Here is a list of some of the most bizarre moments in the life of Prince.
Changing his name to a symbol
There's only one place to start this list. While many performers appear under stage aliases, Prince went several giant-sized steps further in 1993 by changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol (see above) following a dispute with Warner Brothers over the ownership of his work.
The Artist Formerly Known As Prince, as his fans were forced to call him, had already used the character for the title of his twelfth album, claiming it was a combination of the male and female symbols (♂ and ♀).
Fans and music journalists across the world breathed a sigh of relief in 2000 when the artist reverted to his old title, claiming that the negative associations with his real name had been forgotten.
Bikini bottoms and a trench coat
Every young artist dreams of their 'big shot' – their first exposure in front of a mass audience that has the power to either catapult them into the mainstream or crush their dreams.
For Prince this moment arguably came in 1981 when, after enjoying cult success with his early albums, he was given the chance to open a series of shows for the Rolling Stones.
Most artists, when faced with an audience of 100,000 frenzied rock fans, might make an effort to blend in. Prince turned out wearing a trench coat and bikini briefs. He was pelted with rubbish.
The Black Album
In the late 1980s, an album that was set for release – The Black Album – was sensationally pulled at the last minute because Prince became convinced that it was evil.
The album, 500,000 copies of which had already been produced with a plain black cover, was replaced shortly afterwards by Lovesexy, which reached number 11 on the Billboard 200 chart.
The Black Album was eventually released in 1994 following the limited success of his 'love symbol' album.
Slave
A dispute between Prince and Warner Brothers over the releasing of his work resulted in a legal battle over the album The Gold Experience in 1993.
While legal matters were ongoing, the artist appeared in public with the word 'slave' written on his cheek – taken to be a reference to Warner Brothers' attempts to assert ownership of his work.
Heartbeat
The album Emancipation was released in 1996 following Prince's marriage to Mayte Garcia, with many of the songs dedicated to the couple's relationship and the child they were expecting.
On the song Sex in the Summer, Prince used a recording of his unborn baby's heartbeat as part of the percussion track. The baby was later born with a skull disease, and died soon after birth.
http://www.telegraph.co.u...rince.html 
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