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'The world has lost a lot of magic': Legendary musician Prince dead at 57

Tributes have been pouring in for the star.

Obit Prince Apexchange Apexchange

ROCK STAR PRINCE has died at the age of 57.

His publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, told The Associated Press the music icon was found dead at his home in Chanhassen.

His body was found at his Paisley Park studio in Minnesota early this morning.

The singer – real name Prince Rogers Nelson – was believed to have had a medical emergency last week, but appeared at a concert the following day.

Casusa Ribeiro / YouTube

Sheriff’s officials in Minnesota said deputies found Prince unresponsive in an elevator at the compound.

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson said first responders tried CPR but couldn’t revive the musician. He said the death is under investigation.

Hundreds of fans have gathered outside the studio.

US President Barack Obama shared this tribute to Prince on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/potus/posts/479875112202334

Widely acclaimed 

The singer, songwriter, arranger and instrumentalist was widely acclaimed as one of the most inventive musicians of his era, drawing upon influences ranging from James Brown to the Beatles to Jimi Hendrix. His hits included Little Red Corvette, Let’s Go Crazy and When Doves Cry.

The Minneapolis native broke through in the late 1970s with the hit I Wanna Be Your Lover, and soared over the following decade with such albums as 1999 and Purple Rain.

He would go on to sell over 100 million albums. Purple Rain is often described as one of the greatest albums of all time.

Prince Prince in November 2015 Matt Sayles / Invision/AP Matt Sayles / Invision/AP / Invision/AP

Prince became an international sensation in the 1980s, when he popularised the Minneapolis sound of danceable funk.

In 2007, he played what many believe to be the best Super Bowl halftime show of all time, blasting out songs from Purple Rain and covers of songs by Queen, Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters and Creedance Clearwater Revival.

He last performed in Ireland at Malahide Castle in 2011.

Tributes have been flooding in for the musician.

An icon

Hop Farm Festival PA Archive / Press Association Images PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Prince seemed to summon the most original and compelling sounds at will, whether playing guitar in a flamboyant style that openly drew upon Jimi Hendrix, switching his vocals from a nasally scream to an erotic falsetto or turning out album after album of stunningly original material.

Among his other notable releases were Sign O’ the Times, Graffiti Bridge and The Black Album.

He was also fiercely protective of his independence, battling his record company over control of his material and even his name. Prince once wrote “slave” on his face in protest of not owning his work and famously battled and then departed his label, Warner Bros, before returning a few years ago.

“What’s happening now is the position that I’ve always wanted to be in,” Prince told The Associated Press in 2014. “I was just trying to get here.”

Obit Prince Prince in 1985 AP AP

In 2004, Prince was inducted into the Rock and Roll of Fame, which hailed him as a musical and social trailblazer.

“He rewrote the rulebook, forging a synthesis of black funk and white rock that served as a blueprint for cutting-edge music in the ’80s,” the Hall’s dedication reads.

“Prince made dance music that rocked and rock music that had a bristling, funky backbone. From the beginning, Prince and his music were androgynous, sly, sexy and provocative.”

Music sales

Sales of his music have soared since news broke of his death.

Three of his songs — Purple Rain, Little Red Corvette and When Doves Cry — surged to seventh, ninth and tenth on iTunes’ Top Songs chart.

Four of his albums — The Very Best of Prince, Purple Rain, The Hits/The B-Sides, and 1999 — jumped to first, second, third and eighth on iTunes’ Top Albums chart.

- with reporting by Paul Hosford and Órla Ryan 

Read: One of a kind: How Prince broke all of pop’s rules and became an icon

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    Mute Daniel Morrissey
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    Apr 17th 2021, 12:20 AM

    Roll on the 26th change…. yawn…

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    Mute Anna Carr
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    Apr 17th 2021, 12:56 AM

    @Daniel Morrissey: lol. I know how you feel. How many bloomin people over 65 are in the country. They seem to go on forever hahaha

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    Apr 17th 2021, 1:12 AM

    @Anna Carr: I don’t know how many. How many people voted Fianna Fáil? In or around that amount.

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    Apr 17th 2021, 3:06 AM

    @Anna Carr: it literally tells you in the article

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    Apr 17th 2021, 3:16 AM

    @Ger: ah lighten up ger her comment was tongue in cheek jayus what are you not seeing there?

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    Apr 17th 2021, 5:13 AM

    @Daniel Morrissey: well yeah, can’t make them deliver it faster or make it ourselves so that’s what we have to do.

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    Mute Anto Curran
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    Apr 17th 2021, 8:00 AM

    @Peter McGlynn: obsessed with FF. Unless you’re playing an online game where you can try to fit FF into every comments section?

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    Apr 17th 2021, 11:55 AM

    @Anna Carr: Sorry for being 69 and delaying your vaccination….I could have said the same about all over 70s but I have a bit more respect!!!

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    Mute Tony Humphreys
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    Apr 17th 2021, 1:54 AM

    You lost me at the word ‘plan’. I always thought they there was only one plan – lockdown. Why do something when you can get away with nothing.

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 17th 2021, 5:14 AM

    @Tony Humphreys: well you thought wrong and then refused to think about it anymore

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    Mute Keith Richardson
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    Apr 17th 2021, 1:54 PM

    @Dave O’Keeffe: well there is no published plan on reopening. I’m sure there’s one on a desk somewhere. If people were treated like adults and told this then there would be increased confidence.

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    Apr 18th 2021, 5:32 AM

    @Keith Richardson: no, if there was a widely publicised plan with an unpredictable pandemic and unreliable delivery schedules any changes would undermine the confidence you claim it would bring.

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    Apr 17th 2021, 8:02 AM

    The fact we still likely won’t restart tourism and hospitality till June or July is just mind boggling, especially given the fact MM despite some who said it was lies when I pointed out that leaky Leo said the same thing, that he can’t say we won’t go into another lockdown after this one. And given the fact the hse management seem to have done nothing except allow the waiting list balloon and get themselves a pay rise, any extra surge from even a few covid cases over the winter months makes this likely since they now have a great excuse to cover up they barely cope any winter before covid hit. So this means a lot of small businesses and retail included as well may only have a small window to open and make some much needed money, meanwhile north will be full steam ahead open end of May.

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    Apr 17th 2021, 8:35 AM

    So the AstraZeneca isnt safe to use on under 60s but is safe for under 60s who received 1st dose?? Think il pass on the second thanks. Back of the que I go lol

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    Mute Dave O'Keeffe
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    Apr 18th 2021, 5:34 AM

    @Siobhan Rosemary: that silly. 1 in a million died of a blood clot that nobody knew to be looking for. That’s different now. 12 in a million died of covid here and doctors were definitely looking for it.

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    Apr 17th 2021, 11:26 AM

    2 more weeks to flatten the curve

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    Apr 18th 2021, 5:35 AM

    @K Flan: the curve is flattened. Sadly the base rate is still over 300 cases per day.

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    Apr 17th 2021, 7:26 AM

    Boring boring boring all this lot has to offer

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