The
life
of
singer
Prince,
who
has
died
at
the
age
of
57,
is
being
marked
with
purple-coloured
tributes.
Buildings,
newspaper
front
pages
and
websites
across
the
US
and
beyond
have
changed
colour
in
his
honour,
BBC
reported.
Prince
was
found
dead
at
his
Minnesota
home
on
Thursday.
He
became
a
superstar
in
the
1980s,
with
the
albums
1999,
Purple
Rain
and
Sign
O'
the
Times.
No
cause
of
death
has
been
stated
and
a
post-mortem
examination
will
take
place
on
Friday.
US
President
Barack
Obama
said
the
world
has
"lost
a
creative
icon".
Prince's
innovative
music
spanned
rock,
funk
and
jazz.
He
sold
more
than
100
million
records
during
his
career.
In
Prince's
native
Minneapolis,
the
Minnesota
Twins
baseball
team
turned
their
stadium
purple,
as
did
the
Lowry
Avenue
Bridge
in
the
centre
of
the
city.
Other
prominent
buildings
in
New
York
and
New
Orleans
were
also
given
a
new
purple
look.
And
while
the
Niagara
Falls
were
turned
purple
to
mark
the
Queen's
90th
birthday,
the
coincidence
was
welcomed
by
Prince
fans
online.
MTV's
Twitter
logo
has
also
turned
purple.
In
Britain,
the
front
page
of
the
Sun
newspaper
featured
a
photo
of
Prince
against
a
purple
background
with
the
headline:
"Purple
reign
is
over".
Hundreds
of
people
gathered
in
the
centre
of
Minneapolis
into
the
early
hours
of
Friday.
At
one
point,
they
all
came
together
to
sing
Prince's
1984
hit
Purple
Rain.
Vigils
for
the
singer
were
also
held
outside
his
home
as
well
as
in
Los
Angeles
and
Brooklyn,
where
the
film
director
Spike
Lee,
a
friend
of
Prince's,
led
an
impromptu
street
party.
In
a
statement,
Carver
County
Sheriff
Jim
Olson
said
his
deputies
responded
to
a
medical
call
around
9.43
p.m.
(local
time)
and
later
found
an
unresponsive
adult
male
in
an
elevator
at
Paisley
Park
Studios.
First
responders
tried
to
revive
him
but
he
was
pronounced
dead
at
10.07
p.m.
Paisley
Park
feels
like
the
new
Graceland.
Prince's
home
and
recording
studio
is
awash
with
tears
and
tributes.
Well
into
the
night,
thousands
of
fans
came
here
to
lay
flowers,
cards
and
balloons
at
a
makeshift
shrine.
Others
gathered
in
central
Minneapolis,
dancing
and
singing
as
they
paid
their
respects
to
a
local
and
global
superstar,
whose
unique,
sexually-charged
blend
of
funk,
rock
and
soul
revolutionised
music.
Here
in
the
twin
cities,
Minneapolis
and
St.Paul,
there
is
shock
and
grief
but
also
pride.
One
local
radio
station
is
urging
its
listeners
to
wear
purple
on
Friday
in
tribute.
Many
residents
pointed
out
that
Prince
could
have
lived
anywhere
in
the
world.
They
feel
honoured,
they
say,
that
he
chose
to
remain
until
the
very
end
in
the
place
where
he
was
born.
Born
in
1958,
Prince
Rogers
Nelson
was
a
prolific
writer
and
performer
from
a
young
age
--
reportedly
writing
his
first
song
when
he
was
seven.
He
was
an
arranger
and
multi-instrumentalist,
and
recorded
more
than
30
albums.
His
best-known
hits
include
Let's
Go
Crazy
and
When
Doves
Cry.
He
also
wrote
music
for
other
artists.
Nothing
Compares
2U,
written
for
The
Family,
was
later
made
famous
by
Sinead
O'Connor
in
1990.
In
1984,
he
won
an
Oscar
for
the
score
to
Purple
Rain,
a
film
in
which
he
also
starred.
Throughout
his
career
he
had
a
reputation
for
secrecy
and
eccentricity,
once
changing
his
name
to
an
unpronounceable
symbol.
In
2004,
Prince
was
inducted
into
the
Rock
and
Roll
Hall
of
Fame,
which
said
he
"rewrote
the
rulebook".
He
had
a
mercurial
relationship
with
technology.
In
2000,
he
released
singles
via
the
pioneering
music-sharing
service
Napster,
but
he
later
declared
the
internet
"completely
over"
and
refused
to
allow
his
music
on
major
streaming
platforms.
Prince's
latest
album,
HITnRUN
Phase
Two,
was
released
last
year
and
he
had
been
touring
as
recently
as
last
week.
On
April
15th,
he
was
taken
to
hospital
after
his
private
plane
made
an
emergency
landing
in
Illinois.
It
happened
just
hours
after
he
had
performed
on
stage
in
Georgia.
He
was
treated
and
released
after
a
few
hours.
Tributes
have
been
pouring
in
from
artists
young
and
old,
across
the
musical
spectrum.
Madonna,
who
dated
Prince
briefly,
described
him
as
a
"visionary
who
changed
the
world",
while
Chic
guitarist
Nile
Rogers
said
there
were
"tears
and
love
on
our
tour
bus".
Mick
Jagger
said
Prince's
talent
was
"limitless",
and
called
him
a
"revolutionary
artist,
a
great
musician,
a
wonderful
lyricist".
President
Obama
said:
"Few
artists
have
influenced
the
sound
and
trajectory
of
popular
music
more
distinctly,
or
touched
quite
so
many
people
with
their
talent".
We
miss
you
Prince
#RIPPRINCE#PURPLETRIBUTE