Prince - world exclusive interview: Peter Willis goes inside the star's secret world

My audience with Prince has taken a bizarre downward turn.

I’m trying to interview the rock legend but he’s more interested in an impromptu jamming session in his private concert hall – with me on drums.

We’re two minutes into Beatles classic Come Together and I’m getting into my stride when I become aware that Prince is staring across at me and wincing.

“Stop! Stop! Stop!” he shouts, slamming his hand down on his purple grand piano.

“Have you ever seen The Apprentice on TV? Cos You’re fired!”

I protest. Let’s take it from the top again, I suggest. But too late. I’ve blown it.

Still, there can’t be many people who’ve been hired and fired by Prince, all in the space of a few minutes.

My humiliation came at the end of an extraordinary day in which I was given a rare insight into the very private world of one of the greatest rock stars on the planet.

A living legend who has sold more than 100 million albums.

Prince agreed to his first British newspaper interview for 10 years before his eagerly anticipated new album 20Ten which, in the biggest music giveaway of the year, will be released free in the UK only in the Daily Mirror this Saturday.

The interview almost doesn’t happen.

Then it’s on as long as I can meet him the very next day at his home town of Minneapolis in the US Midwest (and I’m ordered not to bring a camera, mobile phone or tape recorder).

After a transatlantic dash I arrive at the hotel to find Shelby, one of Prince’s backing singers, waiting to drive me down the road to his HQ Paisley Park – a name that’s as synonymous with Prince as Neverland was with Michael Jackson.

I’d envisaged a lavish purple palace at the end of a winding lane, but it turns out to be a huge white 70,000 square foot building, more like an industrial complex, on a busy main road.

Shelby shows me into a room like a 50s diner and, before I’ve had a chance to sit down Prince strides in, beaming, with hand outstretched.

I’m amazed. Where is the superstar entourage – burly security, manic PR people and personal assistants? “Hi,” he says, “I’m so glad you could come.” His voice is deeper than I expected, he’s certainly small (5ft 2in at most), looks almost half his age (52), and is dressed immaculately, if oddly, in white silk trousers, flouncy green silk shirt, an ivory tunic and white pumps (which, I suspect, are stacked).

“You must come and listen to the album,” he says. “I hope you like it. It’s great that it will be free to readers of your newspaper.”

He explains that he decided the album will be released only in the Mirror in CD format. There’ll be no downloads anywhere in the world because of his ongoing battles against internet abuses.

Unlike most other rock stars, he has banned YouTube and iTunes from using any of his music and has even closed down his own official website.

He says: “The internet’s completely over. I don’t see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won’t pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can’t get it. The internet’s like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good.

“They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you.”

Then he leads me to his recording studio and urges me to sit in his leather swivel chair at the enormous mixing desk.

Wow!

I’ve finally arrived at the epicentre of Prince’s world – the scene of fabled all-night-long sessions in which he played up to 28 instruments.

This is where the genius behind classics such as Purple Rain, When Doves Cry, 1999 and Let’s Go Crazy creates his music.
The walls are a vibrant reddish purple, flickering candles line every ledge and the smell of incense fills the air.

Prince jabs a few buttons and hidden speakers burst into life with my preview.

He looks at me searching for a reaction.

All fears that it might be uninspiring vanish as my foot starts tapping.

It’s instantly infectious. Amazing.

Thankfully it’s a return to his early blistering form which captivated millions of fans around the world and I love it.

“This one’s called Compassion,” says Prince. But as I try to scribble it down he looks aghast, grabs my wrist and pleads: “Please, please. It’s a surprise, don’t spoil it for people.”

So why did you decide to call the album 20Ten? I ask. “I just think it’s a year that really matters,” he says. These are very trying times.”

To emphasise the point he chivvies me into another room, switches on the TV and shows me clips from an evangelical TV documentary blaming corporate America for a range of woes from Hurricane Katrina to asthmatic children.

He says one problem is that “people, especially young people, don’t have enough God in their lives”.

Prince has been a devout Jehovah’s Witness for more than 10 years.

He even has a space set aside which he’s labelled The Knowledge Room, with a library of religious books.

Prince talks about his beliefs with missionary zeal, but ask him anything remotely personal and he’s brusque.

Question him on his childhood and he says: “I don’t talk about the past.”

On his relationship with his stunning girlfriend Bria Valente, he says: “Self interest is on the back-burner now.”

And on old friend/foe Michael Jackson, he simply replies: “Next question.”

Time for another surprise. “Come,” he says, and like an excitable Willy Wonka, he leads me down corridors lined with glinting platinum discs to a lounge where his three backing singers are waiting by an ebony futuristic grand piano.

Prince shows me to a seat in the middle of the room and starts playing a rousing track Act of God from the new album... especially for me.

Surreal isn’t the word. Then he turns and asks: “So what would you like us to play?”

Diamonds And Pearls, I suggest, and they happily grant me a personal command performance.

I thank them profusely, Prince smiles and then dismisses me for dinner. But as it’s “only” 10pm he suggests we regroup back here in an hour “to party”.

As he’s gained a reputation as the Prince of Darkness for not starting gigs until 2am and not leaving clubs until dawn, my expectations run high.

When I return later to Prince’s weird HQ, he welcomes me warmly into what appears to be his own private nightclub.

It’s lavishly kitted out with velvet circular sofas, a dancefloor and there’s a stairway up to a balcony.

On two huge screens, at least 20ft high, there are videos of him performing.

But where are the guests? And where’s the bar? Of course, I remember, he’s a strict teetotal vegan – when one of those backing singers wanders in, offering me a glass of still water.

She is closely followed by the other two, carrying trays of sliced melon and raw vegetables, which they place on a long table beside a large Bible. “Help yourself,” says one.

Prince walks in with girlfriend Bria, in a shimmering full-length evening gown like she’s at the Oscars.

Twice married and divorced, he has been with the singer, who’s almost half his age, for several years.

He produced her first solo album Elixir last year and she has become a Jehovah’s Witness.

He introduces her and she looks around and says: “Sorry, I think I’m a little overdressed!”

They pop out for a minute and return, with her proudly holding a food blender filled with a banana smoothie which they pour into glasses for themselves.

Just when it couldn’t get any more bizarre, Prince clambers behind video equipment under the stairs and starts screening
old clips from the 1960s US TV show Soul Train of his music heroes such as Marvin Gaye and Barry White.

He urges his guests – all five of us – to dance and the three backing singers look like they’re having the time of their lives.

Prince occasionally emerges from under the stairs to inspect the screens a bit closer.

But when I try to talk to him he runs back to his hole, shouting: “Too many questions.”

But he bores quickly of the old videos and we’re all following him again, down more corridors of platinum discs, past his iconic guitars and that famous motorcycle from Purple Rain.

From his agility, it’s clear rumours he needs a double hip op after too much dancing on high heels are unfounded.

He’s decided to take us to his own private concert hall, which, with a capacity for more than 1,000 people, is awesome.

Pride of place is a huge Love Symbol #2 – now the name of the symbol he changed his name to when he fell out with his old record company Warners.

He says: “It’s what I always dreamed of when I was a young musician, playing in the basement. Music is my life. It’s my trade. If I can’t get it out of my head I can’t function. Someone told me they saw me at my peak, but how do they know when my peak is? I think I’m improving all the time. When I listen to my old records I’m ashamed of how I played then.”

He even thinks that playing his guitar has stopped him going bald.

“Playing electric guitar your whole life does something to you. I’m convinced all that electricity racing through my body made me keep my hair.”

Then he orders us all on the stage, saying: “Get yourself an instrument.”

Prince sits at his purple piano, the backing singers by their microphones and me on the drums.

Only to be found out.

It’s only midnight but after firing me Prince clearly decides he can take no more. As he bids me farewell, I cheekily pull out a camera and ask for a picture.

He shakes his head. “It’s much better in the memory bank,” says the star. Then he turns to a backing singer and says: “The picture will make your eyes look red and they will use it really big.”

Prince doesn’t need an army of PRs to advise him on his image.

For all the time I spent with him he still managed to retain that air of mystery.

TOMORROW: WHAT REALLY MAKES HIM TICK

Click here for your chan...on Friday

[Edited 7/4/10 16:34pm]

I really want to like this album, and was looking forward to hearing it - but that interview is utterly depressing and does not bode well.

all the advertisements being posted in here are putting me off the new album.

Reading that interview makes me think Prince was NOT in the mood

He always speaks in riddles, more or less, but that was... just saying things.

robinhood said:

all the advertisements being posted in here are putting me off the new album.

projecting one's own baggage on other people and situations usually does lead to dissatisfaction

alexandernevermind1999 said:

it seems that the little guy has struck gold with distribution deals all over the place, couldn't b more pleased 4 him. we get the cd, he gets exposure and lots of cash.

- Yeah. I only hope the CD is good. I want him to get GOOD exposure.

errant said:

robinhood said:

all the advertisements being posted in here are putting me off the new album.

projecting one's own baggage on other people and situations usually does lead to dissatisfaction

ur right, i'm sorry.

i LOVE all these ads, the commercial overload is givin me a total hard-on for Prince's new CD.

keep em coming!

robinhood said:

errant said:

projecting one's own baggage on other people and situations usually does lead to dissatisfaction

ur right, i'm sorry.

i LOVE all these ads, the commercial overload is givin me a total hard-on for Prince's new CD.

keep em coming!

2 keep u coming..

[img:$uid]http://i901.photobucket.com/albums/ac215/doffieparker/1.jpg[/img:$uid]

[Edited 7/6/10 16:14pm]

DoffieParker said:

robinhood said:

ur right, i'm sorry.

i LOVE all these ads, the commercial overload is givin me a total hard-on for Prince's new CD.

keep em coming!

2 keep u coming..

[img:$uid]http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss295/somecandy4u/purp/scan0163.jpg[/img:$uid]

SO excited to see him so commercialised!

it really suits him.

dont you think?

robinhood said:

DoffieParker said:

2 keep u coming..

[img:$uid]http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss295/somecandy4u/purp/scan0163.jpg[/img:$uid]

SO excited to see him so commercialised!

it really suits him.

dont you think?

Cool let the games begin!!

http://www.dailyrecord.co...-22383033/

The Scot's are happy!

He hasn't gone bald because of the electricity from his guitar?

Oh, Prince...don't ever change.

Aw I love the interview!

"This ones called Compassion, says Prince.

But as I try to scribble it down he looks aghast,

grabs my wrist and pleads: Please, please.

Its a surprise, dont spoil it for people. "

So sweet , I love how hes still passionate about how we hear/digest his music. Bria seems nice I have no quams. That "air of mystery" is what has kept me on my toes for Prince (hehe) kept me intrigued.

Love his views of God and young people, hes such a beautiful soul.

He even has a space set aside which he’s labelled The Knowledge Room, with a library of religious books.

To quote Bart Simpson, "The ironing is delicious!"

Cracking interview situation, the guy from The Mirror must've been sh*tt*ng himself, and he got fired from the drums! Awsome! New album sounds like it's going to be good, just hope it lives up to it....

robinhood said:

SO excited to see him so commercialised!

it really suits him.

Yes, forget about good music, what Prince needs is to be used as a promo tool for a lousy newspaper.

Hutchi said:

Cracking interview situation, the guy from The Mirror must've been sh*tt*ng himself, and he got fired from the drums!

Except this entire story is virtually identical to what Hans-Maarten Post described in his "exclusive" interview.

Which makes this all a bit suspect.

sambluedolphin said:

Much better than the 'Daily mail'. 'Mirror' much more right 4 Prince. Liberial, only Labour newspaper. People dont recognise the truth dat Prince was the first one 2 give his album away for free (planet earth) with a main tabloid paper. Then every one else copied.

In 1994 -95 Prince came up with the idear first, to give his album away for free, he said. Also in the Gold experience tour he gave away tapes for free 2 all his fans with 'NPG operator'.

Sam 8)

Oh please, get real. Magazines and newspapers have had cover-mounted records for aeons.

BartVanHemelen said:

Hutchi said:

Cracking interview situation, the guy from The Mirror must've been sh*tt*ng himself, and he got fired from the drums!

Except this entire story is virtually identical to what Hans-Maarten Post described in his "exclusive" interview.

Which makes this all a bit suspect.

- yes, it´s true. Virtually identical.

I must say,with his past five albums, he may not deliver the best albums of his career, but he is definately generating awesome interest in his albums. Much more than he did in the 90's. This is very good marketing.

robinhood said:

DoffieParker said:

2 keep u coming..

[img:$uid]http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss295/somecandy4u/purp/scan0163.jpg[/img:$uid]

SO excited to see him so commercialised!

it really suits him.

dont you think?

yea love all the hype

BartVanHemelen said:

sambluedolphin said:

Much better than the 'Daily mail'. 'Mirror' much more right 4 Prince. Liberial, only Labour newspaper. People dont recognise the truth dat Prince was the first one 2 give his album away for free (planet earth) with a main tabloid paper. Then every one else copied.

In 1994 -95 Prince came up with the idear first, to give his album away for free, he said. Also in the Gold experience tour he gave away tapes for free 2 all his fans with 'NPG operator'.

Sam 8)

Oh please, get real. Magazines and newspapers have had cover-mounted records for aeons.

He might be referring to free new, whole albums vs. compilations -- but yes, cover mounts have been around forever.

As a child (mid-70s), I once used scissors to trim out a playable 45rpm single from a cereal box. I have no idea who the artist was, but it was a fun gimmick.

Prince saying the Internet is "over" . . . that is very black-and-white coming from someone who couldn't find a gray area. Using the Internet does not necessarily have to equate with downloadable music. I'm sure every fan would visit a free site with an online store to order PHYSICAL copies of music. Or, reopen 1-800-New-Funk for phone orders. He won't do that because there is no large, guaranteed money advance from an established media source. It would be just him, making income of each and every CD - one at a time (like independent artists do).

GustavoRibas said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Except this entire story is virtually identical to what Hans-Maarten Post described in his "exclusive" interview.

Which makes this all a bit suspect.

- yes, it´s true. Virtually identical.

yes it's the same interview which the mirror have obviously nabbed & then spoofed out.. can't wait to see their take on 'what makes him tick'

it's likely they will sex it up

robinhood said:

Dreamer2 said:

Kiran Sharma, Prince's representative and producer of his live shows, said: "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World in 1995 was Prince's first number one selling single as a completely free artist.

"Fifteen years on, Prince is demonstrating that in 2010 it is still
possible for artists to work in an independent and innovative capacity,
highlighted here in a world first of delivering the new album across
multiple territories, through complementary distribution channels.

um no, its not possible for 'artists' to release this way, its only possible for Prince, because he's Prince, or for Elton John, because he's Elton John, or for ALREADY WELL-KNOWN ARTISTS across the board, but new artists? no.

this may be an exercise in innovation, but its not relevant to 'artists' unless they are well-known.

imo, newspaper give-aways cheapen Prince and his music. dont know bout you all, but newspaper is what some folk use to clean up vomit, then chuck it in the trash.

the whole concept is inconsistent with anything even remotely musical and even though it's innovative, its not necessarily smart.

sorry people's i just get irked by 'representatives' who talk in a manner which shows they have no real connection to the true value of Prince's work, but hey, if they wanna throw it out there with raped rainforests and call it a brilliant idea they can be my guest lol

You're 100% right. People tend to forget these outside-the-box facts. Like saying how much $$ Twilight is making, breaking records, when they aren't taking into account population growth, $$ spent on advertising, etc, etc.

GustavoRibas said:

BartVanHemelen said:

Except this entire story is virtually identical to what Hans-Maarten Post described in his "exclusive" interview.

Which makes this all a bit suspect.

- yes, it´s true. Virtually identical.

Yes, I'm surprised more people haven't noticed this! I mean, same answers to questions, same clothes, same musical "experiences" with being serenaded on piano and playing drums with him, same thing being played on the video screen, damn near same every damn thing. At least he changed up and asked for Diamonds and Pearls instead of Sometimes It Snows In April.

What they both have in common, again, is that the interviewer LOVES the new album and say it's a "return to form". LMAO! What the hell else are they going to say when their papers are carrying the new album? Does anyone really expect them to say it was so-so or that it sucked, like real journalists would do? Of course not.

It reads identical. The journo is even at the 'private party.'

The difference with 'The Mirror' is that the editorial seems to have placed the emphasis on Jehovah's Witnesses and general 'weirdness.'

I think this is a single-person interview delivered in bulk to newspapers who are then choosing what parts to use and how to interpret them.

Tomorrow, in 'The Mirror' and 'The Record', he is going to be talking more about Jehovah's Witnesses. Prince has every right to his beliefs and I respect his view-point, but these bold religious statements won't win him any public favour here, nor I suspect in any country in Europe. The French government even removed the JW tax-exempt status recently and requested a back-payment.

In the UK, Jehovah's Witnesses are a tiny minority religion. Most, right or wrong, view them as cultic crackpots or a general nuisance. The ignorant will be all too willing to lump Prince in with this generalisation.

DoffieParker said:

robinhood said:

ur right, i'm sorry.

i LOVE all these ads, the commercial overload is givin me a total hard-on for Prince's new CD.

keep em coming!

2 keep u coming..

[img:$uid]http://i585.photobucket.com/albums/ss295/somecandy4u/purp/scan0163.jpg[/img:$uid]

not online

I was expecting an entire new interview in the Daily Mirror; instead readers will be getting a copy & paste editorial fantasy piece?

OperatingThetan said:

It reads identical. The journo is even at the 'private party.'

The difference with 'The Mirror' is that the editorial seems to have placed the emphasis on Jehovah's Witnesses and general 'weirdness.'

I think this is a single-person interview delivered in bulk to newspapers who are then choosing what parts to use and how to interpret them.

Tomorrow, in 'The Mirror' and 'The Record', he is going to be talking more about Jehovah's Witnesses. Prince has every right to his beliefs and I respect his view-point, but these bold religious statements won't win him any public favour here, nor I suspect in any country in Europe. The French government even removed the JW tax-exempt status recently and requested a back-payment.

In the UK, Jehovah's Witnesses are a tiny minority religion. Most, right or wrong, view them as cultic crackpots or a general nuisance. The ignorant will be all too willing to lump Prince in with this generalisation.

I don't think he's doing it for that, he just saying what he wants to say, he's well aware that some people will care some won't give a damn... at the end of the day he's getting what he wants and his fans are getting what they want .... win / win !