First, I want to introduce myself. I have been a lurker since the late 90's but never joined. I just enjoyed the discussions. I remember spending way too much time on this forum in the early 2000's while I should have been working. I've been a Prince fan since the 80's but considered myself a true "die hard" fan since the Gold Experience until I started to lose interest around 2009. I still went to the shows whenever he was in town. Back in 2002, I was the 4th person in line to buy tickets and only got a 7th row seat. But I digress.

I want to express my condolences to all the true fans, those of you who were actively discussing his music and career on this forum before he passed. It was a shock to me and I was, and still am, incredibly saddened but his death. I can only imagine how you all feel. I always thought he would live into his 100's.

I heard about Prince's hip problems back in 2007 and didn't believe the rumors. Although he had toned down his dancing, I still never saw any signs of pain. The last time I saw him in concert was in 2011 and he was shaking his ass, moving his hips and seemed more agile than people half his age. And then came the news of his death and the stories about his physical suffering due to his hips. So it was all true. Sheila E. said he was always in pain so it wasn't such a big secret within his circle, but it was very well hidden from his fans.

My question is, has anyone ever seen any signs while he was performing? I came across a Youtube video of one of his concerts from his Welcome 2 America tour and I think I finally saw him showing signs of pain. Take a look at this video and watch him get down from the piano: https://youtu.be/c8mrztVa988?t=1h33m45s

I find it painful to watch, but it makes me appreciate his performances even more. He sucked in his pain to entertain his fans. I appreciate, more than ever, what a professional and natural born entertainer he was.

At the show at Paisley Park in October of 2009, I could see he was in pain. Well, okay - not on his face. Initially, he was fine - but for the second half of this epic three-hour show, he was definitely limping. I mean, his left leg was affected to the point that it looked like he was dragging it a bit. (You know how you walk when your leg has fallen asleep? It was like that.) I remember thinking, "The rumors are true, then" and feeling so bad for him.

there are vids of him hopping around as recently as two years ago, i really don't get the logic of that. I know men are egotistical and don't like to accept that they are not what they were but if he was up against that kind of agony why not just stop.

PeteSilas said:

there are vids of him hopping around as recently as two years ago, i really don't get the logic of that. I know men are egotistical and don't like to accept that they are not what they were but if he was up against that kind of agony why not just stop.

aww how sad

I think you are seeing something that is not there

wayhome said:

I think you are seeing something that is not there

Maybe.

CaptnCrunchSoyMilk said:

wayhome said:

I think you are seeing something that is not there

Maybe.

I know some people here are searching for answers. That is human nature with a situation like this. I am not sure we will ever know if Prince was in pain. Does any of that matter now? What if we discover he was in pain, does that change anything? no not at all. It will just bring more questions, then the debates here will be endless. Sudden death always brings many un answered questions and most of the time trying to answer those questions is utterly impossible, it only delays the healing process of the people who are left behind.

But what do I know people here have called me troll.

wayhome said:

CaptnCrunchSoyMilk said:

Maybe.

I know some people here are searching for answers. That is human nature with a situation like this. I am not sure we will ever know if Prince was in pain. Does any of that matter now? What if we discover he was in pain, does that change anything? no not at all. It will just bring more questions, then the debates here will be endless. Sudden death always brings many un answered questions and most of the time trying to answer those questions is utterly impossible, it only delays the healing process of the people who are left behind.

But what do I know people here have called me troll.

I think it's pretty safe to assume he was in pain. I wouldn't consider that a rumor at this point. Does it matter now? For some of us, it does. It helps us to know where he was coming from. He looked miserable the past few years. He was always uptight and serious. The complete opposite of the Prince we used to know. I chose to see his behavior as arrogance and thought he was just turning into a miserable old fart. It turns out he was going through something much more serious. Something that was beyond his control. For some of us, trying to find out what he was going through is a grieving process that will make us appreciate him even more.

CaptnCrunchSoyMilk said:

wayhome said:

I know some people here are searching for answers. That is human nature with a situation like this. I am not sure we will ever know if Prince was in pain. Does any of that matter now? What if we discover he was in pain, does that change anything? no not at all. It will just bring more questions, then the debates here will be endless. Sudden death always brings many un answered questions and most of the time trying to answer those questions is utterly impossible, it only delays the healing process of the people who are left behind.

But what do I know people here have called me troll.

I think it's pretty safe to assume he was in pain. I wouldn't consider that a rumor at this point. Does it matter now? For some of us, it does. It helps us to know where he was coming from. He looked miserable the past few years. He was always uptight and serious. The complete opposite of the Prince we used to know. I chose to see his behavior as arrogance and thought he was just turning into a miserable old fart. It turns out he was going through something much more serious. Something that was beyond his control. For some of us, trying to find out what he was going through is a grieving process that will make us appreciate him even more.

no offense but he was far from miserable.

he didn't look himself though, i think that's what they meant by miserable. I brushed it off because honestly, what's a 57 year old man suppossed to look like? But He looked dramatically different than he did just a couple years before. I remind myself of the old lady that used to run my daycare as a child, she was only 55 and I still remember watching her get back from a drive and just sit in her car doing nothing, trying to summon the energy to climb the stairs and get back into the house. I'm getting there, we're all getting there as long as we're living. If we try to hard to deny it we'll run into a brick wall.

PeteSilas said:

he didn't look himself though, i think that's what they meant by miserable. I brushed it off because honestly, what's a 57 year old man suppossed to look like? But He looked dramatically different than he did just a couple years before. I remind myself of the old lady that used to run my daycare as a child, she was only 55 and I still remember watching her get back from a drive and just sit in her car doing nothing, trying to summon the energy to climb the stairs and get back into the house. I'm getting there, we're all getting there as long as we're living. If we try to hard to deny it we'll run into a brick wall.

There are too many of these threads about Prince being in pain or prince's hip pain. I see at least one thread about pain appear almost daily. Honestly, all these 'prince and his pain" and "prince knew he was going to die" threads are generally started by the same people, then the comments are made by the same group of people, almost everytime. Face it people, we will never know whether he was in pain, all the spectulation is getting old and not helping anything.

Waiting for someone to tell me to shut up now.

wayhome said:

wayhome said:

Make sure that carpet work .. hmm 14 .. time caught up with you eh sir? Hip pain n meds shut things down cmon no fckin way ... Damn shame .. why didnt you just get hip replacements n recover damnit f that religious bla bla blood transfusion crap. I guess we'll know what really happnd at some point .. disbelief &*^#

Can you imagine if he'd a collapsed n passed onstage omfg .. You have a life altering issue medically in the air which forces you to down n be hospitalized you damn well dont throw a party n act as if its all good. Damn fool. Stupid secretive bullshit life, you think he wants to be gone .. NO I dont think so.

[Edited 5/26/16 14:20pm]

damn, why ya gotta say it like that? I hear ya but damn.

ufoclub said:

The idea that he might have been dancing and performing through pain is ironically too painful for me to dwell on. Part of this whole Prince trip was the joy and the fun of the music, the childlike energy and spark.

yeah it really does hurt to think that he performed in pain

sonshine said:

That's the thing. The autopsy report isn't going to necessarily tell us if he was "in pain". It's maybe going to show he was using pain medication and from there it will be some assumptions. Unless his family, close friends, etc reveal more personal details of his day to day life. And really it doesn't matter to me. I don't care the reasons he was taking the pills. Lots of folks have painful medical conditions requiring medications. And lots of people use them to get high. I don't support abusing them by any stretch of the imagination, but if he got into that cycle of abuse he wouldn't be the first, and he won't be the last. I don't judge. I admit I was shocked at first, but it's warn off and I've had to accept he was human and we make mistakes. I still love, respect, and appreciate the man and his talents and wish he were still here with us for much longer.

agreed 100%

manci said:

wayhome said:

I know some people here are searching for answers. That is human nature with a situation like this. I am not sure we will ever know if Prince was in pain. Does any of that matter now? What if we discover he was in pain, does that change anything? no not at all. It will just bring more questions, then the debates here will be endless. Sudden death always brings many un answered questions and most of the time trying to answer those questions is utterly impossible, it only delays the healing process of the people who are left behind.

But what do I know people here have called me troll.

You're called troll because you joined eight days after Prince died and pick arguments with people who have been discussing the man on here since nearly two decades ago. You have a very closed mind and find it "kooky" that anyone might think Prince had an undisclosed illness. Nobody knows, including you, yet you stride in here out of the blue as if you DO know. If you do, tell us why you do. If you don't, then get off your high horse and join us in discussing the possibilities.

Wow, calm down, I have been a member of this site since 1999. I only reason I joined eight days after his death is this: The email associated my my old user name, I do not have any more, therefore, I could not recover that account - hence the new username. I am not picking arguments, just pointing out how ridiculous some of the people here are getting. You must admit some of the posts here are completely "kooky," and "nuts." You may see my words as harsh, but when people continue to speculate, it does nobody any good. I have read quite a few posts that gives me the sense that some people have lost their minds. It sounds like some fans are going off the deep end. I have said in other threads to those people that they might be in need of professional help, because it really sounds like they have went crazy. When people start talking about rainbows over Paisely Park is a message from Prince, it makes me think people are so involved in the death of prince, that they have lost their perspective. Some have even said that they can't live in a world without Prince. That way of thinking is frightening and dangerous. I have been listening to Prince since his first album.

cardinal said:

wayhome said:

There are too many of these threads about Prince being in pain or prince's hip pain. I see at least one thread about pain appear almost daily. Honestly, all these 'prince and his pain" and "prince knew he was going to die" threads are generally started by the same people, then the comments are made by the same group of people, almost everytime. Face it people, we will never know whether he was in pain, all the spectulation is getting old and not helping anything.

Waiting for someone to tell me to shut up now.

no shut up from me, but i do think eventually we might find out if there was a pain issue. if it turns out that he had a medical condition that is typically painful for example. or if he had a number of different pain meds on board, it would be reasonable to think there was pain. since no one except tmz thinks prince was an addict, if there is an issue with pain meds, its likely it was because of pain. and after the autopsy comes out, perhaps some who knew him will be willing to shed a little light on what may have gone on. not to blather, but to set the record straight.

I know people will freak out when I say this but, it is futile, to keep rehashing this "pain" thing. if we find out he was in pain, what will it change? It will give us no comfort, it will only add more questions. I really truly understand how you feel and believe it or not, I repect your feelings. My concern is that people will wallow in this "Pain" idea, and not allow themselves the opportunity to move foward. Setting the record straight may not be possible.

[Edited 5/26/16 15:36pm]

wayhome said:

cardinal said:

wayhome said: no shut up from me, but i do think eventually we might find out if there was a pain issue. if it turns out that he had a medical condition that is typically painful for example. or if he had a number of different pain meds on board, it would be reasonable to think there was pain. since no one except tmz thinks prince was an addict, if there is an issue with pain meds, its likely it was because of pain. and after the autopsy comes out, perhaps some who knew him will be willing to shed a little light on what may have gone on. not to blather, but to set the record straight.

I know people will freak out when I say this but, it is futile, to keep rehashing this "pain" thing. if we find out he was in pain, what will it change? It will give us no comfort, it will only add more questions. I really truly understand how you feel and believe it or not, I repect your feelings. My concern is that people will wallow in this "Pain" idea, and not allow themselves the opportunity to move foward. Setting the record straight may not be possible.

[Edited 5/26/16 15:36pm]

Deleted.

[Edited 5/26/16 15:56pm]

wayhome said:

cardinal said:

wayhome said: no shut up from me, but i do think eventually we might find out if there was a pain issue. if it turns out that he had a medical condition that is typically painful for example. or if he had a number of different pain meds on board, it would be reasonable to think there was pain. since no one except tmz thinks prince was an addict, if there is an issue with pain meds, its likely it was because of pain. and after the autopsy comes out, perhaps some who knew him will be willing to shed a little light on what may have gone on. not to blather, but to set the record straight.

I know people will freak out when I say this but, it is futile, to keep rehashing this "pain" thing. if we find out he was in pain, what will it change? It will give us no comfort, it will only add more questions. I really truly understand how you feel and believe it or not, I repect your feelings. My concern is that people will wallow in this "Pain" idea, and not allow themselves the opportunity to move foward. Setting the record straight may not be possible.

[Edited 5/26/16 15:36pm]

I do understand what you're saying and that whether he was in pain or not will not change the outcome, nor give any of us any comfort, but I don't think it's fair to say that people are wallowing in the pain idea. I think a lot of people have found Prince's death really traumatic and part of coming to terms with the finality of it all is to understand why it's happened.

I think if you're going to click on a thread titled 'Prince in pain?' you need to acknowledge and allow discussion on the subject without casting judgement. If you don't like what's being discussed, perhaps move on to another thread?

... I don't mean this in any way to be nasty or offensive, I just think that your words are perhaps a little harsh while others are still trying to make sense of the news and want to discuss the pain issue. I personally do think he was in pain and I have wanted to hear about others' opinions on the subject.

RaspberryKiren said:

RaspberryKiren said:

wayhome said:

I know people will freak out when I say this but, it is futile, to keep rehashing this "pain" thing. if we find out he was in pain, what will it change? It will give us no comfort, it will only add more questions. I really truly understand how you feel and believe it or not, I repect your feelings. My concern is that people will wallow in this "Pain" idea, and not allow themselves the opportunity to move foward. Setting the record straight may not be possible.

[Edited 5/26/16 15:36pm]

I do understand what you're saying and that whether he was in pain or not will not change the outcome, nor give any of us any comfort, but I don't think it's fair to say that people are wallowing in the pain idea. I think a lot of people have found Prince's death really traumatic and part of coming to terms with the finality of it all is to understand why it's happened.

I think if you're going to click on a thread titled 'Prince in pain?' you need to acknowledge and allow discussion on the subject without casting judgement. If you don't like what's being discussed, perhaps move on to another thread?

... I don't mean this in any way to be nasty or offensive, I just think that your words are perhaps a little harsh while others are still trying to make sense of the news and want to discuss the pain issue. I personally do think he was in pain and I have wanted to hear about others' opinions on the subject.

I understand that. I respect what you are sayng, I am not offended by your words in any way. I do get offended by other people who spew nonsense theories and crazy talk, it seems to cheapen the experience we have here. If Prince were alive to read some of the posts here lately, he would think it was bonkers.

just based on what you have said, I will no longer be harsh. Even when (not you, ) other people attack me for expressing my opinon.

Cardinal said: think many of us feel we need to know why a beautiful soul and gifted artist left this earth so young.

I understand all of that, and no matter what i have said to you in the past, I respect you and what you are sayng. See, that is my piont, we will never know why, the why is not something we can answer. I think people get mixed up with that.

wayhome said:

wayhome said:

RaspberryKiren said:

wayhome said:

I understand that. I respect what you are sayng, I am not offended by your words in any way. I do get offended by other people who spew nonsense theories and crazy talk, it seems to cheapen the experience we have here. If Prince were alive to read some of the posts here lately, he would think it was bonkers.

just based on what you have said, I will no longer be harsh. Even when (not you, ) other people attack me for expressing my opinon.

Thank you. We are on the same page, I think, regarding some of the posts. I think a lot of the stranger ones are coming from a place of deep grief and disbelief. In time, when we understand more about why he died I think (hope) that acceptance and logic will prevail. Thank you for being so kind in your reply ... I was worried I might have been a little harsh myself.

You were not harsh at all. Just thank you for being kind, just thank you.