Brunel University Lecturer in Creative Writing Matt Thorne has published a new and definitive biography of the pop star Prince.
Notoriously reticent and misleading, Prince is one of the few remaining 80s superstars who remains an enigma. His classics such as ‘Purple Rain’, ‘Sign o’ the Times’ and ‘Parade’ regularly feature in Best Ever Album polls, and his live performances are legendary. Although recent releases have been modestly successful at best, his influence on urban music, and RnB in particular, are inescapable.
Matt Thorne’s Prince is the account of a maverick whose experiments with rock, funk, techno and jazz revolutionised pop. Referencing every phase of his career including over 35 years in the recording studio and onstage, Thorne's book developed through years of research and interviews with ex-Revolution members such as Wendy and Lisa and Dez Dickerson.
Thorne is the author of six novels including Eight Minutes Idle, which won an Encore Award and was recently made into a film for which Thorne co-wrote the screenplay, and Cherry, which was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize in 2004. He is also the author of three books for children and co-edited two anthologies.
According to Alexis Taylor from the band Hot Chip: ‘Matt Thorne’s Prince is the definitive work on the man; I am listening again to every piece of his music with renewed enthusiasm. Prince’s music has always deserved a book like this – his own Revolution in the Head.
For more information, contact Anna Pallai, Publicity Director Non-Fiction on 020 7927 3884 or at
annap@faber.co.uk.