In August 2007, Prince began the first of 21 sellout nights at London’s 02 arena, a record-breaking run of sexy, swaggering, intensely purple shows that have gone down in the annals of musical history.
It seems fitting that the first exhibition celebrating the life, music and wardrobe of the singer who died in April last year is being held in the very same London venue.
The show, My Name Is Prince, showcases hundreds of items from Paisley Park, the compound that the performer built in Minnesota where he lived, recorded music and played live shows. The exhibition is set against a deep purple backdrop throughout – the colour most famously associated with Prince Rogers Nelson. It takes viewers through the various transformations – and accompanying outfits – that characterised his ever-evolving style, from the 1980s Purple Rain phase, through to Sign of the Times, his Lovesexy and Dirty Minds tours, Third Eye Girl and many more.
Prince was one of the most successful and celebrated artists of his generation, selling more than 100 million records worldwide.
Prince’s sister Tyka Nelson, who was involved in shaping the show, said the exhibition gave his fans a space to both celebrate the singer and to say goodbye. Prince was found dead in the elevator of Paisley Park last year after an overdose of the addictive painkiller fentanyl.
“I think he would have liked this show because it’s Paisley scaled down, like a doll’s house of Prince’s world,” said Nelson. “It has been emotional, it was extremely hard yesterday to see it all here but today it just feels kind of fun, the music’s going, it feels like a celebration.”
Speaking about Prince’s legacy, Nelson said: “The Prince I knew was different from Prince the performer. To me he was always just a little kid up there doing what he always did since we were little at home, playing music with Mum and Daddy, no different.
“But he just always did his own thing and he encouraged me, other people, all of his friends, all of the world to be themselves. Black, white, skinny, fat, tall, thin, he wanted everyone to have that I-don’t-care attitude, if you like it then I like it.
“I think he got that from my mother,” she added. “She would paint and we’d come in and ask, ‘what the heck is that?’ and she’d go, ‘it’s an abstract,’ because that was her interpretation of it and she felt that was as legitimate as anything.”
The centrepiece of the show is a stage shaped like the distinctive Love symbol, which he decided to change his name to in 1993 – becoming known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince for the next seven years.
Some of his most famous outfits, including those he wore in his O2 arena shows are displayed on the stage in all their opulent, sequinned glory, as well as footage from his tours.
Also featured in the exhibition, which took a year to curate, are pages where he pencilled the lyrics to songs such as Erotic City, the Third Eye sunglasses from 2014, and a diamond-studded cane and waistcoat. Prince had already done much to preserve his own legacy, with Paisley Park serving as a living monument to his endless creativity.
Nelson’s last words to Prince were three days before he died when he called her up to ask her to produce some tracks. She described how difficult it had been to walk back into Paisley Park in April last year “and realise that my brother wasn’t there. Every time I go back it still feels like he’s in there,” she added.
“It almost feels like he’ll come round the corner any time. You go to get a chip and you feel like he’s gonna sneak up behind you and snatch it out of your hand, like he’d always do.”
Nelson said she and her brother had very similar styles, so she loved almost all the outfits on display in the exhibition – with just two exceptions. “I did not like the bikini underwear,” she said. “If I saw him in those I’d always be like, ‘eurgh, please put some clothes on’ and the other was those pants with the holes over the butt. If it’s your brother you don’t want to see him half-naked.”
Nelson laughs and adds: “I never understood how everyone talked about him as this sex icon.”
Prince did not leave a will and after he died dozens of people came forward attempting to make a claim on his multimillion-dollar estate, claiming to be long-lost wives, children and siblings. None has been successful, and it was finally ruled in May the Prince estate would be split between his sister Tyka and his five half-siblings Sharon Nelson, Norrine Nelson, John Nelson, Omarr Baker and Alfred Jackson.
“It’s been so wonderful that we’ve got all of those people out of the way,” she said. “The difficult part is over, it’s done.”
- My Name Is Prince is at the O2 until 7 January
