Prince: The Man and His Music

by Matt Thorne

Overview

An astonishingly rich, almost encyclopedic biography of the American singer-songwriter, Prince Rogers Nelson.

Famously reticent and perennially controversial, Prince was one of the few music superstars who remained, largely, an enigma—even up to his premature death on April 21, 2016. A fixture of the pop canon, Prince is widely held to be the greatest musician of his generation and will undoubtedly remain an inspiring and singular talent.

This meticulously researched biography is the most comprehensive work on Prince yet published. Unlike other Prince books, this one eschews speculation into the artist’s highly guarded private life and instead focuses deep and sustained attention exactly where it should be: on his work. Acclaimed British novelist and critic Matt Thorne draws on years of research and dozens of interviews with Prince’s intimate associates (many of whom have never spoken on record before) to examine every phase of the musician’s thirty-five-year career, including nearly every song, released and unreleased—that Prince has recorded.

Originally released in the UK in 2012, this first U.S. publication of Prince includes updated content detailing the artist’s two 2014 albums, tour, 2015 Tidal release, and other career events.

Praise for Prince: The Man and His Music

“Matt Thorne’s Prince is the definitive work on the man; I am listening again to every piece of his music with renewed enthusiasm.” —Alexis Taylor, Hot Chip

“[Thorne] brings an enthusiasm, intelligence, and maverick spirit to the 562 pages covering the 35-year career of Prince Rogers Nelson . . . It’s to Thorne’s credit that through painstaking research and interviews he manages to paint a picture of what the man, rather than the myth, is actually like. A must for the legions of Prince fans out there.” —Doug Johnstone, Big Issue (UK)

“Thorne brings an exhaustive knowledge and attention to detail to the task . . . If you’re as much of a fan as Thorne [is], you’ll be in heaven.” —Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph (UK)

“The final word on the mad genius known as Prince Rogers Nelson. There is now quite literally nothing more to say about Prince or his music. It’s all here—dance, sex, romance, and above all, the music. Downright orgasmic.” —Current magazine

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781572847729
Publisher:	Agate
Publication date:	08/18/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	616
Sales rank:	611,380
File size:	18 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Matt Thorne was born in Bristol in 1974 and educated at Cambridge University and the University of St. Andrews. He is the author of six novels, including Eight Minutes Idle, which won an Encore Award and was recently adapted into a film, and Cherry, which was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize. He is also the author of three children’s books and the 39 Castles series, as well as the coeditor of the anthologies All Hail the New Puritans and Croatian Nights. He runs the MA in Creative Writing program at Brunel University in London and is a regular reviewer of literature, film, music, and TV for UK radio and newspapers.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations ix

Prologue: Come 2 My House (Part 1) xi

1 Justifications from a Mamma-Jamma 1

2 The Business of Music 11

3 Wouldn't You Lore to Love Me? 25

4 Still Waiting 41

5 Creating Uptown 59

6 Gigolos Get Lonely Too (Part 1) 73

7 Royal Jewels 89

8 Nikki's Castle 98

9 There Aren't Any Rules 118

10 New Position 130

11 Roadhouse Garden and Songs for Susannah 152

12 The Story of a Man I Am Not 164

13 Rebirth of the Flesh 173

14 Crystal Ball… 180

15 …Or Sign o' the Times? 187

16 For Those of U on Valium… 197

17 Spooky and All That He Crawls for… 203

18 Cross the Line 212

19 Dance with the Devil 223

20 What's Wrong with Graffiti Bridge? 233

21 Gigolos Get Lonely Too (Part 2) 243

22 Playing Strip Pool with Vanessa 269

23 The Chains of Turin 281

24 $$$ Part I: Introducing the Friction Years 296

25 $$$ Part 2: 'It Was Just About Needing to Get It Done…' 310

26 $$$ Part 3: 'All I Gotta Do Is Sell a Million and I Can Quit…' 319

27 Wasted Kisses… 336

28 …And Missed Opportunities 351

29 Join My Club 362

30 New Directions in Music 381

31 True Funk Soldier 388

32 Come 2 My House (Part 2) 397

33 21 Nights in London: A Fan's Notes 408

34 Gigolos Get Lonely Too (Part 3) 436

35 An Entirely New Galaxy Awaits… 463

36 Ending Endlessly 472

Epilogue: Living Out Loud 483

Afterword to the American Edition 495

Acknowledgements 511

Bibliography 514

Notes 517

Illustration Credits 569

General Index 571

Index of Works by Prince 585

About the Author 602

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Prince: The Man and His Music by Matt Thorne:

"Matt Thorne's Prince is the definitive work on the man; I am listening again to every piece of his music with renewed enthusiasm." —Alexis Taylor, Hot Chip

"[Thorne] brings an enthusiasm, intelligence, and maverick spirit to the 562 pages covering the 35-year career of Prince Rogers Nelson. . . It's to Thorne's credit that through painstaking research and interviews he manages to paint a picture of what the man, rather than the myth, is actually like. A must for the legions of Prince fans out there." —Doug Johnstone, Big Issue

"Thorne brings an exhaustive knowledge and attention to detail to the task. . . if you're as much of a fan as Thorne, you'll be in heaven." —Mick Brown, Daily Telegraph

"The final word on the mad genius known as Prince Rogers Nelson. There is now quite literally nothing more to say about Prince or his music. It's all here—dance, sex, romance, and above all, the music. Downright orgasmic." —Current magazine

"If you've ever craved the empurpled equivalent of Paul Williams' Bob Dylan: Performing Artist. . . you are well served." —Danny Eccleston, Mojo

"Impishly encyclopaedic, brings alert senses to bear. . . in stripping back the purple finery." —Ben Thompson, Independent on Sunday Music Books of the Year

"Thorne is a good stylist and a deep thinker but primarily he's a fan. . . . Thorne is a compelling, emotional narrator." —Kate Mossman, New Statesman

"Highly engaging." —Mark Ellen, Observer

"Everything I love in a book." —Nemone, BBC Radio 6 Music

From the Publisher