It saddens me tremendously to think that Prince was suffering emotionally or physically all of these years. It pains me even more to think that the so called "drug dealer" who provided the story to the Daily Mail said days after Prince passed it was Fentanyl he was providing him with for years. Now the cause of death names the same drug. But I never in a million years would have thought Prince suffered from trememdous stage fright as this guy alleges. Said he was afraid of going on stage. Maybe I am naive but it seems to me Prince LOVED to entertain us, so why would he suffer from stage fright if that was the case? I just can't envision him being scared to go on stage.

All I saw was "Daily Mail" and stopped reading.

Stage fright my Prince was da boss everytime he hit the stage.

suomynona said:

All I saw was "Daily Mail" and stopped reading.

Exactly. You read read trash, and believe trash, then your reward is trash.

It's completely possible that he had stage fright. Even Streisand suffered from stage fright so bad even after being an experienced veteran of the stage that she couldn't perform in public for years. She eventually overcame the fear with therapy and medication but it took a lot of work.

mailaccount63 said:

Dick Clark said that Prince was THE hardest person he had ever interviewed. It's on YouTube. On YouTube you can see the interview between Dick Clark and Prince. Prince was so shy that when Dick Clark asked Prince how old he was, for some reason Prince said 19 (Prince was actually 21.) When Dick Clark asked Prince how many instruments he played, Prince was so overcome with stage fright that he could only blurt out: "thousands". 1979 American Bandstand [Edited 6/3/16 21:01pm]

mailaccount63 said:

Dick Clark said that Prince was THE hardest person he had ever interviewed. It's on YouTube. [snip]

Yes, we know, We also know that was 1979. He was 21. Anyone would be nervous.

We're talking about an article in 2016, and 38 years of performing.

He didn't suffer from stage fright not after the first couple of years of performing.

This is the allegation of a drug dealer. The question that has yet to be asked is why this so-called drug dealer who supposedly procured drugs for Prince would go public at all about not only Prince's alleged stage fright but for dealing him prescription drugs? Stage fright is normal for any performance artist but Prince could have retired from giving concerts if he truly suffered anxiety before going onstage. He did countless aftershows to truly be crippled by stage fright. Also, Daily Mail is a tabloid rag that is like the National Enquirer. The same trash that reported that Prince slept with Boy George and also that Prince had AIDS. Neither the drug dealer or Daily Mail are credible sources.

TrivialPursuit said:

mailaccount63 said:

Dick Clark said that Prince was THE hardest person he had ever interviewed. It's on YouTube. [snip]

Yes, we know, We also know that was 1979. He was 21. Anyone would be nervous.

We're talking about an article in 2016, and 38 years of performing.

He didn't suffer from stage fright not after the first couple of years of performing.

In one of the interviews I saw a band mate mentioned that Prince said that would never happen to him again. So I think this was something that he worked hard to overcome without drugs

Someone else mentioned in a different thread that performing concerts and going on tour may have been part of a contractual back in the day, but not later on following the mid-90s, and besides - all those after-shows, entirely through choice.

.

I realise that some could argue that the drug gave him the ability to do all the aftershows, but I personally feel that's bullshit.

.

And yes, The Daily Mail is a complete rag who have paid a drug-dealer to dish out a story. Yes, a drug dealer. Like, the essence of integrity. Fuck him, and fuck the Daily Mail.

.

jdcxc said:

mailaccount63 said:

I think he did suffer tremendously from stage fright, but eventually outgrew it. You can tell from the early tv shows and interviews he did. The awards acceptance throughout the PR era he was always very self conscious and shy looking. I believe that's partr of the reason he stopped giving interviews, not only he was not comfortable but also he worried about being made a fool of somehow, being put in the spot with a jockingly comment or whatever.

I think this is also quite evident in many other interviews and awards he did. He seemed to be uncomfortable in some of them.

But how did he overcome it? With sheer determination and encourgement or with the help of pharmaceuticals?

I would like to hear from those who performed with him throughout the years. Who shared the dressing room with him. Those would be credible sources. Not a drug dealer.

But of course, no one is talking. Van just keeps tweeting little messages referring to more people need to talk, but he isn't talking either.

Wow, I am very surprised that so many accept what is spoon fed to them from ultra shady sources at face value. Not talking about just this thread in particular, but most of them since April 21st. Stop letting other people do your thinking for you folks.

The question really is why would anyone who follows Prince believe this? The notion is ridiculous, any stage fright he had ended with the 70's.

If an article came out saying that Prince was never on stage at all, and that it was his stunt double the entire time, due to his overwhelming fear of performing, why do I feel like there would be threads about it with folks wondering how he pulled that off. Sounds ridiculous right? Or is it only ridiculous until it shows up in some seedy news article?

Anyone who entertains this for a second knows nothing about Prince, he lived to be on stage and was most comfortable on stage.

[Edited 6/4/16 5:09am]

Prince had no stage fright. The stage was where he was most happy performing for his fans.

[Edited 6/4/16 5:12am]

mailaccount63 said:

Dick Clark said that Prince was THE hardest person he had ever interviewed. It's on YouTube. On YouTube you can see the interview between Dick Clark and Prince. Prince was so shy that when Dick Clark asked Prince how old he was, for some reason Prince said 19 (Prince was actually 21.) When Dick Clark asked Prince how many instruments he played, Prince was so overcome with stage fright that he could only blurt out: "thousands". 1979 American Bandstand [Edited 6/3/16 21:01pm]

.

Yes and that was 1979. Of course he was probably nervous his first few shows, but that's now we are talking about here.

.

And the reason he said his age was two years less was because that is the strategy that WB put out there to make him seem like more of a young prodigy That lie was told many times the first couple of years of his career.

[Edited 6/4/16 5:20am]

I can't see any signs that Prince was under the influence of anything during any interview before or after performances. Generally, he would go from being his normal exhibitionist self on stage to the normal quietly spoken and thoughtful (definitely not appearing to be high) individual as soon as a stranger with a camera/microphone started talking to him. I would be very suprised if he ever let drugs affect his performance.

xRachx said:

Why would any drug dealer come forward and incriminate themselves? If there was a fibre of truth in what he's saying wouldn't he be helping the police/DEA with their investigation if he wanted to dob himself in so much? And anyone could see Prince loved being on stage.

Exactly, they would not come forward to incriminate themselves, they would be as silent as the vacuum of space. I honestly don't think that drug dealer even really exists, which begs the question, what was the real agenda behind that article?

[Edited 6/4/16 8:58am]

leadline said:

Wow, I am very surprised that so many accept what is spoon fed to them from ultra shady sources at face value. Not talking about just this thread in particular, but most of them since April 21st. Stop letting other people do your thinking for you folks.

The question really is why would anyone who follows Prince believe this? The notion is ridiculous, any stage fright he had ended with the 70's.

If an article came out saying that Prince was never on stage at all, and that it was his stunt double the entire time, due to his overwhelming fear of performing, why do I feel like there would be threads about it with folks wondering how he pulled that off. Sounds ridiculous right? Or is it only ridiculous until it shows up in some seedy news article?

Anyone who entertains this for a second knows nothing about Prince, he lived to be on stage and was most comfortable on stage.

[Edited 6/4/16 5:09am]

I'm thinking for myself, thanks. He did seem to suffer form stage fright on early interviews. At the time I really thought he had stopped doing interviews in the 80s because he felt umconfortable. You have no idea how some really known actors suffer from stage fright. I work in the business and I know actors who do amazing performances but as soon as they have to give interviews they became really self conscious and uncomfortable. That's what I'm talking about. Any fool can see that Prince was the most comfortable on stage PERFORMING, that's not what I'm refering to. I'm refering to all eyes on him while he speaks. Transmits whatever is on his mind. That's why you started seeing more of it in later years, he was becoming more and more comfortable with it. Obviously. I think the fact that he worried so much with his image and coming across as "perfect" has a lot to do with it.

avajane said:

Goddess4Real said:

Stage fright my Prince was da boss everytime he hit the stage.

Sorry but I believe it. Even if he's Prince. If you can't let go onstage and feel an injury or pain issues are stopping you from giving your fullest, you get hard on yourself for it and I can see how it leads to stage fright. Maybe the problem was nobody would have listened to that idea if it was true.

[Edited 6/4/16 8:27am]

could it be possible, the whole stage fright excuse was something Prince told the Drug Dealer... even if it wasnt true..not saying the drug dealer is a good witness, but when he first made those claims, no one had even mentioned or connected Fentanyl to Prince...now the autopsy says Fentanyl...that dude knew something...not saying his whole story about stage fright and whatnot is true, but he snitched about the Fentanyl, and the autopsy corroborated that specific drug...

RJOrion said:

could it be possible, the whole stage fright excuse was something Prince told the Drug Dealer... even if it wasnt true..not saying the drug dealer is a good witness, but when he first made those claims, no one had even mentioned or connected Fentanyl to Prince...now the autopsy says Fentanyl...that dude knew something...not saying his whole story about stage fright and whatnot is true, but he snitched about the Fentanyl, and the autopsy corroborated that specific drug...

Who is to say the drug dealer is even real? Why would a drug dealer bring attention to himself?