Prince’s Minnesota studio to permanently open as museum

Late pop icon Prince’s Paisley Park studio compound in Minnesota will become open to the public on Friday, after gaining final approval as a museum.

The “Purple Rain” star’s complex was scheduled to open earlier this month, but that was delayed after city officials asked the site’s operator to better plan for an influx of visitors.

Officials granted final approval Monday night, and Paisley Park’s operator said tour tickets will be available for purchase online through December 2016, with 2017 tour dates expected to go on sale in mid-November.

The 55,000-square-foot (5,100-square-meter) studio complex is located in the Minneapolis suburb of Chanhassen. It has a near-mythical status among fans, who had only limited access to parts of it during the pop legend’s life.

A lucky few hundred were said to have toured it.

As a compromise for fans who had already purchased tour tickets for the complex’s original unveiling in early October, officials allowed a limited number of tours over three days earlier this month.

Fans who got inside saw memorabilia including concert wardrobe, awards, musical instruments, artwork, music and video recordings, and motorcycles. Rooms were themed according to Prince’s albums, like Graffiti Bridge or Purple Rain.

Prince’s working studio was left untouched since the singer’s death on April 21 from an accidental overdose of painkillers, at the age of 57.

A long-planned memorial concert took place earlier this month. Some 20,000 fans and musicians gathered in Minnesota’s capital Saint Paul for the nearly five-hour tribute, which included a surprise video message from President Barack Obama.

“Thank you, Prince, for all the great works you have done. You will be in our hearts forever,” said Obama.

AFP