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Prince's Private World

A decade after the celebrated musician's death,
a new photo book reveals his private sides.

By Angela Andaloro in People

n April 21, 2016, the world was rocked by the news that Prince had died at age 57 of an accidental overdose at his home, Paisley Park, in Chanhassen, Minn. The entertainer had been privately dealing with a longtime opioid addiction stemming from his attempts to manage physical pain caused by years of high-impact performances. "It's been hard," his ex-wife, singer Mayte Garcia, 52, tells People, reflecting on the 10-year anniversary of his death. "For a good five years it was really harsh, because [his death] happened so suddenly. I can't believe it's 10 years. Life goes really fast." Her pain is compounded by the loss of their son Amiir, who died in infancy and would have turned 30 this year.

Now, a decade after the tremendous loss of the Purple Rain superstar, rarely seen photos of him are the subject of the new book Prince: Black, White, Color by Steve Parke (released April 14 from ACC Art Books). The collection shows the photographer's work with Prince between 1996 and 2001. The photos capture Prince in his prime, from sensual solo poses to special moments with Garcia, who was married to Prince from 1996 to 2000. "Prince was old-school. He'd never leave the house without looking amazing, like Marilyn Monroe. You'd never catch him in sweatpants and no makeup, so we were always ready," Garcia says. "Back then we were always on. That's how he lived."

Parke first connected with Prince in the late 1980s, and they developed a relationship over the years that blossomed as Prince asked Parke if they could work together with digital cameras, which were emerging media at the time. "Prince loved being able to see and download photos right there on the spot, the control it gave him over his own image," Parke writes in the book. "And he loved the endless possibilities of the early Photoshopping effects and tricks, though I tried not to abuse them."

The photos in the book include a sweet moment between Prince and Garcia and one of the couple's dogs, a Yorkie named Mia. "We were just shooting and having fun. That was at the house in Spain, and Prince told me to put Mia on the piano," Garcia says with a laugh. "I see them, and it brings me back to being young. I'm not saying that life is over, but it just takes me back and also makes me appreciate it."

Parke recalls that Prince preferred to shoot at home because it gave him room to experiment with his look. So too did working with digital cameras. "Every bit of it was on the fly, pure trial and error," Parke writes. "After each individual shoot we'd grab my laptop and review the images to keep and which to delete. An efficient method but also unfortunate, because at that point in tech history, there was no easy way to recover deleted files. And he did ask! And, of course, I'd love to have all those images lost to history."

While Parke is honoring Prince's legacy with the book, Garcia, who lives in Las Vegas with her 14-year-old daughter Gia, has continued to shepherd the music and arts advocacy charity Live 4 Love that she and Prince launched nearly 30 years ago in honor of their late son. "Of course [Prince] was a genius, but a lot of people don't know how much he cared and wanted to help," she says. "He helped a lot of people."  

Flashback to 1975!

From People's April 21, 1975, issue.

PAUL AND LINDA McCARTNEY SETTLE DOWN WITH THREE KIDS

hen his three Beatles colleagues were all seemingly well-married, Paul McCartney, 32, was still relieving the pressures of the touring life with groupie therapy. "I had my wild life," he how confesses. "I really had a wild time, especially when we toured America in 1964. But I told Linda everything. We have no secrets. I had my time in my time, but I am happier now. This life means much more to me." "This life" refers to a home-cooked pastoral existence with wife Linda Eastman, 33, and their three daughters: Mary, 5, Stella, 3, and Heather, 12. They are setting down their own roots in Argyllshire, Scotland, with a stable of horses, several dogs, a flock of sheep and a backdrop that Paul describes as "so peaceful, the hillsides encourage music." He declares simply, "I'm really lucky to have found Linda -- to be happy inside myself and start again with a clear head. My family's my life, and then it's music." (Linda died from breast cancer in 1998.)

IN THE NEWS: APRIL 1975

Fun Time: "I laugh my ass off everywhere I go, talking to cabdrivers, 4-year-olds." - Rita Moreno, currently starring as Googie Gomez in the Terrence McNally musical "The Ritz," which will earn her the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play.

Recovery: Russian-born dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, 27, returned to the stage in Paris, two months after spraining his ankle during a performance in Sydney.

Winner: Anatoly Karpov, 23, became the second-youngest World Chess Champion, dethroning Bobby Fischer, 32, when the American forfeited his title.

STAR TRACKS

Enjoying the View  After celebrating her 57th birthday, Betty Ford (left) embraced her daughter Susan on the White House lawn while greeting visitors on the lawn.

Artist at Work  Acclaimed painter Francis Bacon showed off his chaotic London studio as he launched an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  

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