Flashback

Prince’s photographer on their first meeting in 1993

IN 1993 I WAS LIVING IN Los Angeles, trying to make it as a photographer, and I went home to Minneapolis for Christmas to figure out what to do with my life. Prince was the local hero – I’d been in love with his music since I was eight years old. Now I was in my early 20s, the age when you think you can do anything, so I called up his studio, Paisley Park, and they said, ‘Come and show us your book.’ I left it with them and went home. Around midnight, the phone rang. It was Paisley Park, saying, ‘He wants you to come down.’ I asked when. And they said, ‘Tonight, of course.’

I drove back, trying to keep the adrenaline down. Paisley Park was all lit up purple, nobody around. Some guy came along the corridor and asked, ‘Are you looking for the boss?’ I said, ‘I guess I am.’ He pointed me to one of the studios. Prince was there with the band, and they just proceeded to jam, completely ignoring me. I didn’t know what else to do, so I started taking pictures and sent him the film. He called me back for another shoot, and that was it. I never went back to LA. I shot the gigs, the after-gigs, every party… I photographed him pretty much every day for two years.

This picture was taken in Studio A, one of three studios at Paisley Park. Being at Paisley Park was like being in this beautiful, magical bubble, but Studio A was especially intimate. You could tell it was his home in a way. Prince had recently changed his name to ‘the symbol’, so it was a controversial time. He was very mysterious, but he was very human too. And he was funny as hell. One of the first times I was shooting the band I made the mistake of calling him Prince. He said, ‘Don’t call me that.’ I asked, ‘What should I call you?’ And he said, ‘Call me often…’

He had so much… charisma doesn’t describe it. He had these intense, dark eyes, and he was so beautiful, and this may seem a strange thing to say, but he smelled really good. He was incredibly gifted too. People might say, ‘It’s from God,’ but he also had this incredible drive. I’ve worked with a lot of artists but none has come close to his work ethic. It was like he didn’t need to sleep.

He demanded a lot from the people around him. I had a pager that would go off 24/7. I remember once getting a call: he wants you in LA. I got everything together, drove to the airport, got on the plane, got to the hotel, and the phone is ringing. ‘He didn’t make his flight. We’ve got you on the red-eye to come back. If you miss your flight, you’re screwed.’ You never knew what was going to happen.

I didn’t realise how much he became part of my own identity, even after I’d left, so when he passed away there was just complete sadness and emptiness. I can’t believe he’s gone.

He was funny as hell. When I asked, ‘What should I call you?’ he said, ‘Call me often…’

A shot of Prince in Studio A, Paisley Park, taken by Nicole Nodland