An exhibit in London is offering music lovers a chance to see over 200 items once owned by the recording artist known as Prince.
The show is called “My Name is Prince.” It follows his long career in the music industry.
Among the personal possessions are special made-to-order guitars, notepads of handwritten song lyrics and some of the clothing Prince wore in his music videos and films.
The musician died of an accidental drug overdose of powerful painkilling drugs in 2016. He was only 57 years old.
But organizers said he had played a part in making preparations for the exhibition.
Angie Marchese is director of archives at Paisley Park, Prince’s home and production house in the American state of Minnesota. She said, “Prince started planning back in the early 2000s to open Paisley Park up for tours – literally writing the first script.”
Marchese added that organizers hoped to give visitors a chance to see more of the musician’s private side.
“Who he was as the friend, the bandmate, the brother. We hope to kind of tell a little bit of that story as well,” she said.
Among the items on display is the purple suit that Prince wore on the cover of his 1984 album “Purple Rain.” His famous “cloud” guitar and a large collection of high-heeled shoes are also part of the show.
The exhibit can be seen at The O2 Arena in South-East London. In 2007, he performed 21 times in the arena. A total of about 450,000 people attended those performances.
The exhibition has the approval of Prince’s surviving relatives. His sister, Tyka Nelson, had an emotional experience on her first visit.
“I didn’t make it 10-15 steps before I started crying and had to go back out,” she said. “It was hard.”
Prince sold over 100 million records during a 40-year career. He won seven Grammy Awards from the recording industry. He also won an Academy Award for writing the music heard in his 1984 film “Purple Rain.”
The exhibition continues until January 7, 2018.
I’m Jonathan Evans.
Mark Hanrahan reported this story for the Reuters news agency. Jonathan Evans adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
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Words in this Story
exhibition – n. an event at which objects such as works of art are put out in a public space for people to look at; a public show of something
lyrics – n. the words of a song
overdose – n. an unusually large amount of something
archives – n. a place where historical materials are kept
tour – n. a series of related performances or appearances
display – n. a setting or presentation of something
