Music news

• New Orleans Jazz festival wraps up its first weekend

  24-04-2016 18:50
  
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival wraps up Sunday. The festival is seven days of rock, R&B, jazz, gospel, food, art and lectures across 12 stages. The festival then takes a break until Thursday when performances pick up again. What to look out for Sunday:
  
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• Beyond music, Prince's legacy includes black activism

  24-04-2016 18:10
  
  Prince accepted a standing ovation as he strolled out carrying a cane and rocking an Afro to present the 2015 Grammy for album of the year. Then he stole the show with a line that reminded everyone he was more than just a pop superstar; he was a black activist.
  
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• What to look for as first weekend of Jazzfest wraps up

  24-04-2016 17:37
  
  NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival wraps up Sunday. The festival is seven days of rock, R&B, jazz, gospel, food, art and lectures across 12 stages. The festival then takes a break until Thursday when performances pick up again. What to look out for Sunday:
  
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• Meet The Shoes That Are Blowing Up On Instagram

  24-04-2016 17:23
  
  Welcome back, Rocket Dogs…
  
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• SCO/Knussen review – featherweight and fizzing for Mendelssohn, Henze and Martin Suckling

  24-04-2016 17:13
  
  City Halls, Glasgow
  Oliver Knussen’s lightness and lack of pomp created an evening of wondrous moments, crowned by charismatic viola player Jane Atkins’s Britten Related: SCO/Ticciati – review Oliver Knussen writes music that is luminous, honed and full of fine detail; the same applies to the way he conducts. In his programmes with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, he always puts light between musical elements – as if he wants us to marvel at each ingredient on its own and
  
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• Review: Beyonce again proves to be center of pop universe

  24-04-2016 17:12
  
  Beyonce doesn't simply release albums anymore, she unleashes events.
  
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• Bruckner Orchester Linz/Davies review – a momentous sense of growth in Glass's Ninth

  24-04-2016 17:02
  
  Cadogan Hall, London
  The orchestra that has so often commissioned Philip Glass’s writing gave an expressive reading of his Ninth symphony under Dennis Russell DaviesHe only began composing symphonies in his mid-50s, yet 24 years later, Philip Glass is already working on his 11th, having passed the psychologically important hurdle of his Ninth in 2011.A substantial piece in three movements, totalling 50 minutes, it was presented here by the Bruckner Orchester Linz under its chief conductor,
  
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• Tom Hardy Has Some Thoughts On Those Saucy MySpace Snaps

  24-04-2016 16:59
  
  Can’t be tamed, won’t be shamed…
  
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• Prince live: five of his greatest moments onstage

  24-04-2016 16:23
  
  The music legend made a surprise appearance with James Brown and Michael Jackson, dominated the Super Bowl, and wowed audiences at his last showsPrince’s 1978 debut album, For You, gave him a reputation – it sold about 150,000 copies and earned favourable comparisons with Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, even the Bee Gees. But he still had to prove himself as a live performer. His plan was to have his new record label, Warner Music, organise a tour, but he needed to c
  
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• Beyoncé's Lemonade is #blackgirlmagic at its most potent

  24-04-2016 16:16
  
  With its Malcolm X sample and allusions to Yoruba culture, her new record is a Southern Gothic meditation on black American womanhood across the years
  “The past and the present merge to meet us here.” So Beyoncé proclaims in teaser videos of her new project, Lemonade. The hour-long HBO special debuted on Saturday night, presenting fans with a whole new “visual album”, her second in that format. Somali-British poet Warsan Shire’s verse from For Women Who Are D
  
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• Dame Kelly Holmes credits Prince's music for helping her complete first marathon

  24-04-2016 16:14
  
  Double Olympic winner Dame Kelly Holmes has credited the music of Prince for keeping her relaxed as she took on her first marathon alongside thousands of others in a record-breaking year for the race.
  
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• Papa Wemba: Congolese music's dandy with a dark side

  24-04-2016 15:38
  
  Papa Wemba earned himself a jail sentence for his involvement in people smuggling, but he should be remembered for his remarkable musicPapa Wemba – who has died, aged 66 –was one of Africa’s most celebrated, flamboyant singers, but he also became famous for all the wrong reasons.For one, he became notorious for using his band as a people-smuggling organisation. When he visited Europe from the Democratic Republic of Congo, he would often be accompanied by a sizeable entourage of
  
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• Simon Pegg Opens Up About Star Trek Beyond

  24-04-2016 15:31
  
  Plot points ahoy…
  
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• Shakespeare Odes review – Garrick's homage makes stylish return

  24-04-2016 15:14
  
  Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon
  The actor’s 1769 ode, with music by Arne, was paired with Sally Beamish’s Shakespeare Masque, with texts by Carol Ann Duffy, in this celebratory Ex Cathedra concertCelebrations of Shakespeare’s genius are not an exclusively modern phenomenon. In 1769, the actor David Garrick organised “An Ode upon dedicating a building and erecting a statue, to Shakespeare at Stratford upon Avon”. Garrick wrote the texts – the “te
  
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• Beyoncé – Lemonade review: 'A woman not to be messed with'

  24-04-2016 15:07
  
  Beyoncé’s imperious sixth album sees her turn her attention to her marriage, with witheringly powerful resultsDishearteningly billed as “a conceptual project based on every woman’s journey of self knowledge and healing” – a description that makes it sound like something agonisingly earnest you’d go out of your way to avoid at the Edinburgh Fringe – Beyoncé’s sixth solo album touches on a lot of potent topics. Quite aside from the pres
  
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• Prince Has Been Cremated In A Private Ceremony

  24-04-2016 14:57
  
  RIP Prince…
  
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• Congolese singer Papa Wemba dies after collapsing on stage

  24-04-2016 14:28
  
  Video footage shows 66-year-old rumba star falling to the floor mid-performance during concert in Abidjan, Ivory CoastPapa Wemba, the world music star known as the “king of Congolese rumba”, has died after collapsing on stage during a concert. The 66-year-old singer collapsed mid-performance at the Femua festival of urban music in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Saturday night. Continue reading...
  
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• 8 Game Of Thrones Season 6 Questions We Desperately Need Answers To

  24-04-2016 14:26
  
  Winter is coming. Maybe…
  
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• World music star Papa Wemba dies after collapsing on stage

  24-04-2016 14:22
  KINSHASA, Congo (AP) — Papa Wemba, known around the world as "the king of Congolese rumba," has died following a collapse on stage during a concert. He was 66.
  
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• Congo music legend Papa Wemba dies after collapsing on stage

  24-04-2016 14:01
  ABIDJAN (Reuters) - Congolese rumba music legend Papa Wemba died after collapsing on stage in the Ivory Coast in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to the private morgue where his body was taken. Wemba, born in 1949, was performing at the FEMUA 2016 festival when he collapsed on stage. He died before reaching hospital, a spokesman for the Ivosep morgue in Abidjan said. Known in the Democratic Republic of Congo as the King of Rumba Rock, Wemba won fans across Africa and Europe and worke
  
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• 'He was a huge fan' – How Prince became the patron of the psychedelic underground

  24-04-2016 13:05
  
  One of the unlikely byways of Prince’s career was his interest in the LA scene called the Paisley Underground – and it was his patronage that made the Bangles stars“He was a distant figure,” Michael Quercio of the Three O’Clock told me of his single encounter with Prince, his label boss, and a man he believes had been inspired by the music he and a handful of other bands had been making in Los Angeles in the early 80s. “We met him once. He had opened up the Pa
  
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• 'He was a huge fan': how Prince became the patron of the psychedelic underground

  24-04-2016 13:05
  
  One of the unlikely byways of Prince’s career was his interest in the Los Angeles Paisley Underground scene – and it was his patronage that made the Bangles stars“He was a distant figure,” Michael Quercio of the Three O’Clock told me of his single encounter with Prince, his label boss and a man he believes had been inspired by the music he and a handful of other bands had been making in Los Angeles in the early 1980s. “We met him once. He had opened up the Pai
  
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• Proof Kanye West And Kim Kardashian Will Be The Best Dressed At Your Wedding

  24-04-2016 12:57
  
  #StyleGoals…
  
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• Fans flock to Prince memorial at Paisley Park in Minnesota – video

  24-04-2016 12:32
  
  Hundreds of fans gathered outside Paisley Park in Minnesota on Saturday, as Prince’s friends Sheila E and Larry Graham thank them for their support. Prince was cremated and a group of his “most beloved” family, friends and musicians celebrated him afterwards in a small, private service, his publicist said on Saturday Continue reading...
  
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• Twitter Is Losing Its Mind Over Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” Right Now

  24-04-2016 12:25
  
  Queen B is back…
  
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• Beyoncé's rise and rise – in pictures

  24-04-2016 11:37
  
  As Beyoncé releases her new visual album Lemonade - here’s the evolution of her career, from Star Search “hip-hop rapping girl” time to global pop phenomenon and political provocateurContinue reading...
  
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• Beyonce Drops Cheating Hints In Surprise Album

  24-04-2016 11:22
  
  Beyonce has dropped hints of infidelity in her marriage to Jay Z in a surprise new album release. It follows extensive speculation around the state of the power couple's marriage following reports Jay Z was accosted in a lift by Beyonce's sister Solange in 2014.
  
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• Willy Vlautin: ‘I had a picture of Steinbeck and a picture of the Jam’

  24-04-2016 10:00
  
  The American musician and novelist on breaking up his acclaimed band Richmond Fontaine, and how Raymond Carver’s stories opened his eyesWilly Vlautin is an American musician and novelist based in Portland, Oregon. His alt-country band Richmond Fontaine won critical acclaim with their 2004 album, Post to Wire, and Vlautin’s second novel, 2008’s Northline, was named by writer George Pelecanos as his favourite book of the decade. In 2013 Vlautin formed a new band, the Delines, wit
  
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• Prince: ‘People hear the sex in my songs much more than I ever write it’

  24-04-2016 10:00
  
  On 27 February 1997, Prince granted a rare interview to the deputy editor of Top of the Pops magazine before appearing on the show. However, the finished article was deemed too candid to print in full. The unexpurgated version is published here for the first timeEveryone has a horror story. He won’t allow you to look him in the eye, he won’t let you ask any questions, he’ll talk in such a tiny whisper you won’t be able to hear him, he’ll ask you for one of your pubi
  
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• Prince: memories of U

  24-04-2016 10:00
  
  Cultural commentators and artists who grew up with Prince’s music explain what he meant to them and what made him uniqueSinger and presenterContinue reading...
  
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• Katy B: Honey review – a paean to clubbing

  24-04-2016 10:00
  
  (Rinse/Virgin EMI)The voice of Katy B is a dulcet contradiction. Kathleen Brien’s everygirl tones remain versatile enough to glide from sub-genre to sub-genre, yet distinctive enough to mark every cut with her scent. It is now ever more recognisable, thanks to two albums straddling the meridian between chart and club.Her third, Honey, finds the 26-year-old hitching her gossamer non-swagger to beats provided by over a dozen producers. Behind the scenes, Brien lost her elder brother in 2014
  
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• Jeff Lynne’s ELO review – a little too perfect

  24-04-2016 10:00
  
  O2 Arena, London
  Jeff Lynne’s massed musicians play all the hits with total precision and zero spontaneity. After 46 years, you long for ELO to blow a fuse…The first of Jeff Lynne’s run of four gigs at London’s O2 Arena is nothing short of flawless; both sumptuous in sound and generous with its hits. Millennials will revere Kanye West as the daddy of maximalism but Jeff Lynne was one of the co-authors of the book back in 1970, when ELO began.Tonight his band’s mult
  
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• ‘I exited Prince’s Mayfair suite feeling like a mouse savaged by a particularly fiendish cat’

  24-04-2016 10:00
  
  The late superstar was not amused when Barney Hoskyns called his Prince biography ‘Imp of the Perverse’. Here the veteran rock writer recalls the brilliant career of the Minneapolis maverick• Prince: memories of U – by John Grant, Attica Locke and moreI’d say it was all there in 1979’s I Wanna Be Your Lover, Prince’s first hit: the falsetto pout, the swivelling guitar riff, the effortless fusion of funk and pop, the teasing pause before the word “lo
  
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• Irish Culture in Britain: A Centenary Celebration review – a joyous occasion

  24-04-2016 09:30
  
  Wigmore Hall, London
  Ireland’s finest and friends – and Schubert – raised the roof in a glittering centenary celebration of Irish culture in BritainQuite right. Schubert was not Irish – not even a touch of the blarney – but his music filled the first half of a joyful celebration of the contribution of Irish musicians to international musical life. The event was, too, a commemoration of those on both sides who died in the Easter Rising of April 1916 and on the Somme
  
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• Handel at Vauxhall, Vol 1 review – an attractive potpourri

  24-04-2016 09:09
  
  Soloists, London Early Opera/Cunningham
  (Signum)London’s Vauxhall Gardens in the 18th century was not just a theme park of elegant fun, but a home of sophisticated artistic experiment. Handel’s music found a natural home in these outdoor entertainments, so following their successful series Handel in Italy, London Early Opera have begun a new series on Vauxhall with an attractive potpourri by Handel and others. These bright, lively accounts of music which we know was heard at Vauxhall
  
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• Woods: City Sun Eater in the River Of Light – quirky and eminently listenable

  24-04-2016 09:00
  
  (Woodsist)Brooklyn psychedelic folk outfit Woods have made eight albums of dishevelled, tuneful Americana. Their ninth throws in an unexpected brass section, some pedal steel guitar and even reggae, while retaining the band’s core mellifluousness. It’s a minor masterstroke, making City Sun Eater… a quirky but eminently listenable record. Singer Jeremy Earl’s voice is a tremulous instrument, but his quaver suits the album’s reggae-tinged opener, Sun City Creeps, or
  
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• Rufus Wainwright: Take All My Loves: 9 Shakespeare Sonnets review – engaging and sumptuous

  24-04-2016 09:00
  
  (Deutsche Grammophon)A few years ago, Rufus Wainwright mused publicly about shifting his focus further from pop towards opera and more esoteric musical projects. His newest record revisits a side project from 2009, setting a collection of Shakespearean sonnets to largely classical accompaniments, supported by guests including Florence Welch and soprano Anna Prohaska. It’s an engaging idea, sumptuously arranged and with a puckish wit on the classical cabaret of All Dessen Müd. But if t
  
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• Philip Glass: In the Summer House; Nico Muhly: Four Studies review – high-flying Manhattanites

  24-04-2016 09:00
  
  Angela Chun (violin), Jennifer Chun (violin)
  (Harmonia Mundi)For the American composer Nico Muhly (b1981) English choral music is a dominant influence. So too is Philip Glass (b1937), whose music Muhly first discovered as a college freshman, later working for him as copyist and sequencer for his film scores. They remain friends, colleagues and Manhattanites. This disc of music for two violins, agilely played by Angela and Jennifer Chun, highlights their strongly individual voices. Muhly’s
  
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• Park Lane Group review – prodigious young talent

  24-04-2016 09:00
  
  St John’s Smith Square, London
  This year’s roster of fine young musicians and composers made merry with everything from James MacMillan to oysters and EurostarThe Park Lane Group young artist series, which gives a platform for highly talented soloists, ensembles and composers at the start of their careers, is in its 60th season. For decades the PLG concerts have been in early January at the Purcell Room: dark, post-festive dog days when a dedicated handful of supporters can feel like
  
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• Imarhan: Imarhan review – an ear-opening debut

  24-04-2016 09:00
  
  City SlangThe desert blues revolution initiated by Tinariwen continues with this young band from southern Algeria. The groups share a similar sound – and Imarhan’s leader, Sadam, has a cousin in the elder band – but Imarhan are a more eclectic proposition. There’s a funky edge to tracks like Tahabort and the title cut, the latter also showing a willingness to explore echo-heavy psych atmospheres. The mix includes the slower, contemplative acoustica associated with assouf
  
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• Bill Charlap: Notes from New York review – one of the best trios ever

  24-04-2016 09:00
  
  (Impulse!)As a unit, this must be one of the best piano trios ever, and certainly as instantly recognisable as any of its great predecessors. Charlap’s touch on the keyboard is light, almost stealthy, even when playing full chords, but always firm, clear and beautifully articulated. With the spirited support of bassist Peter Washington and drummer Kenny Washington (famously unrelated), the total effect is just perfect. As always, Charlap’s playing provides convincing proof that it is
  
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• Bibi Bourelly, singer and songwriter: ‘The universe wants me to be great’

  24-04-2016 09:00
  
  The writer of Rihanna’s Bitch Better Have My Money on self-belief, playground bullies, and writing songs before she could speakBerlin-born and LA-based, 21-year-old maverick Bibi Bourelly has written songs for Rihanna (including 2015 single Bitch Better Have My Money) and collaborated with the likes of Little Simz, Usher and Lil Wayne. She has also released three exquisitely raw singles of her own: Riot, Ego and her latest, Sally, a scuffed-up pop-rock self-empowerment anthem. Her debut EP
  
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• Andra Day: Cheers to the Fall review – pop-friendly pain and heartbreak

  24-04-2016 09:00
  
  (Warner)From the uplifting gospel melodies of Rise Up to the boozy, country guitar-riddled monologue of Gin and Juice, Andra Day’s debut album takes cues from several genres but is shaped into a cohesive tale of pain and emotional desolation. Although her rich, expressive voice invites obvious comparisons to Amy Winehouse – fans of Back to Black are likely to enjoy the Californian singer-songwriter’s breakup record – Day delivers a lighter, more pop-friendly version of he
  
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• A$AP Ferg: Always Strive and Prosper review – diverse, dynamic wordplay

  24-04-2016 09:00
  
  (Columbia)You’d better have a sense of urgency if you’re a rapper called A$AP Ferg (real name Darold Ferguson) – and he may be the most quick-witted of all those who’ve scurried from Harlem hip-hop clique A$AP Mob like so many sportswear-clad money-spiders. From chat-up lines to make Charles Bukowski wince (“Even though the bathroom’s not unisex, we can turn that shit co-ed”) to the spiralling internal rhymes of Strive (“Working in Ben Jerry’
  
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• Vaughan Williams: Symphonies Vol 1 review – warm and lustrous

  24-04-2016 08:44
  
  Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Manze
  (Onyx)This is the promising start of a complete Vaughan Williams symphonies cycle by the RLPO and Andrew Manze, now an established RVW interpreter (having an impressive parallel career as a baroque violinist). Manze keeps a tight rein but lets the music blossom. The RLPO and its excellent soloists make a warm, lustrous sound. Onyx has chosen No 2 “A London Symphony” (1914) and No 8 (1955) to kick off the series, due for completion in 2019.
  
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• Beyonce releases surprise album 'Lemonade' as much-anticipated TV special airs

  24-04-2016 06:42
  (Reuters) - Beyonce cemented her status as the queen of surprise releases on Saturday, releasing a completely new album and videos called "Lemonade" via a widely anticipated one-hour special on cable network HBO. During the show, which ignited social media as fans breathlessly enthused about, and debated, the program and its content, Beyoncé appeared to address long-standing rumors of trouble in her marriage with rapper Jay Z. After leveling accusations in her song lyrics about being chea
  
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• Beyoncé launches new 'visual album' Lemonade on HBO

  24-04-2016 04:49
  
  Sixth album is broadcast in full on Saturday night, with a video for each song, and then made available on streaming service TidalRelated: How Beyoncé’s Ivy Park made sportswear sexy The surprise of releasing an album with no warning is perhaps a slightly overdone trick now, but the news that Beyoncé released her sixth solo album, called Lemonade, on Saturday night still managed to be the kind of event that confirms her status as arguably the world’s leading female pop
  
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• Prince Secretly Cremated By Family And Friends

  24-04-2016 04:36
  
  Prince's body has been cremated and a small group of family and friends have attended a private ceremony in his memory. The singer's publicist Yvette Noel-Schure said in a statement that those close to the 57-year-old had gathered "in a private, beautiful ceremony" on Saturday. Prince was a Jehovah's Witness, meaning that his funeral needed to take place within a week of his death.
  
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• Prince cremated as death baffles those who witnessed a clean life

  24-04-2016 03:08
  
  Private farewell ceremony held, says publicist, as friends, colleagues and Minnesota people say he was healthy in his habits contrary to drug speculationHealthy in his habits, tireless at work and an energetic creator who friends said avoided alcohol and drugs. Prince’s death has left investigators piecing together his final hours and mourners grappling with how the musician’s life could have come to such a sudden end.On Saturday Prince was cremated and a group of his “most bel
  
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• Prince cremated; family, friends honor him at ceremony in Minnesota

  24-04-2016 02:10
  Prince's remains have been cremated and his family and friends attended a private ceremony on Saturday to pay their respects to the late pop superstar at the studio complex and home where he died in a suburb of Minneapolis, a Prince spokeswoman said. Among those seen entering the Paisley Park Studios complex were his sister, Tyka Nelson, musician and former collaborator Sheila E., his former bass player Larry Graham and model Damaris Lewis. The service came two days after Prince, whose hits incl
  
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