Prince - Darling Nikki

I have been trying to get this video online for some time now.

The problem is that Prince is very controlling with his music and who he allows to use it. Mostly Prince videos are uploaded to You Tube only to be removed shortly after. An interesting story relating to this is that Prince performed Radiohead's "Creep" live and the clip was posted on You Tube. Prince quickly got wind of it and had it removed. Radiohead stepped in and said "it's our song, let people hear it".

So while I can, I am putting up my favourite Prince song from "Purple Rain" called "Darling Nikki".Something that I didn't know about this song is that near the end of the song, the music stops. There is singing, but played in reverse. The vocals, unreversed, are Prince singing:

"Hello, how are you?
I'm fine 'cause I know that the Lord is coming soon
Coming, coming soon."

Prince is obviously an amazing talent with an astonishing catalogue of music (with vaults full of unreleased material). A lot of interviewers tend to focus on the fact that he is "eccentric" and often overlook his contribution to music. There is no denying that Prince is eccentric but I think I like him even more knowing that he isn't just like Joe Bloggs down the road.

I admire Prince's chutzpah in sticking it to the record companies. Once again people thought he was a nutter because he changed his name to a Love Symbol (or the artist formally known as Prince). The reason he did this was because Warner Bros records trademarked the name Prince, even though it is his actual name (born Prince Rogers Nelson). Prince now owns the trademark to his name along with the Love Symbol.

If you ever want to get a bit of an insight into Prince and his world I suggest you go to You Tube and listen to cult director Kevin Smith talk about his experiences working for Prince. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy_cLJ19HMg  it is in 4 parts but damn it is funny.

Here are some random bits of trivia you may not have known about Prince:

• He dated Madonna early on in her career. He asked her to be his "girl" but she wasn't interested.
• He was asked to participate in "We are the World" and never showed up. He later provided a song for the album release.
• He is now a devout Jehovah's Witness and does not swear.
• His entire Paisley Park estate is "wired for sound" meaning that there are recording devices everywhere so Prince can record music anywhere he wants.
• He was in talks with Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson to appear on the album "Bad" in a duet with Michael Jackson. He declined. During this time he sent Michael Jackson a wooden box with feathers inside. Michael Jackson thought he was putting a voodoo spell on him.
• Prince has been married twice. His son Boy Gregory died a week after birth from Pfeiffer Syndrome.
• He is a vegan
• He has been quoted as saying "All computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and they are not good for you"

Update 30/3/12- Prince has been up to his old tricks and had most videos removed. Bummer.