*GQ offers a glimpse into the off-stage life of the late Prince Rogers Nelson that few people got to know before his sudden death in April – like his apparent love of BMX racing, his lavender scent, how he called people on the phone, his behavior during a trip to ACE Hardware and soooo much more.
Readers can see the legendary musician through the eyes of his closest friends – from Van Jones to Carmen Electra, publicists to Paisley Park members.
Read excerpts below and the entire article here:
Corey Tollefson (Minneapolis-based entrepreneur and fan; attended events at Paisley Park for over 20 years): The thing that was funny was you never saw Prince [first], you smelled him. He always smelled like lavender. And you knew when he was there because you’d turn around and go, “Holy shit, I smell Prince.” And then, ten seconds later, you’d see him.
Kandace Springs (singer; befriended by Prince via Twitter after he discovered her cover of a Sam Smith song online in 2014): He smelled like lavender. Dude, I’m not even kidding you. Overtime. My sister burns lavender in my house and I’m, “Oh God, it smells like Paisley Park.” That’s Prince.
Morris Hayes (keyboard player; Prince’s longest-serving band member, 1992–2012): I remember taking him to the hardware store in my camping van. He wanted to go buy a lock. And we go to Ace Hardware—it’s snowing and freezing—and I say, “Okay, Prince, you stay in the car.” So I’m picking stuff up in the aisles, I look over, he just cruises by in a turtleneck sweater and his fuzzy boots, and people are looking like, “Oh my God, Prince is in the hardware store!” He comes and finds me and he’s got a handful of crap—like, “Can we buy this?” I’m, “What did you do with the car?” He says, “It’s out there—it’s just running.” I said, “Prince, you can’t leave the car running—somebody could just steal the car.” He said, “This is Chanhassen—nobody’s gonna steal the car.” So we get out to the car and sure enough it’s out there, just running, smoke coming out of the tailpipe. And he’s like, “I told you.”
Carmen Electra (dancer and singer; discovered by Prince in 1991): He never slept—he couldn’t sleep. I would wake up alone: Where’d he go? And his housekeeper said, “He’s in the studio.” Or he would leave the sweetest little notes on the stairs that would say: “Had to work! Couldn’t sleep. Come see me.”
Springs: I saw his room and all that. His room was so small compared with everything I saw. You’d never expect him to live there. It was kinda homey—he had this little queen-size bed, and a huge-ass TV, like a 52-inch flatscreen. He had a little private bathroom right there, a big-ass bathtub in there, and fake palm trees and a tan-colored floor—doing a little beach look. I saw his bathroom because I left my hair dryer at the hotel and I needed to do my Afro for the show, and he let me use his hair dryer.
Misty Copeland (principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre; appeared in a Prince video and live performances): He never called from a number you’d recognize, so you’d never know it was going to be him. Loved to speak in different accents—British and French…everything. Sometimes I’d be, “Who is this?” It would go on for a while, and then finally he’d laugh and it would be him.
Van Jones: (political activist; met Prince after he tried to make a sizable donation to Jones’s charitable organization anonymously): He always said the same thing whenever he was getting on the phone: “This is Prince.” Not “How are you doing?” Not “What’s up?” Kind of low: “This is Prince.”
Ian Boxill (engineer at Paisley Park, 2004–09): Even when he was dressed down, he’d dress like Prince: three-inch-tall flip-flops, or these heels with lights—they’d light up when he walked. That was his comfortable clothing. He had no pockets. You know, if you got people around that can carry phones and money for you, you can get away with that. No pockets and no watch. If he needed to use a phone he’d use my phone or a driver’s phone.
Hayes: We have a thing called Caribou Coffee in Minnesota, which is like Starbucks. He’d go over there, and he didn’t have any pockets. He didn’t have a wallet or any credit cards. He just had cash he’d carry in his hand—like, a $100 bill. And whoever took his order, they’d have a good day, ’cause he’d buy his coffee drink and then just leave the whole hundred. He doesn’t wait for any change because he doesn’t have anywhere to put it.
Van Jones: He was very interested in the world. He wanted me to explain how the White House worked. He asked very detailed kind of foreign-policy questions. And then he’d ask, “Why doesn’t Obama just outlaw birthdays?” [laughs] I’m, like, “What?” He said, “I was hoping that Obama, as soon as he was elected, would get up and announce there’d be no more Christmas presents and no more birthdays—we’ve got too much to do.” I said, “Yeah, I don’t know if that would go over too well.”
Keith Lowers (longtime fan): Once the lights turned on [after a Paisley Park event in September 2015], I left quick because I’m super claustrophobic and can’t take the cattle-exit style of most rock shows. So I’m walking real fast in the parking lot, trying to get to my car quick when—zoooom!—I see this dude on a bike ripping around the parking lot coming at me. I was ignoring him, trying not to engage, when he circled me and slyly said, “Where you goin’? The party’s just getting started.” WTF. It’s Prince…on a white mountain bike, wearing his full rock-star outfit—white, to match the bike, of course, with a multicolor print on it. So I returned to the doorman at the advice of Prince—only to be schooled that Prince plays this joke often and that the party was indeed over.
Christina Terrones (longtime fan and Paisley Park regular): That was his thing: He liked to roller-skate and he liked to bike.
Lowers: I recently heard they found a fully custom-painted BMX bike in his vault with videos of competitive BMX riding. I don’t doubt it. He was not only quick on the bike but nimble.
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