As I was sharing with folks on another thread; way, way back in time I used to go and listen outside of the St. Louis Park warehouse that Prince, Morris, etc., used to jam at getting ready for Purple Rain.

Growing up in St. Louis Park/Minneapolis, Princely encouters were not uncommon for me and other folks I knew.

Used to see him out at many bars.

When I worked as a video editor I worked the booth he was at and it still had his Oil of Olay! Being an editor there were several Princely stories - but I never saw him in the booth.

I actually worked for the infamous Chris Moon for a short time.

I was working at the Knollwood Theatre opening night of Cherry Moon and he as there; secretly escorted in with his entourage; it was probably the only showing were people wildly applauded at the end; word quickly spread throughout the audience.

My good friend's wife took his photo and stuff at the Chanhassen DMV. She said he as " very nice."

Being at Paisly for the "Gold" shoot.

Being from the area there are truly more "stories" than I can remember. I KNOW there's a ton of good ones I'll remember later.

How about y'all?

Obviously MN folks have plenty to share.

???

[Edited 5/4/17 12:32pm]

Great idea for a thread. I hope other folks share their stories.

purplethunder3121 said:

Great idea for a thread. I hope other folks share their stories.

Thanks! Let's get some encounters in here?

I mean, damn, how about him going to Rudolph's for ribs? I knew he did that back in the day. Forgot if I ever saw him there though myself? Or out at the strip clubs? I knew from many a girl that he did that. MN folks could write a book. Hey there's a book idea?! "Encounters With Prince."

[Edited 5/4/17 17:27pm]

BillieBalloon said:

Prince sold an antique clock he had picked up on his travels on Ebay. I had no idea he was on Ebay untill the parcel came from Mr P. Nelson, Chanhassen. He had good seller feedback and thats why i bought it. His other itemss were, a set of silver cutlery and a crystal vase. Ok, im kidding.

And you had me going there for a minute!

my best friend coulda swore he saw him in the beacon hill area of seattle in the 90's, asked my friend where he could find Jimi Hendrix's grave, he said Prince kept turning around and smirking at him when he walked away. I don't think it was Prince, there are no shortage of wierdo's in seattle.

PeteSilas said:

my best friend coulda swore he saw him in the beacon hill area of seattle in the 90's, asked my friend where he could find Jimi Hendrix's grave, he said Prince kept turning around and smirking at him when he walked away. I don't think it was Prince, there are no shortage of wierdo's in seattle.

Yeah, I wouldn't give too much weight to that story; sounds more like wishful thinking/fantasy.

he did do wierd shit though, there was a story on here that prince posed as a homeless guy and sat on a highway, some trucker gave him food and he got the license and tracked the guy down and had him invited to paisley park. elvis did wierd shit like that, he had honorary police badges, he'd stop people who were speeding, imagine getting stopped by Elvis.

PeteSilas said:

he did do wierd shit though, there was a story on here that prince posed as a homeless guy and sat on a highway, some trucker gave him food and he got the license and tracked the guy down and had him invited to paisley park. elvis did wierd shit like that, he had honorary police badges, he'd stop people who were speeding, imagine getting stopped by Elvis.

That sounds like a Howard Hughes story.

bsprout said:

sro100: Cool stories. It's nice that you have those memories. Chris Moon sounds like a real character from what I've read. He sure played an important role in Prince's early career. I don't have any stories to share but I'll enjoy reading others' stories of Prince encounters...

Thanks. At the time, I was working in Chris Moon's home, he had the Soft and Wet gold record there. I didn't work for him for more than a week or 2.

Funny somewhat ironic story here:

While I was working for Moon as kind-of a corporate director/editor sort of thing, Prince was going to play at Glam Slam in support of the Symbol album.

I was getting ready to go to the show and my phone rang.

It was Chris' partner in the biz, some woman whose name I forget.

She told me that I HAD to go to Wisconsin immediately and make an industrial at a chicken-slaughtering wareshouse or lose my job.

So instead of going to see Prince I had to haul out, with a videographer, to go film at the slaughterhouse all night long.

Missed the Prince show because I picked up the damn phone.

The irony is that I got fired from that gig right after that; she didn't like my shots.

I gave up the damn show and got fired for it!!

[Edited 5/4/17 17:57pm]

[Edited 5/4/17 17:58pm]

Great thread.

'Never meet your idols' is a true thing.

He even didn't seem that short to me (I'm tall) but yes a big head compared to body size, and the legendary good smell must have escaped me as well (he used some good parfume but nothing what many other mature people dressed up for an evening couldn't achieve)
He's not of many words indeed, and the jokes are mostly to cover that up (but that's me as well, lol)
What did put me off though were the infantil shoes...
Oh, and he liked women even more than you'll know.
But since than, a God became a mortal.
End of the story. No Q's asked.

we were in a bathroom using it at the same time once.

@ P.P.

[Edited 5/5/17 4:04am]

TheFman said:

sro100 said:

soladeo1 said:

bsprout said:

sro100 said:

Thanks. At the time, I was working in Chris Moon's home, he had the Soft and Wet gold record there. I didn't work for him for more than a week or 2.

Funny somewhat ironic story here:

While I was working for Moon as kind-of a corporate director/editor sort of thing, Prince was going to play at Glam Slam in support of the Symbol album.

I was getting ready to go to the show and my phone rang.

It was Chris' partner in the biz, some woman whose name I forget.

She told me that I HAD to go to Wisconsin immediately and make an industrial at a chicken-slaughtering wareshouse or lose my job.

So instead of going to see Prince I had to haul out, with a videographer, to go film at the slaughterhouse all night long.

Missed the Prince show because I picked up the damn phone.

The irony is that I got fired from that gig right after that; she didn't like my shots.

I gave up the damn show and got fired for it!!

[Edited 5/4/17 17:57pm]

[Edited 5/4/17 17:58pm]

Oh, no! Hopefully you got to see him perform another time, at least.

Many, many times.

laytonian said:

MMJas said:

Great thread.

Thanks! Hopefully more people will contribute.

I am a cameraman and once I got to work at the 3121 House...I was alone on the patio when I saw a someone coming outside and when I got a better look it was Prince walking outside..He was drinking tea and gave me a polite head nod and walked into the room set up for a jam later that evening....I will never forget the rehearsal...just me and 10 other people for over an hour of Prince jaming...the best part was I got the job becasue my friend knew I was such a huge Prince fan and turned down the job so I could do it.

He was so cool and knew his camera stuff...

there was NO "dont look him in the eye or talk to him" bullshit

sirweasel said:

I am a cameraman and once I got to work at the 3121 House...I was alone on the patio when I saw a someone coming outside and when I got a better look it was Prince walking outside..He was drinking tea and gave me a polite head nod and walked into the room set up for a jam later that evening....I will never forget the rehearsal...just me and 10 other people for over an hour of Prince jaming...the best part was I got the job becasue my friend knew I was such a huge Prince fan and turned down the job so I could do it.

He was so cool and knew his camera stuff...

there was NO "dont look him in the eye or talk to him" bullshit

sro100 said:

Obviously MN folks have plenty to share.

Yeah and here Europe too

My deaf niece swears she saw him in a McDonalds in downtown Seattle around that time period so it might be true. She said he said (signed) 'Hi.' to her and smiled. She decribed what he was wearing, etc. She tells me this story every once in a while and I always was pessimisstic but maybe now I'm not sure.

PeteSilas said:

my best friend coulda swore he saw him in the beacon hill area of seattle in the 90's, asked my friend where he could find Jimi Hendrix's grave, he said Prince kept turning around and smirking at him when he walked away. I don't think it was Prince, there are no shortage of wierdo's in seattle.

sro100 said:

sro100 said:

Celebration 2000, a friend and I were talking with a security guard in the large concert room when we hear this, "Ahem!" from across the room. We turn and see Prince standing on the other side of the room, tapping his foot, and looking at the security guard. He seemed to be saying, "I'm over here."

benni said:

Celebration 2000, a friend and I were talking with a security guard in the large concert room when we hear this, "Ahem!" from across the room. We turn and see Prince standing on the other side of the room, tapping his foot, and looking at the security guard. He seemed to be saying, "I'm over here."

Hahaha did he think you were planning to kidnap him or something? Sheesh.

kingricefan said:

My deaf niece swears she saw him in a McDonalds in downtown Seattle around that time period so it might be true. She said he said (signed) 'Hi.' to her and smiled. She decribed what he was wearing, etc. She tells me this story every once in a while and I always was pessimisstic but maybe now I'm not sure.

PeteSilas said:

my best friend coulda swore he saw him in the beacon hill area of seattle in the 90's, asked my friend where he could find Jimi Hendrix's grave, he said Prince kept turning around and smirking at him when he walked away. I don't think it was Prince, there are no shortage of wierdo's in seattle.

really? well anything's possible, I always doubted my friends story though. Prince was paranoid by most accounts, how many times was he seen walking around alone? Especially earlier in his career. It sounds like he got a lot more lax regarding that stuff in his final years. I did see a vid of P walking through an airport with some asshole following him around, it doesn't look like a fun way to live that much I can tell you.