A musical prodigy from a broken home, Prince famously wrote, arranged, produced and played almost all of his hit records.
But the Purple man's purple patch really came with his first band The Revolution.
With them by his side, he wrote more than two dozen rock classics in a five-year flurry.
Purple Rain, Little Red Corvette, 1999, Raspberry Beret, When Doves Cry, Kiss... At the same time, he dashed off Manic Monday for The Bangles and Nothing Compares 2U, made famous by Sinead O'Connor.
In the studio, he was unstoppable. But the magic really happened on stage. He would vamp, preen and tease an audience into a frenzy, then slay them with a quiet moment of crystalline beauty. He was a joy to watch.
