Prince Proves He’s Okay By Making Surprise Appearance At Dance Party
Prince might have given his fans a scare a few days ago after being rushed to a hospital, but the singer wants everyone to know that he is alive and well. The “Purple Rain” hitmaker made a surprise appearance at Paisley Park just a day after being released from the hospital.
The 57-year-old singer, who is currently on his Piano & A Microphone Tour, appeared to be suffering from flu symptoms when his private jet made an emergency landing at the Quad City International Airport in Moline, Illinois. The musician spent about three hours at the hospital for treatment, but he did return to his home in Minnesota to recover there.
2 GIVE THANX 4 THE GOOD WEATHER AND 4 ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT… pic.twitter.com/PEcHzLnYvc
— Prince (@prnlegacy) April 16, 2016
Prince decided to do the event to show fans that he’s not as sick as previously reported by some media sites, and to show off his new instruments. The Minneapolis native arrived on stage to unveil his new purple Yamaha piano, where the singer played “Chopsticks” and a short classical instrumental piece.
The singer also had a purple guitar case with him, and Prince showed off the purple guitar that he said was made in Europe. The singer didn’t play anything on his new guitar, as he wasn’t in the right mindset.
“I have to leave it in the case or I’ll be tempted to play it. I can’t play the guitar at all these days so I can keep my mind on this [the solo piano] and get better.”
Prince also did not sing Saturday night, but he did leave a statement to the 200 fans that were in attendance: “Wait a few days before you waste any prayers.” The singer’s entire appearance lasted less than five minutes.
Prince, who is famous for protecting his music and concert footage from bootleggers, was in a good enough mood when he playfully called out to security when a fan snapped a photo of him at Paisley Park. Instead of getting mad, the singer gave his okay to let the girl stay inside the venue.
Prince is making sure that nobody releases bootleg copies of his Piano & A Microphone Tour. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has a strict no-photo/video rule that is enforced by venue ushers. The singer is known to file lawsuits to anyone that uses his music and images without his permission.
Before Prince made it to Paisley Park on Saturday night, he made sure to support a local record store in honor of Record Store Day. The singer stopped by South Minneapolis’ Electric Fetus on Saturday evening to purchase several CDs, including the classic Stevie Wonder album, Talking Book.
PLEASE SUPPORT UR LOCAL RECORD STORE 2DAY: (THROAT CLEARS 2 ATTRACT ATTENTION): ELECTRIC FETUS
— Prince (@prnlegacy) April 16, 2016
Fans who are unable to get a ticket to Prince’s latest tour can wait until his memoir is released. Last month, the singer announced in New York that he is writing a book that will have the title The Beautiful Ones. Random House is the publisher, although a release date has not been mentioned yet.
No official word yet if Prince will continue his Piano & Microphone Tour as scheduled, or if there are going to be any postponed dates as he fully recovers.
[Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images]
