Prince is a private guy, but he gave fans a glimpse into his life last night (Feb. 15) when he opened up to an Australian audience about his relationship with ex-girlfriend and former protegee’ singer, Denise “Vanity” Matthews, who passed away yesterday morning.
Upon hearing the news before taking the stage in Melbourne, Prince switched his set to include a tribute to Vanity. He even opened up and shared a memory he had with her with the audience.
The Herald Sun reports Prince as saying to the audience before playing a touching version of “Little Red Corvette,” “Someone dear to us has passed away, I’m gonna dedicate this song to her.” He then performed “The Ladder” to replace the name in the song “Electra” with “Vanity.”
The Herald noted that the Purple One was more chatty than usual, and at one point, he reflected on a specific memory with Matthews.
“Can I tell you a story about Vanity? Or should I tell you a story about Denise?,” he asked the crowd. “Her and I used to love each other deeply. She loved me for the artist I was, I loved her for the artist she was trying to be. She and I would fight. She was very headstrong cause she knew she was the finest woman in the world. She never missed an opportunity to tell you that. I probably shouldn’t be telling this story,” he said, “but she’d want us to celebrate her life and not mourn her.”
He then told the audience about a fight the couple once had that where he threatened to throw her in the pool, to which she replied, “You can’t throw me in the pool, you’re too little.” He then asked his six-foot bodyguard to do it for him.
It’s clear Prince had a lot of love for Matthew, so much so, that he altered his show to show her some love.