freedom
7th March 2007, 09:39 PM
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Exclusive Interview With The Author Liz Jones By Simon
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Liz Jones
The truth this is?
Why write a book about Prince? This was my first question upon speaking to Liz Jones, author of the new biography Slave To The Rhythm. I mean, I know why I would want to write about Prince, and it would seem Liz had, primarily, the same reason, "I've always been a fan". Not just any type of casual observer either, this lady once went to seventeen Prince concerts in a row!! She said that she wanted to write a proper book about Prince, and she considered there was a gap in the market for this type of book. She is right, the last serious analysis of the Prince phenomena was David Hill's A Pop Life, that was nearly ten years ago. Since then there have been numerous books, commentaries and articles written about this artist, though none have really taken a look behind the Paisley curtains to see what's going on behind.
The goal, if this book has a definite goal, is to bring the truth to the reader. To allow the fans/friends of Prince/The Artist the chance to read about his life, to bring them as complete a picture as possible, and the impact it has had - both socially and within the music industry. To bring to peoples attention and, hopefully, send them out to investigate his history - For You to Emancipation and all the influences and side projects. "Oh, and to dispel [the fact] that he was a complete nutter".
I asked about her meeting with The Artist at Paisley Park, especially about the nervousness of the staff. I wondered if this jumpiness was caused by the death of The Artist's child and the need not to upset him. Apparently not, according to Liz this display of egg-shell walking is an everyday occurrence. And yet, as he was during an interview with him, The Artist can be the friendliest man there is. Liz tells in her book about his picking up her nervous stammer as she spoke with him, she told me he did it for fun, it was just a laugh. He can be engaging, charming, apparently he is a little tease and a bit of a flirt as well. Sadly, however, this was not the impression Liz left with; she said how, even in these surroundings and with all these people, "he seemed, so cut off, so lonely". You wonder how this can be so, but then you read the book and you look back on all the stuff you already knew, and you get the feeling that maybe she is right.
Whenever you see an interview or read an interview with any of The Artist's associates you sort of get the idea that they don't want to say too much. The words 'law' and 'suit' seem to prey heavily on their minds. I inquired if this was the case now, especially when you have Owen Husney saying about Prince's early demos; "Prince had the tendency to play a song for so long and then just jam. I think I helped, although I stress it was Prince's genius, not mine". You get the impression that as he was talking he thought, Oh God, I'm going to have to pull myself out of this!! Apparently, this was not so. Liz said how candid the majority of her interviews had been. She did wonder, but it proved that most people believed all the events to have happened so far in the past that there was little or nothing The Artist could do to them anyway. There was, however, always an appreciation of what he had achieved. Of all her interviewees, Liz said that Wendy and Lisa were the most open and forthright, the author had the inkling this would be so. In the event nearly every word these two former Revolutionaries uttered went into the book....
...Interviewed by Simon 8/11/97
© 1997 Simon / The Experience
Exclusive Interview With The Author Liz Jones By Simon
http://www.thedawnexperience.co.uk/images/liz.jpg
Liz Jones
The truth this is?
Why write a book about Prince? This was my first question upon speaking to Liz Jones, author of the new biography Slave To The Rhythm. I mean, I know why I would want to write about Prince, and it would seem Liz had, primarily, the same reason, "I've always been a fan". Not just any type of casual observer either, this lady once went to seventeen Prince concerts in a row!! She said that she wanted to write a proper book about Prince, and she considered there was a gap in the market for this type of book. She is right, the last serious analysis of the Prince phenomena was David Hill's A Pop Life, that was nearly ten years ago. Since then there have been numerous books, commentaries and articles written about this artist, though none have really taken a look behind the Paisley curtains to see what's going on behind.
The goal, if this book has a definite goal, is to bring the truth to the reader. To allow the fans/friends of Prince/The Artist the chance to read about his life, to bring them as complete a picture as possible, and the impact it has had - both socially and within the music industry. To bring to peoples attention and, hopefully, send them out to investigate his history - For You to Emancipation and all the influences and side projects. "Oh, and to dispel [the fact] that he was a complete nutter".
I asked about her meeting with The Artist at Paisley Park, especially about the nervousness of the staff. I wondered if this jumpiness was caused by the death of The Artist's child and the need not to upset him. Apparently not, according to Liz this display of egg-shell walking is an everyday occurrence. And yet, as he was during an interview with him, The Artist can be the friendliest man there is. Liz tells in her book about his picking up her nervous stammer as she spoke with him, she told me he did it for fun, it was just a laugh. He can be engaging, charming, apparently he is a little tease and a bit of a flirt as well. Sadly, however, this was not the impression Liz left with; she said how, even in these surroundings and with all these people, "he seemed, so cut off, so lonely". You wonder how this can be so, but then you read the book and you look back on all the stuff you already knew, and you get the feeling that maybe she is right.
Whenever you see an interview or read an interview with any of The Artist's associates you sort of get the idea that they don't want to say too much. The words 'law' and 'suit' seem to prey heavily on their minds. I inquired if this was the case now, especially when you have Owen Husney saying about Prince's early demos; "Prince had the tendency to play a song for so long and then just jam. I think I helped, although I stress it was Prince's genius, not mine". You get the impression that as he was talking he thought, Oh God, I'm going to have to pull myself out of this!! Apparently, this was not so. Liz said how candid the majority of her interviews had been. She did wonder, but it proved that most people believed all the events to have happened so far in the past that there was little or nothing The Artist could do to them anyway. There was, however, always an appreciation of what he had achieved. Of all her interviewees, Liz said that Wendy and Lisa were the most open and forthright, the author had the inkling this would be so. In the event nearly every word these two former Revolutionaries uttered went into the book....
...Interviewed by Simon 8/11/97
© 1997 Simon / The Experience