Prince 2.15 1980 © Deborah Feingold

Prince 1980 © Deborah Feingold

Back In 1980, NYC offered two alternative weeklies for those who needed to be in the know: the Village Voice and the Soho Weekly News. I was shooting for both back then and this assignment came from SWN. The shoot was at the Bottom Line, a club in Greenwich Village famous for showcasing new artists. The subject that night was then known as… Prince. My photo editor instructed me to shoot the usual concert shots but also asked that I wrangle a backstage portrait. Usually the editors handled that part of the assignment logistics but not this time. The concert stuff was easy for me, but having to talk my way backstage … not so easy for this shy girl.

There was a lot of noise about this mysterious young musician from Minneapolis, so I showed up early and waited by his dressing room door. After fifteen minutes of light door knocking, a large man opened the door. I looked up at him as he looked down at me; neither of us spoke. Then I heard a weird, high-pitched sound come out of me, asking to take a photo of Prince. His eyes never left my face as he shook his head no and shut the door. Privately relieved that I would only have to shoot the concert, I turned away just as the door reopened and an even larger man appeared. He introduced himself as Prince’s manager and told me, with words, that Prince did not do photo shoots. “Okay, just had to ask. Thank you.” I smiled and dashed off to jockey for position.

As the lights dimmed and the opening act walked onto the stage, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning around, I saw Prince’s manager signaling me to follow him. When we arrived at Prince’s dressing room, he smiled and said, “You were so damn polite, c’mon in and take some pictures.”

Ps. I’m not sure who was more shy that night. We shot for about a minute. I was extremely nervous as I struggled to engage him in the shoot. Not knowing what else to do, I handed him my camera and suggested that he take a picture, which he seemed happy and relieved to do! · Updated about a year ago · Taken at @ the Bottom Line NYC