Lately on this board, it seems that people have implied and even flat out stated that Prince had no real friends. People have also implied that people may have wanted Prince dead or just didn't care. Some thoughts.

1.) Define friends.

Friends come in different degrees. Some friends are closer than others. And friends, unlike family, are less likely to be in your life constantly. How many of us are always on close or friendly terms with our friends? How many of our friends mooch off of us sometimes or take advantage but are still at the same time fond of us? Friendships fade through circumstances and from life paths that go in different directions. Friendships are not perfect even in the most ideal or least complicated situations. Add into the mix money, a competitive musical industry, and the emotional insecurity of being an artist. Yes, Prince had friends. Maybe, he needed closer friends or more tough love from those friends. But he had them. Prince was too fun and talented of a guy to be around to be just used for his money and status...even if he was a moody little shit sometimes. What he lacked was real family (a substitute family of musicians is nice but not the same thing). Kids give long term mostly unconditional love.

2.) What is someone's best interest? Little story to illustrate my point. My 57 year old uncle used to be a long-time surfer and motorbike enthusiast. And his body is a mess and he can't sleep as a result. And he is avoiding most pain medication because he is afraid of an addiction and being loopy. He has been told by a doctor that he will have chronic pain for the rest of his life. Discovering all this about my uncle (he lives on the west coast so we see him every couple of years) gave me a serious bout of mixed feelings. I do fear the drugs but I also think quality of life matters and that doing what you love matters. So maybe he should just take them and not worry about addiction.

BACK TO PRINCE--maybe, his friends and family cared more about his quality of life than the length of his life. Maybe, they couldn't stand to watch him physically suffer but were not hip to the fact the chronic pain sufferers may have other alternatives. Its not like P was a somewhat youthful Elvis Presley dying of drugs and overeating in a completely pointless way. Prince was physically suffering , it would be almost cruel to tell him to just grin and bear it or give up what he loved. Prince was a lot of people's meal tickets but even with meal tickets you don't necessarily take a neutral stance on their self-destruction (after all, they can't be your meal ticket if they are dead.) Prince's situation was complicated and specific and even if he wasn't a rich musician enabled by synchophants (which ones qualify as synchophants and to what degree--I don't know), the people around him may have just said "fuck it. the dude hurts. I don't wanna to see him go but I can not ask him to just retire and sit around in physical pain."

3.) Which friends of his were not musicians or employees? And where is line between employee and friend exist?

[Edited 11/1/16 4:21am]

[Edited 11/1/16 20:27pm]

[Edited 11/1/16 20:30pm]

[Edited 11/1/16 20:43pm]

"Friend" definition: a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

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He had Loyal People around him..you get what you give

he gave more than most.....

and friends...?

you only really need to make a good friend out of yourself

but thats something that takes lifetimes to understand

PS...I do think Prince had great friends through his life, and I bet we don't even know about some of them. I just posted that song because it's such a great flashback to "Batdance" times.

I would have to say that Andre was his real friend for life.

ufoclub said:

rogifan said:

when we talk about "real friends" how does one define that?

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See Reply #1 in this thread

Please go away unless you are being serious.

Not directed so much to you, but to anyone reading who thinks I might be too defensive of P.

Prince was no saint. But humanizing him is not the same thing as degrading him. I have seen people on here (not so much lately) write a list of his flaws (some real, some imagined) and then state that they are just trying to prove that he was "human" to those who want to sanctify him. Who the hell sanctified him on here? Only seeing the bad or unfeeling in someone is not finding their humanity. It is dehumanizing them. Most humans are a mixed bag, not just a bag of sharp jagged edges. Assuming that Prince was a human being capable of every human feeling there is is not sanctifying. friendships and romances can be fleeting, but that doesn't mean they are not real friendships and romances.

CAL3 said:

rogifan said:

when we talk about "real friends" how does one define that?

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See Reply #1 in this thread

Exactly my point. there isn't one kind of friend. And people show their love in different ways.

rogifan said:

How would a random fan on the internet, even one that's been a fan since forever, really know who was closest to Prince? And when we talk about "real friends" how does one define that?

sonshine said:

I think he had lots of friends, lots of great friends. I also think they were as "close" to him as he allowed them to be. But I have no doubt in my mind that he had a long list of people he could count on to call upon who would be there for him without hesitation if that's what he wanted or needed.

I think he had great friends. In a musician's life they travel all the time and are always hustling to make a living from their craft, and I think Prince was isolated from the people who knew and loved him unconditionally, people such as Andre Cymone, because they lived in other states.

I used to worry thinking about P. in the latter years, thinking he was starting to wind down sorta and I knew his life would change to the point where the people he'd been closest to wouldn't be living nowhere near MN. Asking myself if he would become bored with MN and PP in his golden years. I understand he had a home in L.A. but Prince wanted MN for life.

It seems most of the people surrounding him in MN were his band members and associates who worked for him and they shared a bond musically, which doesn't necessarily lead to trusting friendship. But, I think his echelon of real and true friends lived far, far away from MN.

Sorry, you think his only real friends were the people from the 70's and 80's. Weren't they musicians as well? Even long distance friends are friends..are they not?

PRNluv2 said:

sonshine said:

I think he had lots of friends, lots of great friends. I also think they were as "close" to him as he allowed them to be. But I have no doubt in my mind that he had a long list of people he could count on to call upon who would be there for him without hesitation if that's what he wanted or needed.

I think he had great friends. In a musician's life they travel all the time and are always hustling to make a living from their craft, and I think Prince was isolated from the people who knew and loved him unconditionally, people such as Andre Cymone, because they lived in other states.

I used to worry thinking about P. in the latter years, thinking he was starting to wind down sorta and I knew his life would change to the point where the people he'd been closest to wouldn't be living nowhere near MN. Asking myself if he would become bored with MN and PP in his golden years. I understand he had a home in L.A. but Prince wanted MN for life.

It seems most of the people surrounding him in MN were his band members and associates who worked for him and they shared a bond musically, which doesn't necessarily lead to trusting friendship. But, I think his echelon of real and true friends lived far, far away from MN.

I do think he tended to surround himself with enablers and worshippers. He might have called that friendship, I wouldn't, but he lived a very different life to 99.9% of the world so i'm not really in a position to judge. He seems to have had a lot of friends on his payroll, which is going to change the power dynamics of any friendship.

Ultimately, from the outside looking in he seems to have put his music before any and all friendships right up until maybe his last few years. I kind of feel we'll never know for sure and I almost want it to stay that way.

I have no time for conspiracy theories about people trying to kill him.

Obviously, we don't always know what we need or are brave enough to ask for it. Do you ever get the impression (from hints dropped by P) that he did want to re-establish closer bonds but didn't know how to? "In this Bed I scream" lyrics seem to suggest that.

Its like music and performance were his modes of communication. Maybe, his old friends should have listened to his later music a bit more when they were thinking or wondering about him.

sonshine said:

I think he had lots of friends, lots of great friends. I also think they were as "close" to him as he allowed them to be. But I have no doubt in my mind that he had a long list of people he could count on to call upon who would be there for him without hesitation if that's what he wanted or needed.

PRNluv2 said:

sonshine said:

Aren't you kind of judging those around him? I have no doubt there are enablers around him. What famous person doesn't have them? But we can't assume all of them are. Plus what about his musical peers like Madonna and Chaka Khan (okay, madonnia was only a part-time friend, but still). Are the only 'true' friends the ones you know have called him out publically? I do get your point about the friends on the payroll but Tamron Hall wasn't on his payroll or Spike Lee or his sister and I am sure there are more. The people on his payroll who may or may not be his friends to varying degrees are the only ones we will probably ever hear too much about because they are the ones who are ambitious enough to be in the public eye. I remember someone mentioning some lady and her kid from the Caribbean and that she called him every thursday. NOt sure if that one is true. There was some indication that P got along fine with Manuela's family when they were married. Prince being so private almost makes it impossible to know friends outside his employment or business because those friends would probably respect his privacy.

Prince being dead now, one would think more haters of his would have come forward. Maybe, they are still waiting to do so but people have been kind or quiet even though the meal ticket has been deceased for 6 1/2 months. (KNOCK ON WOOD)

jaawwnn said:

I do think he tended to surround himself with enablers and worshippers. He might have called that friendship, I wouldn't, but he lived a very different life to 99.9% of the world so i'm not really in a position to judge. He seems to have had a lot of friends on his payroll, which is going to change the power dynamics of any friendship.

Ultimately, from the outside looking in he seems to have put his music before any and all friendships right up until maybe his last few years. I kind of feel we'll never know for sure and I almost want it to stay that way.

I have no time for conspiracy theories about people trying to kill him.

[Edited 11/2/16 4:05am]

Well I mean, WTF kind of weird relationship did he have with Tamron Hall where she sent him photos of herself and he told her what to wear? I wonder what her now husband thought of it all...(in fairness, he was probably high fiving himself that he was with this woman over Prince)

But i'm kidding, I'm not actually judging, I don't know his life at all. His life was super private and he lived in a world of fame and money I can't even comprehend. Everyone who worked with him who has spoken out seems to ultimately have loved Prince, even if he was very difficult at times.

I hope he had people around him who could tell him to shut up without getting fired and escorted off the property, who could have a heated argument with him and still be friends with him. But that's my values on friendship, not his.

He lived in a bubble, but it was a bubble of his own making. I'd say he had friends, however he defined it.

NinaB said:

ufoclub said:

PS...I do think Prince had great friends through his life, and I bet we don't even know about some of them.

Agreed.

indeed