Prince
Entry updated 10 August 2026. Tagged: Music, People.
Working name of US musician, songwriter, producer, actor and filmmaker Prince Rogers Nelson (1958-2016), whose mix of funk, soul and pop to create what became known as the Minneapolis Sound, as well as his overtly sexual but ambiguous persona, continues to be endlessly imitated. One of his signature songs, the title track to the album 1999 (1982, credited to Prince and the Revolution), is perhaps the most joyous End of the World track ever recorded, as Prince decides to dance into the nuclear apocalypse coming at the turn of the century, rather than succumb to fear or despair. His soundtrack to Batman (1989) (see Batman Films) contains the track "The Future", envisioning the "systematic overthrow of the underclass". A few tracks from his significantly less inventive later period lean towards sf, including "Space" from Come (1994), though here Space Flight is a metaphor for a romantic relationship, and the title track of Planet Earth (2007), which imagines future inhabitants of our planet looking back in despair at the destruction we have caused. [CWa]
Prince Rogers Nelson
born Minneapolis, Minnesota: 7 June 1958
died Chanhassen, Minnesota: 21 April 2016
links
previous versions of this entry