PRINCE ROGERS NELSON was born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This multi-talented, singer, musician, songwriter and producer can at best be described as the epitome funk..that's speaking in terms of music.

The name Prince was derived from the "Prince Roger Trio", of which his father John Nelson was a member during this time.

Prince decided to step out on his own at an early age, and briefly joined up with John who bought him his very first guitar. Later he would find himself adopted by the Andersons, and soon he became a close friend to Andre Anderson (Andre Cymone).

Prince began honing his musical skills, by writing his own compositions, with the aid of both piano and guitar. And with the help of Andre Anderson and Charles Smith, in junior high school they would form the band called "Grand Central".

As Prince further progressed with his musical skills the band once again changed its name from "Grand Central" to "Champagne". It was during this time that he first began to introduce his own music compositions into their sets.

With the emergence of the 'Uptown' gentre, we would soon hear such musical influences and artists, as Flyte Time, Jellybean Johnson, Terry Lewis and Alexander O'Neal as each arrived and helped to create the Minneapolis music underground scene.

In 1976, Prince's first demos were recorded with the assistance of Chris Moon, who offered him guidance on the workings of a studio and free reign to experiment with his music on the weekends. Prince would later meet backer Owen Husney, and present a superior demo of his works. Husney and his partner Levinson launched a huge promotion campaign, and the results helped to secure a long-term contract with Warner Brothers Records.

“PRINCE FOR YOU”, debuted and sent shock waves through the music industry. The hit single 'Soft And Wet' made a huge impact on the R&B charts. This was merely the beginning...of things yet to come from Prince.

By 1979 Prince had put together a firm band. The band featured Andre Cymone (bass), Gayle Chapman and Matt Fink (both on keyboards), Bobby Z (drummer) and Dez Dickerson (guitar). The album produced two hit singles "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?' and 'I Wanna Be Your Lover'.

After a succession of live dates promoting the new album DIRTY MIND Lisa Coleman replaced Chapman. This was the first album to fully to embody Prince's sexual allure, and introduce the use of his Fender Telecaster's soaring funk.

After returning to Minneapolis after an aborted UK tour, Cymone departed for a solo career while former members of Flyte Time and others released a self-titled album under the band name "The Time". Both albums entitled, "CONTROVERSY" and "1999" followed within 12 months.

The promotional tour featured a special revue troupe: Prince And The Revolution headlined above the Time and Vanity 6 (an all-girl group). The smash hit single entitled 'Little Red Corvette' was lifted from the album and was Prince's first single to gain significant airplay on MTV.

Prince began work on the PURPLE RAIN film, an autobiographical piece in which he would star. The single 'When Doves Cry' was lifted from the soundtrack and became the first Prince song to grace the top of the US charts. 'Let's Go Crazy' and 'Purple Rain' both held the top slots, of 1 and 2 on the charts, and further established him as chart-topper for the 80s. The song 'Purple Rain' re-introduced the Jimi Hendrix style and flavor to rock that had been sadly missing in the industry and helped to garner even more fans.

After the end of a huge and successful tour, Prince returned to the studio for a duet with Apollonia...another protégé. He also helped to revitalize the career of Scottish pop singer Sheena Easton by composing her US Top 10 hit single 'Sugar Walls'.

When 'AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAY' emerged in 1985 it topped the US charts for a three-week run. Prince announced that he was retiring from live performances....

Prince founded the studio/label/complex Paisley Park in central Minneapolis, which would become the luxurious base for his future operations. As work began on a second movie, Under The Cherry Moon, 'Kiss' was released to become his third US number 1 hit single. In second place was the single entitled 'Manic Monday' by "The Bangles", and written by Prince under one of his pseudonyms....Christopher.

He quickly to overturned his decision not to perform live, and set out on the "Parade Tour" to promote the number 1 album of the same name. The shows were spectacular, and after the tour The Revolution were disbanded.

In 1987 Prince introduced a new line-up for his live performances. While retaining the backbone of the Revolution (Fink, Leeds, Brooks and Safford) he added Sheila E, Marco Weaver, and Seacer. The new album 'SIGN 'O' THE TIMES', the title track, was a hard-hitting testimony to urban dystopia, drug-related violence and human folly. The follow-up album entitled 'The Black Album' would further elaborate on the darker shades of SIGN 'O' THE TIMES' apocalyptic vision.

However, the BLACK ALBUM was recalled by Prince before it reached the shops. Prince's decision to suspend it ensured that it would become the 80s' most coveted bootleg. The mythology surrounding its non-release has it that the BLACK ALBUM was the work of Prince's 'dark' side - 'Spooky Electric'. This was given credence by the subsequent Lovesexy, apparently the result of the pre-eminence of 'Camille' - Prince's 'good' side. Playing both albums side by side certainly reveals a sharp dichotomy of approach...

Prince's next tour, meanwhile, saw the inclusion of a huge Pink Cadillac as a mobile part of the set. Exhausted musicians would rush from orchestrated stadium performances to private club dates where entire sets would be improvised, all of which Prince, naturally, took in his stride.

1989 closed with a duet with Madonna, who, alongside Michael Jackson, was the only artist able to compete with Prince in terms of mass popularity.
The following year was dominated by the soundtrack album for the year's biggest film, Batman. The album was a commercial smash, topping the US charts for six weeks. Prince also wrote and produced an album for singer Mavis Staples, the grand lady of gospel.

In February 1990 Sinead O'Connor recorded a version of Prince's composition 'Nothing Compares 2 U', which topped both the US and UK charts. In September 1990 he released GRAFFITI BRIDGE, which accompanied a film release of the same title. The album was composed entirely of Prince compositions of which he sang just over half - other guests included Tevin Campbell, Mavis Staples and the Time. GRAFFITI BRIDGE peaked at number 6 in the USA and made it to number 1 in the UK.

Prince, as usual, was already busy putting together new projects. These included his latest backing band, "The New Power Generation", featuring Tony M (rapper), Rosie Gaines (vocals), Michael Bland (drums), Levi Seacer (guitar), Kirk Johnson (guitar), Sonny T (bass) and Tommy Barbarella (keyboards). They were in place in time for the sessions for DIAMONDS AND PEARLS, a comparatively deliberate and studied body of work. The album was released in October 1991, and showcased the new backing band.

The album was ethusiatically greeted by his fans. "The New Power Generation were considered his most able and vibrant collaborators since the mid-80s. Taken from it, 'Cream' became a US number 1. 1992's 'Money Don't Matter 2 Night' featured a video directed by film-maker Spike Lee, while 'Sexy MF' was widely banned on UK radio because of its suggestive lyrics. Both 'Sexy MF' and 'My Name Is Prince' were included on the LOVE SYMBOL ALBUM - which introduced the cryptic 'symbol' that he would legally adopt as his name in June 1993.

In October of 1995 Prince officially became known as 'The Artist Formerly Known As Prince'. In 1995 he released THE GOLD EXPERIENCE, which featured the prime funk tracks entitled 'Pussy Control' and 'I Hate You'. It also included the smoothly accessible smash hit 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World'.

Following the release of Chaos And Disorder in July 1996, he dismantled "The New Power Generation" and announced that he would not be touring, preferring to spend more time with his wife and new baby (who tragically died months after birth).

Prince celebrated his release from the Warner Brothers contract with the sprawling EMANCIPATION. Another 4-CD set, CRYSTAL BALL, was initially sold over the Internet before being released to distributors. The first three CDs compiled previously unreleased tracks, while the all-acoustic fourth CD, THE TRUTH, featured twelve strong new songs recorded the previous year.

On May 16, 2000 Prince reclaimed the name of “PRINCE” and the rest...is history.