PRINCE
“HOW D’YOU LIKE MY CRIB?”
On May 5, 2006, Prince’s biographer MATT THORNE attended one of the legendary 3121 private gigs in his LA mansion. Here’s his report. Dress to impress, please
MATT THORNE
L. COHEN/WIREIMAGE; BOB LEVERONE/SPORTING NEWS VIA GETTY IMAGES VIA GETTY IMAGES; DAVID JONES
PRINCE was the most contradictory rock star who ever lived. Take anything you ever heard about him and it usually turns out the opposite was also true. An intensely private man, he allowed fans greater access than any other musician. He feigned complete indifference to critics’ opinions, yet his managers told me he’d study every last word of his reviews.
When I decided to write a book about him, it seemed worth reaching out to gauge Prince’s response. Expecting a cease-and-desist, or at the very least a cold silence, I was surprised when instead I received an invitation to a party to be held on May 5, 2006 at his 10-bedroom, 18,000 square foot West Hollywood mansion on Sierra Alta Way. An email detailed the dress code – lounge suits or smart jackets for the men; dressto-impress for the women – how to behave, even what food it might be advisable to eat beforehand (“nothing more substantial than sushi”). For Prince, a party meant a performance, and at this stage he’d recently begun playing gigs for his Hollywood neighbours. To begin with these were brief jams with friends like Stevie Wonder; they’d since expanded into all-night shows.