CherryMoon57 said:

rocknrolldave said:

CherryMoon57 said:

As a dancer, I have never been scared onstage (quite the opposite), but I have always suffered from mortifying stagefright BEFORE going onstage. I am not sure why but I never got rid of it even after so many years. Not to mention the time it was Prince who called me to the stage, I nearly passed out beforehand and could barely climb those stairs. And if he and the security man hadn't insisted I would have never done it. I can very easily imagine what Prince could have gone through before each of these big gigs, and even though he seemed happy once performing, it is not impossible that he could have had some form of nervousness or anxiety before the shows started, especially being the perfectionist that he was (i.e. the fear that something might go wrong). I actually recall very well the expression he had on his face whilst being backstage before starting one of the aftershows in London in 2007 (my elbows were on the stage and by turning my head to the left, I was sort of facing him), I remember how very nervous he had looked. Then I smiled at him and he had immediately seemed a bit more relaxed and then came forward to start the show.

this totally makes sense to me. I play in a wedding band and suffer from anxiety before the show, almost always finding it dissipates once the show gets under way. Doesn't stop me wanting to be in the band, but it does make the day of the show a bit anxious before we get going. I think most big name artists feel the same, I think their natural confidence onstage, plus a healthy dose of bluffing it until they feel comfortable, blinds us to this.

Thank you for your comments on this. It's cool that you play in a band (what instrument do you play?). You are right when you talk about bluffing it on stage. I used to do a lot of ballet shows when I was young and due to wearing pointe shoes my feet were often bleeding and I was in agony but just kept on smiling and dancing... the tears were kept for later! People watching probably thought we were having a lot of fun, we enjoyed it but it certainly wasn't all fun!

CherryMoon57 said:

rocknrolldave said:

CherryMoon57 said: this totally makes sense to me. I play in a wedding band and suffer from anxiety before the show, almost always finding it dissipates once the show gets under way. Doesn't stop me wanting to be in the band, but it does make the day of the show a bit anxious before we get going. I think most big name artists feel the same, I think their natural confidence onstage, plus a healthy dose of bluffing it until they feel comfortable, blinds us to this.

Thank you for your comments on this. It's cool that you play in a band (what instrument do you play?). You are right when you talk about bluffing it on stage. I used to do a lot of ballet shows when I was young and due to wearing pointe shoes my feet were often bleeding and I was in agony but just kept on smiling and dancing... the tears were kept for later! People watching probably thought we were having a lot of fun, we enjoyed it but it certainly wasn't all fun!

Wow thanks Cherry for your insight into performing on stage, really makes me think maybe Prince did have some sort of stage fright now. Sorry you went through pain performing. Am really learning more what people can go through performing on stage and in front of an audience.

Guitarhero said:

CherryMoon57 said:

Thank you for your comments on this. It's cool that you play in a band (what instrument do you play?). You are right when you talk about bluffing it on stage. I used to do a lot of ballet shows when I was young and due to wearing pointe shoes my feet were often bleeding and I was in agony but just kept on smiling and dancing... the tears were kept for later! People watching probably thought we were having a lot of fun, we enjoyed it but it certainly wasn't all fun!

Wow thanks Cherry for your insight into performing on stage, really makes me think maybe Prince did have some sort of stage fright now. Sorry you went through pain performing. Am really learning more what people can go through performing on stage and in front of an audience.

Thankfully these days are long gone, I then moved on to doing modern jazz and my feet have since returned to their normal shape It's not easy guessing how Prince was feeling though, but I'd prefer to think that he had more fun than pain overall.

[Edited 6/5/16 17:37pm]

He clearly had stage fright when not performing. It is clear when he is accepting or giving awards. Also, the disaapearance after performances. He's clearly in his element during performances but before and after he shows a lot of uneasiness. Many have claimed him to be acting like an ass but it looks more like shyness and a way out of that. So yeah, I can see that in this context.

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 am not believing anything TMZ, daily mail etc.

leadline said:

rightbluecheek said:

Could be that he suffered from that, many performers do. I remember watching the Lovesexy concert that was aired on tv, and thinking, at the very beginning when he enters the stage, that he looked terrified...it seemed like his legs were trembling. I remember thinking: well, he is human, after all, this whole thing is being aired and he wants everything to be perfect, as usual. Before that, I never thought he might be afraid of getting onstage.

a lovesexy concert was aired? in america???

PeteSilas said:

PeteSilas said:

rightbluecheek said:

Could be that he suffered from that, many performers do. I remember watching the Lovesexy concert that was aired on tv, and thinking, at the very beginning when he enters the stage, that he looked terrified...it seemed like his legs were trembling. I remember thinking: well, he is human, after all, this whole thing is being aired and he wants everything to be perfect, as usual. Before that, I never thought he might be afraid of getting onstage.

a lovesexy concert was aired? in america???

It was aired in Portugal aswell. Both parts. Day time tv. No shit.

MMJas said:

So many people who knew him and/or worked with/for him are coming out and saying he never abused any drugs. Have his ex-wives said anything like that? They held a memorial, talk about how great he was but I haven't heard them say he didn't abuse drugs.

PeteSilas said:

suomynona said:

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

I didn't learn about Prince's stage fright from the Daily Mail. I have never read the Daily Mail - never accessed it.

rightbluecheek said:

MMJas said:

It was aired in Portugal aswell. Both parts. Day time tv. No shit.

Apparently it was not aired in the US nor in Japan.

ok, it must be the one that we see all the time as a bootleg.

fmarasco said:

He clearly had stage fright when not performing. It is clear when he is accepting or giving awards. Also, the disaapearance after performances. He's clearly in his element during performances but before and after he shows a lot of uneasiness. Many have claimed him to be acting like an ass but it looks more like shyness and a way out of that. So yeah, I can see that in this context.

I think he even says at the end of the 'Parade warm-up show 1986' something like "you know I get jittery so the love you [the audience] gives me really means a lot."

he got jittery like a man about to make love to a fine woman, I don't believe the stage fright stories, at least not all the drama you guys are putting up here.

PeteSilas said:

Prince was born to perform. He had his father's genes He probably felt some nervousness when he 1st started as a kid but if you've ever seen him onstage you would know, he owned it!

Prince was very shy and I believe he could have stage fright in the beginning of his career, but he overcame it.

My question is: IF Prince had such a bad stage fright, why would he go to the stage so many times not because of money? Prince did several performances as a guest, on trips, aftershows....if he had panic, he would avoid these situations at any cost and only perform on the times he earned lots of money for it.

GustavoRibas said:

Prince was very shy and I believe he could have stage fright in the beginning of his career, but he overcame it.

My question is: IF Prince had such a bad stage fright, why would he go to the stage so many times not because of money? Prince did several performances as a guest, on trips, aftershows....if he had panic, he would avoid these situations at any cost and only perform on the times he earned lots of money for it.

He did not have stage fright, nor was he shy, he was reserved in early interviews depeneding on the interviewer, he was at times visibly nervous when speaking in public, ie: AMA 95, but to say he was afraid to take the stage, or neverous once he did, and then needed to medicate as a result is ridiculous. That whole artice and the drug dealer is pure fiction imo, but it is astounding how easy it is to make folks believe stuff like this. Create a work of fiction in the mainstream media and bam, mission accomplished. Anyone who entertains this notion for even a moment, especially folks who have been fans for years/decades, are not thinking clearly. Come you guys, you are smarter than this.

Gustavo you answered your own question there in the second part, which is, he wouldn't do any of those things if this were true.

[Edited 6/9/16 10:01am]

GoldStandard said:

Every musician knows that if you're confident in your abilities then you simply don't get nervous on stage. It's one place where you're most comfortable.

Really? You've talked to every musician?

leadline said:

He did not have stage fright, nor was he shy

There's been countless people who knew him personally or interacted with him and they have publicly stated he was very shy. Maybe not shy in every situation, but in many.

And plenty of performers drink alcohol or use something to relax and put them in "performance mode" for shows.

Meh, I think it's entirely possibe that he did have stage fright -- mostly if he had to talk, not sing. He didn't strike me as a person who really liked to talk to hundreds of random people. Remember how you could barely hear him for most award shows, right up to the lat few years when he'd actually speak loud enough to be heard? Well, okay, loud for him wasn't very loud in the grand scheme of thing, but it was more than a whisper.