A Prince, amongst men.

2016 is proving a particularly tough year if you happen to be a musical genius. The great, musical, one-offs are being snatched from us: Firstly, Bowie was taken away, and now another artist, known by only a single name (and at one point, not even by a name but a symbol!) has gone, too. His name was, Prince. Prince, for those that are unaware, was arguably, one of the most important artists of the last 40 years. The proliferation of African American musical styles from; funk, R&B, hip-hop and soul owes something in someway to the music of, Prince. Along with, Michael Jackson and James Brown he brought music from the streets into the mainstream and then became a global superstar.

His blend of outright funk, allied with a talent for producing some of the most beautiful lyrics made him unique. He stood apart from the music of his time. Artistically, in much the same way as, David Bowie, he was decades ahead of his contemporaries. Prince, knew this. He knew his own talent. He once said that you only need, two heroes in your life, 'God, and yourself' - nothing else mattered to him.

If you happened to experience your formative years in the late 80's/early 90's then you couldn't really avoid the music of, Prince. For this, I am fortunate to have done this. I adored his music from the moment I was introduced to it. The hits of 'Purple Rain', 'Sign o the times', 'Alphabet Street' & '1999'. The range from the unashamedly joyful, hedonistic, '1999' (which undoubtedly, was the most played song towards the end of 1999 and the New Years celebration for the Millenium and even just this one song would have guaranteed enough wealth for a multiple number of lifetimes!), to the heart rendering sadness of 'Purple Rain' and the social commentary of 80's American in, 'sign o the times'. His range was limitless. Prince recognised no musical borders, no areas he felt he could not manfully stride into and claim as his own. That, therefore, is the essence of the genius of, Prince; He brooked no limitations. It was all about the music and the performance.

I never really had the opportunity arise to see, Prince, live in concert. I regret that now, sadly. It is often the case that you end up regretting something you haven't done, over what you have done. It just wasn't to be. I know those who have and they have regaled me over the last couple of days with stories as to how incredible a performer he was in concert, I well believe them. I think the nearest comparison to him would have been the Jamiroqui concert I went too, which was ridiculously, unexpectedly, brilliant.

Prince, was only 57. That is perhaps the hardest aspect of it all. He was only 57. This is no age anymore. 50 years ago I am sure 57 would have been viewed as old age. It isn't now. The great sadness is the years of creativity that have been denied music fans of Prince. The one plus side is his renowned workaholic nature seems to suggest that the 40 albums he released may well be dwarfed by the potential amount of unreleased material that he built up in the Paisley Park Vault (the famous name of the studio he built himself) could provide us with enough songs for another 40 albums.

So, more sadness this year, sadness upon sadness as these creative behemoths depart, leaving the world a greyer, less enjoyable place.

There will be, undoubtedly, a short term growth in Prince's albums being bought and streamed online. His estate's wealth will grow even larger than it was prior to his death. His strict control of his copyright means there will be quite some battle to release his albums onto streaming services.

Prince, though, didn't just write songs for himself. He wrote some of the most well known songs made famous by others. Here's two. One very famous, and perhaps one of the beautiful songs written by a human being.

Another, equally as popular in its day that some people may not have known, is this song made famous by the band, 'The Bangles'. Written for them by Prince.



There we have it. Another legend gone from us, far too soon. 2016 is proving to be a terrible kind of year.