of celebrities do. i mean- I've seen some wierd fans on TV that will do practically anything to get close to a celbrity- and they do. maybe he just wants to have a guard just in case.. its no big deal.

Who wouldn't hate the invasion of privacy that sometimes comes with being famous?

wlcm2thdwn said:

or the $$$.

Now, what was his life before fame. From what we know, he was in a violent home, being teased at school, ... maybe he wasn't happy back then and fame brought him respect, love, money, sex....

sosgemini said:

I kinda have to agree here .. celebrities are a dime a dozen walking around in Manhattan .. just doing regular stuff, shopping, eatting, etc .. like normal ppl. Matthew Broderick got right on the elevator with me and Miro Sorvino (huge chick) was sardined with me too on elevator.. they're still human beings, if he walked around like the others.. that mass hysteria mob stuff would die eventually.

This is where I turn into a raging fambot but I was only thinking about this yesterday...

Unless Prince writes an autobiography - which I don't see happening anytime soon - we can only speculate, but I am *fascinated* by what Prince must think when he looks back at his past... If, or when, he does that is. With a career like his - and it isn't normal by anyone's standards - I wonder how much he chuckles or cinges at certain points.

There must be moments, like us, when he sees certain pictures or clothes he was wearing and think /////

Or when he looks back at all those amazing gigs, songs he's written, countries he's visited, photoshoots, the private moments, etc etc etc...

That's one hell of a life he's lived.

onenitealone said:

You've got a point there. Wow... his life when I first really learned about the journey he's taken... it blew me away. And yet even now, he's kept himself together.

I feel like sometimes we're pretty similar in the fact that our interests change so much. I tend to focus on one thing in addition to my studies and such and then when something new comes along, the previous thing gets shoved into the background.

Kinda like how I write my stories and when I start a new one, I tend to neglect the old ones cuz I'm distracted by doing something new. Prince did the same thing when he neglected to promote TGE when it came out because he was busy working on Emancipation.

The main difference between us, though, is that he's known all along what he's wanted to do with his life.
I have yet to see "The Dawn" that he has. But he didn't see "The Dawn" until his mid-30's, so I still have plenty of time I think. I feel like I want to do so much with my life.
Prince has done just that.

Yeah, I think most of us have yet to see 'the dawn', whatever that is...

I am waiting for someone to say how much he should've/could've/shouldn't have done this/that/whatever and, obviously, he's made his mistakes, I'm sure. But the fact remains he has pursued his passion for most of his life and made a living from it... What could be more amazing than that??

Purple Rain was on tv yesterday, so my channel surfing stopped on it.

I kept thinking, "This is the same guy I saw in Las Vegas last week," and it didn't even seem like the same person.



It was beautiful!!

For all of his "Not looking back" bravado, I think Prince does to some degree. To some degree we all do. Almost every one of us has seen an old picture of ourselves and thought "What was I thinking??? I know I looked good!!"



Prince and other celebrities just have the added angle of having on display for the whole world to see.

Stevie Nicks was just on tv telling young female singers to really think twice about their hair before they make a video.

onenitealone said:

well said.

Yeah, I wonder if he has any regrets about certain moves he's made. If he has made mistakes (obviously he has: "to err is human"), I think if they ever come to mind, he just thinks on them for no less than 10 minutes and moves on...
He'd probably something like, "nobody got forward in life by looking back on the past," and, "time worrying about past mistakes is time better spent writing more music." That sort of thing...

DreamyPopRoyalty said:[quote]

onenitealone said:

Thank you. And, yeah - I'm sure that's pretty much his approach.

I have wondered what goes through his head when he's singing those songs live... does he think about who/what inspired him? Or remember weird little technical details about the recording of that song? Yes, I'm a geek.

DreamyPopRoyalty said:

i agree w/ both you gys. he's had a pretty amazing life- since his passion became his career.


i think he has to look @ his past sometimes- but he doesn't want to stay in the past becase he knows he should focus on doing something else, something new.

i'd love to see what goes on in his head as he's recordin, or when he's playing some of his old songs @ concerts, or when he's thinking abt how far he's come... must be some great memories.

He walks thru this hallway at Paisley with pictures from every year/era leading upto a door. High5's on of the pictures but looks ahead.