July 1994 -Max Magazine

Cover & Feature

A MYSTERIOUS SYMBOL IS TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD. BEHIND IT IS A MUSICIAN NAMED PRINCE, WORSHIPPED AS A DEMI-GOD.

BY UWE KILLING PHOTOS ALFRED STEFFEN

A MYSTERIOUS SYMBOL IS TRAVELING AROUND THE WORLD. BEHIND IT IS A MUSICIAN NAMED PRINCE, WORSHIPPED AS A DEMI-GOD. THE CHANCES OF FIND OUT MORE ARE POOR. THE "HOWARD HUGHES OF POP" ANNOUNCED TEN YEARS AGO THAT HE WOULD NO LONGER GIVE INTERVIEWS. BUT EXCLUSIVELY FOR MAX, THE 36-YEAR-OLD BROKE HIS SILENCE TO TELL THE TRUTH ABOUT HIS NEW IDENTITY. IT WASN'T A NORMAL CONVERSATION, BUT MORE OF AN EXTRAORDINARY ENCOUNTER OF THE THIRD KIND IN MONACO. THAT ALSO APPLIES TO THE PHOTO SESSION - THE FIRST THAT THE MEDIA-SHY SUPERSTAR HAS GRANTED TO A MAGAZINE AFTER A LONG ABSENTITY.

The reception was a complete disaster. "Prince" was written in large, golden letters on the billboard. It lined the red entrance carpet at the height of a man in the "Hôtel de Paris", the venerable high-society palace right next to the Monte Carlo Casino.

He angrily turned his gaze away and disappeared into his suite. What a faux pas by the organizers of the "World Music Awards" to announce him under the name he had already given up. Even a respectful word of apology from Monaco was not enough. All posters had to be covered up. And a few hours later, a golden

about such earthly names as Ray Charles, Placido Domingo or Whitney Houston.

Such escapades increase the tension. The first meeting is to take place in the evening. Not unlike his predecessor Prince, the man with the now difficult-to-read graphic identity has already spread an aura of genius and madness without ever appearing visibly.

Prince Albert is also feeling the effects. The future Prince of Monaco, patron of the "World Music Awards" gala (at which the world's most successful pop artists are honored every early summer), is throwing a private party. The host and the Jeunesse dorée of the Principality are waiting patiently in the strictly cordoned-off yacht harbor club "Stars & Bars" for the attraction of the evening.

More than two hours are enough time. Normally that would be an insult to the majesty. But a crazy music prince can take that liberty.

Finally, the performance. Only a few guests notice how the figure, which is astonishingly boyish when seen up close, moves through the hall with dancing steps. Until he somehow appears. A short, polite handshake between the princes. The latecomer lets his new sceptre, crowned with a real gold crown, dangle casually from his left arm. "You really have a beautiful country," says the musician quietly. No one really knows: is that mischievous or clumsy? The constant glance at the floor definitely reveals nervous tension.

In front of the microphone, a few minutes later, the transformation. A little jack-in-the-box suddenly seems to be raging in each of his 158 centimetres tall bodies. And every note of his band The New Power Generation transforms the shy loner into an omnipotent libertine. He is just as cool as Prince. The surprising thing about this evening is more the sound. Hard and fiery like never before. New compositions such as "Come" or "Days Of Wild" are purified of the commercial soft soul touch of recent years, putting him back in the place he conquered as the wild teenager Prince Rogers Nelson as the only true black rock musician. In the tradition of Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone - and definitely light years away from his long-supposed rival Michael Jackson, the black Disney singer.

Prince Albert and his court initially bob along happily. After a nearly 15-minute bass-thundering funk rumble ("The Jam"), the first impatient calls come up: "Purple Rain, Purple Rain..." But he continues his performance with new material without playing a single one of his many mega-hits. Then he leaves the club pretty quickly, supposedly to work in his hotel suite in the mobile mini-studio.

"He has an incredible energy at the moment, which gives us all power," explains Carol Lee, the restless manager who has been working for his company Paisley Park for a year and a half. "He wants to give his fans, who mean everything to him,

"My fans should finally know the truth."

New Power Generation (v.l.n.r.): Tommy Barbarella, Sonny T., Michael B... Mayte, Mr. Hayes

interpret and tell the public something very important," she adds seriously. A real professional who is packing a different message: Our conversation is postponed for the time being.

Conversation is actually the wrong word. During the two days of waiting, the members of the clan made one thing clear to me again and again: the artist, who does not want to be unfaithful to his principle ("I don't give interviews, I make music"), will "receive" me, that is the order. Strict conditions: no tape recorder, no notepad.

The aloof autocrat, as many journalists have described him from - inevitably - a great distance? "Oh, no, he is anything but a dictator," explains Sonny T., a laid-back Rasta man who has been playing bass for the master for three years. He shakes his head in amusement: "We have a lot of fun together. And I feel absolutely free in this music. I don't know any other musician who is constantly developing." But what do you call out to someone during sound check? Sonny T.: "I can call him 'Motherfucker' or 'Joe'. He understands me. Names really aren't important!" This statement is met with boisterous laughter from the other band members, who are lounging around rather disrespectfully in the fine upholstery in the foyer of the Hôtel de Paris.

The five-person band enjoys being the center of attention, showing themselves everywhere, while the master resides somewhere at the end of the 7th floor of the hotel in a hidden corner of the hallway. Two cunning bodyguards always manage to sneak their ruler, who is two heads smaller than him, into the paparazzi paradise of Monte Carlo almost unnoticed at his few public appearances.

The cult image of the mulatto, who always wears excessive make-up, is accompanied by his legendary reputation as an unpredictable night owl. His hyper-creative flow of ideas is said to be at its most intense around dawn, according to close confidants who are occasionally roused from their sleep by calls from the suddenly talkative master. So I was warned when I was told after midnight: the audience was granted.

Outside his door, strange images race through my head, which is tormented by waiting and nervousness. I see the sorcerer of pitch-black, sensual music, sprawling imperiously on a plush sofa with a half-erect penis. Like one of those kitsch fantasies that are always celebrated in self-love on his album covers or in the garish masquerades of his videos. I am all the more surprised when, in the darkened room, I initially only see a kind of white, flowing robe. "I hope you can help me," says the fragile, slightly halting voice, which then asks me to make myself comfortable on a cushion.

As he slowly walks towards the HiFi altar, lit only by candlelight, in his loose-fitting silk shirt, I sense a pleasant, meditative calm in the room. Lots of cloths and oriental-looking utensils have completely made the stiff ostentatiousness of the 5-star hotel disappear. He comes back with two CDs and sits down close to me. "You are now holding two albums by two different artists in your hands," he whispers meaningfully. One says Prince, the other says "The Beautiful Experience". I ask him directly: Who is it? "It's hard for me to describe it exactly, but something very monstrous, something very spiritual happened to me."

The mysterious symbol first appeared in 1992, adorning the cover of the last issue to date. Continue on page 90

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official album ("Prince & the New Power Generation"). The song "The Sacrifice of Victor" was also included on it. Sensitive fans believed that the lyrics were the first signs of a deep identity crisis: "My feet might get tired, but I'm gonna keep on/Wal- kin' down this road and when I reach my destination/That's when I'll know/That's when my name will be Victor/Amen."

At the concert, I noticed how intensely this busy multi-instrumentalist worked exclusively on his guitar. Previously more of a phallus with six strings (from whose neck small water fountains sometimes spurted), the golden custom-made instrument in the original Q design looks like a great talisman. When I describe my impression to him, I get a gentle smile. The instrument is like a medium, he explains, God is "a very funky man".

The mood is becoming increasingly solemn. He probably senses my uncertainty: "Just see this symbol as a vision." Can I interpret the symbol as an androgynous love metaphor, a fusion of the well-known symbols for masculinity and femininity? "Those are your words," he says after a short silence and tries to make it clear to me that he is obeying an inner, deeply religious creative process. "I feel it very strongly at this moment. I could go to my computer right now and turn it into music. But I can't explain it."

It becomes clear to me why there is currently complete radio silence between the extravagant artist and his record company Warner Bros. Records. The subsidiary of Time-Warner, the most powerful media group in the world, has bought the branded product "Prince" for six albums in what is probably the most highly paid contract in pop history (insiders estimate the total volume at 100 million dollars). But this product is now just an empty package.

After months of confusion - the name Victor was often announced as a new identity, then a total withdrawal from music - I now find out unequivocally: "Prince belongs to Warner. They can do whatever they want with it, help themselves to my safe. There's enough hit material there. But that has nothing to do with me anymore!"

What an absurd situation. The globally idolized pop genius

What happens to the name Prince no longer affects me."

Exciting days in Monte Carlo: MAX editor Uwe Killing (r.), photographer Alfred Steffen, assistant Marie Kauffmann

from Minneapolis, one of Warner's vice presidents with more influence than any other musician, simply capitulates? "The position is a farce. Every record company ultimately wants total control. It has become clear to me that I have no influence on crucial issues. And Warner is apparently not prepared to accept my ideas and inspirations in any way."

We're talking about George Michael. The British superstar, who dared to sue Sony in a previously unprecedented case for restricting his artistic freedom, enjoys their fervent solidarity. But 4, who has always been more consistent than others, does not want to be destroyed like Michael." And he actually sounds very serious when he says: "I know that the gentlemen at Warner and many media people think that my name change and all that is just a passing fad of mine and that I will return to my successful name at some point. But I certainly won't do that. Never." To underline this, he announces that he no longer wants to play his many hits such as "Purple Rain", "Kiss" and "Let's Go Crazy" in the future.

There is a knock on the door. Mayte, apparently his lover and dancer in the new live show, is surprised to see someone else in the private room. 2 leads her in and tells her: "That's OK. He is someone who is trying to understand us." Us. On stage she occasionally wears golden handcuffs. One of the typical street gigolo attitudes of the master, who was always said to have the wildest relationships with female musicians, whether with

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Apollonia, Sheila E. or Wendy Melvoin.

Mayte seems to be a close soul mate. The small, strong American with a strong Far Eastern appearance sits down with us in silence with a cup of tea. She looks briefly into her piercing eyes, then somewhat unexpectedly starts talking about a cinema experience. It is about "Fearless", a film about survivors of an air disaster who suddenly feel unexpected powers within themselves in their "second" life. "It's Hollywood, of course, but this feeling was so fundamental." It strengthened both of them to no longer be afraid of taking unusual steps. "I told Mayte: Live out your wishes. Now she will soon have her own TV show."

During the performance the night before, there were moments when even the cool bodyguard briefly looked panicked: Mayte, her eyes squinted, twitching almost frighteningly intensely during a feverish guitar part, suddenly threw herself headfirst into the dense rows of fans. She was pulled back onto the stage, irritated. The whole thing was repeated twice. The only reaction from when she returned to his side, unharmed, was a fleeting, enjoyable roll of her eyes.

"Eligible bachelor seeks the most beautiful girl in the world." - This newspaper advert at the end of 1993 was the first encrypted message of the new identity. Thousands of curious women then contacted Paisley Park. The seven chosen ones from all over the world were finally invited to Minneapolis and integrated into the video for the first single release, "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World".

"Interactive" is the telling name of one of many unreleased songs. And that is probably the way the clever mega-star wants to break away from the multinational corporation. When asked, he has so far given a stereotypical answer: all contracts remain in place, the next album is to be released as planned. He knows that he must first win over the public with unusual actions before he can make a name for himself in the smoldering million-dollar economy.

nenpoker goes all out. "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World", at the top of the charts worldwide, was the successful test run. From the newly founded

THE

Produced by the NPG (New Power Generation) label, the single was distributed worldwide exclusively by small companies (in Germany: Edel Company). With the official blessing of Warner, by the way, who had been forced to produce a single for the first time.

"For the first time in my career, I feel like I have everything under control. I finally know where every dollar is going and I feel completely free," explains the ruler of the multi-media company Paisley Park (music and film studios, own merchandising shops). In the legendary studio complex in Minneapolis, he wants to experiment more with interactive art forms and expand film production.

The word "vision" from the beginning of our conversation suddenly takes on a different dimension for me. He seems determined to achieve something that no musician before him has dared to do: total independence from the all-powerful entertainment industry. By building his own empire.

He will be able to count on many allies, especially musicians who trust his advice and charisma. Levi Seacer, a long-time guitarist in Prince's service, is already pulling the strings as head of the Paisley Park label NPG. He has just recorded a duet with Nona Gaye, soul daughter of the legendary Marvin. And he wants to include long-time friends such as Mavis Staples and George Clinton even more strongly in his musical cosmos than before.

It is now 2:30 a.m. He talks about music, his music, and avoids - as before - judging his colleagues. But the name of the tireless funk veteran George Clinton keeps coming up. A role model? "Not necessarily his compositions, but his incredible energy and uncompromising attitude."

☑ stands up. The audience is over. As he shakes my hand, he says emphatically: "You have to believe me: I really haven't spoken a word to the people at Warner for months. But my fans should finally know the truth."

As I stand in the doorway, he fixes me with a deep look. "Please," he whispers, "help me."

“For the first time I feel absolutely free.

WAR

„My name is Prince. The one and only..."

When his royal lust sang this in 1992, nobody suspected that it

PRINCE

was a strong swan song: the last album under the name Prince. Millions of fans will have to get used to the fact that the future of their idol is marked by the. Nevertheless: Prince remains a name that belongs to pop culture like the Beatles, Elvis, Andy Warhol. MAX takes another look at Prince's unique biography.

1958 He was born as Prince Rogers Nelson on June 7th in Minneapolis, Minnesota, named after the swing combo "Prince Rogers Trio", in which his father John played piano and his mother Mattie was engaged as a singer for a while. Sister Tyka was born two years later.

1965 The Nelsons' marriage falls apart. The precocious child is supposed to take piano lessons from a neighbor at the age of seven. Prince rebels for the first time: "She wants me to play what she wants and I want to play what I want." So he teaches himself on the piano that his father left behind.

1971 After an argument with his stepfather, Prince moves back in with his biological father. Here, too, he is thrown out when his father, a devout Catholic, catches the 13-year-old in bed with a girl.

1973 After a James Brown concert, Prince finally decided to become a musician. He played wild rhythm'n'blues in local bands and already mastered 20 instruments. The milieu between car thieves and two-dollar strippers in which the music-obsessed teenager moved,

He later glorified it in his film "Purple Rain".

1978 "Produced, arranged, composed and performed by Prince." Already for his debut album "For You" he secured himself as the youngest artist in the

History of the Warner Brothers record company, he had all the freedom he needed. His sex-charged mix of rock, funk and soul was a sensation. The albums "Prince" (1980), "Controversy" (1981) and "1999" (1983) sold millions of copies. He increased his new "Minneapolis" sound and the aura of the unpredictable rock Lucifer with every recording and every new tour.

1984 With the spectacular cinema music clip "Purple Rain", Prince finally reaches the top. The magnificent soundtrack sells 22 million copies worldwide and is still his best-selling album to date. An Oscar and three Grammys embellish this milestone in pop history. "The Revolution" is formed for the first time for "Purple Rain", from which stars such as Vanity, Sheila E. and Wendy & Lisa emerge.

1985 Radical change of style with the album "Around The World In A Day": Years ahead of the hippie revival, Prince unfolds a crazy, psychedelic rainbow. The song title "Paisley Park" becomes the name of his own studio complex. Prince supplies colleagues such as the Bangles, Sinéad O'Connor and Tom Jones with songs.

1986 Next change of style: In his second film "Under The Cherry Moon", a kitschy black and white homage to the bar jazz of the 1940s, the restless pop rebel (director/lead role) shows himself to be a narcissistic charmer. The film is a flop, and for the first time critics can only PHOTO: ACTION PRESS

Prince live - Sex pur

ken: Here the all-round genius has overextended himself. 1987 The musical rehabilitation: "Sign O' The Times", a captivating double album that combines all of his versatility and musical genres funk, rock, soul, blues, gospel, jazz at the highest level.

1988 Prince announces a "Black Album" with harsh funk rhythms. But after months of wrangling with his record company, he withdraws the project (only available as a bootleg) and instead releases the softer album "Lovesexy". Even though record sales declined at the end of the 80s (exception: the "Batman" soundtrack), Prince outdoes himself as a charismatic singer, dancer and director of his lust-driven obsessions with every new live show.

1992 Despite several successful singles ("Cream", "Diamonds and Pearls") and the high-profile radio boycott of his raunchy rap "Sexy Motherfucker": at the beginning of the 90s, the most innovative pop musician of the previous decade was treading water artistically.

1994 Speculations about the end of his career are increasingly fueled, especially since the Warner Group terminates the joint venture deal with Prince's own, allegedly loss-making label Paisley Park in March. The relationship with the "highly esteemed artist Prince", according to Warner, is not affected by this.

But by then the musician had already stopped being Prince.

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