Prince did not allow just anybody in his dressing room, even if you were Madonna and Bruce Springsteen.
Bobby Z, the drummer in Prince’s first band, The Revolution, told The Guardian about the legendary singer’s interaction with Madonna and Springsteen.
Once there was a hilarious moment when Bruce Springsteen and Madonna came backstage,” Bobby Z recalled. “But Prince’s dressing room was off limits to them, so they had to use the band’s toilet. “
Although he was a mega star, Bobby Z said that Prince” found meeting other celebrities very uncomfortable unless he was a fan,” and would get “bashful or embarrassed.”
“There could be huge stars, and he just wouldn’t give them the time of day,” said Bobby Z. “So besides shaking Elizabeth Taylor’s hand, I don’t know if he’d be interested in chatting,”
But he felt differently when he met David Bowie.
When he met David Bowie at Paisley Park, it was a warm moment because he felt that they were equals.
On April 21, 2016, Prince was found unresponsive in an elevator at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota. The “Purple Rain” singer died from an accidental overdose of fentanyl, which was found in pills he was taking for chronic pain. He was 57 years old.
Following his death, Springsteen paid tribute to Prince by covering “Purple Rain” to open his Barclays Center concert in Brooklyn, per Vanity Fair.
“Prince forever,” Springsteen said. “God bless.”
Madonna also honored Prince, who co-wrote “Love Song” for her 1989 album Like a Prayer.
“He changed the world! A true visionary! What a loss. I’m devastated,” Madonna wrote. “This is not a love song.”
Bobby Z also explained how it was to play in the band with the demanding artist.
Playing with Prince was like being in the Purple Marines. He might toughen you up or break you down, but he’d bring you to a place you didn’t think you had,” he sad “In that moment, you might even turn into a superhuman like him.”