Remembering Prince: A look back on the icon's exceptional career

Prince was unlike anyone else in the world. Plucking the best sounds from a cornucopia of influences that included The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Santana and Stevie Wonder, the eccentric performer was known for his fancy fingers (both on the piano and guitar) and tireless stage performances - three high-energy hours with nary a break was the usual for the superstar, often with a small club performance as the cherry on top, right up until his sudden death on Apr. 21 2016. Here, we look back on some of the memorable moments in the singer's remarkable career... <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
Prince wore his signature purple while on his final 1999 tour stop in Chicago, promoting his fifth studio album by the same name. It was his longest US tour yet with more than 80 shows and saw the flamboyant showman perform hits like "Little Red Corvette" and "Delirious." <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
<p>In a scene from his iconic 1984 film <em>Purple Rain</em>, Prince embraces his longtime collaborator and lover Apollonia Kotero. The film was the culmination of his chart-topping album <em>Purple Rain</em>, a cult favourite loosely based on the singer's life and through which he won an Oscar and also simultaneously achieved the number-one album, single and movie on US charts.</p> On an episode of Oprah's <em>Where Are They Now?</em>, she spoke about the duo's relationship. “We were, and still are, platonically, romantically involved. There’s a lot of romance,” she said. “He was not my boyfriend, but he’s my greatest friend.” <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
One of a million animated looks that Prince offered fans while giving his notably spirited performances. Here, he rocked out at the Fabulous Forum in California in 1985. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
Another one from the Fabulous Forum in 1985. Prince's wild ensembles were a signature part of his persona, here with a feathery accent. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
The playful performer had some fun with the media in 1986. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
This gravity-defying photo was taken during one of three nights at London's Wembley Arena in 1986 for Prince's Hit N Run-Parade Tour. This marked his return to the stage following a 1985 retirement from live performing, the result of intense media scrutiny. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
Following one of his 1986 Wembley shows, a fur-clad Prince and Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood took the stage at a small London club for a late-night gig. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
1986 also saw Prince step out for the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, where he presented the first award for pop/rock single, clad rather demurely in a three-piece tuxedo. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
Prince was back at Wembley in 1990, his long locks windswept as he took the stage on his Nude Tour, a stripped-down rendition of his greatest hits. But no matter how little gimmick he brought to the stage, no Prince show was every actually stripped down - his gusto was palpable for every person in the arena. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
Prince donned an over-the-top ensemble while taking the stage in New York in 1993, obscuring his face with chains and brandishing a sword. This was the year that he became The Artist Formerly Known As Prince after changing his name to “the love symbol” (Ƭ̵̬̊) - and releasing his popular record <em>The Love Symbol Album</em>. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
<p>Prince flexed his skills on the guitar during his induction ceremony for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City in 2004. He played a number of his own songs before paying tribute to George Harrison with "As My Guitar Gently Weeps."</p> Alicia Keys introduced the singer at the ceremony, calling him, "A mysterious figure, who in a river of words will not suffice, can only be identified by a symbol. Whose music is like an internal roller coaster that takes each individual on their own separate legendary ride, and still takes listen after listen to discover and uncover even half of the story behind the intriguing and unapologetically addictive beat of music." <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
Playing his guitar with a lady on his arm during the press conference for his Super Bowl halftime show performance in Miami in 2007. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
As rain poured down on Dolphin Stadium in Miami, Prince gave one of the most epic halftime show performances of all time. Playing on a guitar shaped in the symbol that had become his name, the game-changing performance of "Purple Rain" that saw the singer's shadow behind a tarp made it ok to make the show a spectacle again, and a sexy one at that, paving the way for future performers like Beyonce and Katy Perry (and scrubbing away the tarnish brought on by Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction). <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
His star was shining bright at Madison Square Gardens during Prince's Welcome 2 America tour in 2011, his 21st trip around the globe and one that was renamed with each continent (Welcome 2 Europe and Welcome 2 Australia rounded out the 80+ stop event). It ranks as one of the top wold tours ever, according to Pollstar, and saw the singer belting out his hits alongside guest performers like Janelle Monae. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
A Welcome 2 Europe stop in the Netherlands was a fringed affair. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
Another Welcome 2 Europe stop, this time in furry white boots at an open-air stadium in France. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
Prince performed with singer Mary J. Blige during the 2012 iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas, shielding his eyes with golden sunglasses. The duo sang "Nothing Compares 2 U" and she shared a photo from the performance as a tribute upon hearing about his passing. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
With his iconic symbol in full force, Prince looked the epitome of a cool cat at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles in 2014. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
Prince delighted fans new and old with his hilarious appearance as himself on the hit sitcom <em>New Girl</em>, in which Zooey Deschanel's Jess and her gang of friends end up at a party at Prince's house - and Jess has a very special moment with the singer. <p>Photo: © Getty Images</p>
© 2001-2019, HELLO! - All rights reserved