Prince is gone, but not forgotten

Picture this: Prince MINNEAPOLIS taking the stage at U.S. Bank Stadium in his hometown of Minneapolis for the 2018 Super Bowl to a dazzling display of purple lights, wowing the crowd at halftime with his frenzied guitar work, soulful singing and slick dance moves.

Perfect marketing, a diehard fan’s dream. But it won’t happen.

Prince’s death from an accidental painkiller overdose in 2016 leaves fans to only imagine how the megastar might have topped his electrifying performance in pouring rain at the Super Bowl 11 years ago in Miami.

“People joke, ‘Can we just have a Prince hologram?’ ” said Mike Howard, spokesman for the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee.

But the sights and sounds of Prince still surround the big game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the New England Patriots.

There’s the mural of Prince with a white dove in the Uptown neighbourhood, his gold star outside Minneapolis’s First Avenue nightclub and Paisley Park, his recording complex-turned-museum in Chanhassen, about 30 kilometres southwest of Minneapolis.

“Prince is not here in being, but he’s here in spirit,” said music producer Jimmy Jam.

Jam said Prince “is so associated with this state and with this city that his presence is definitely felt.”