Fans, friends reflect on 5th anniversary of Prince's death
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - On the fifth anniversary of Prince's death, his tunes are still spinning on the turntable at Electric Fetus, his favorite record store in south Minneapolis. It’s an emotional day as fans look back at his impact.
"We've really been enjoying the walk down memory lane and remembering what it was like back when he was making records," said Jim Novak of the Eletric Fetus.
It was April 21, 2016 when the Minnesota icon was found dead from an accidental fentanyl overdose at his Paisley Park compound in Chanhassen. For the next few days, fans from all around the world descended on his home to pay their respects to rock and roll royalty.
"Very reflective. Just talking about it makes me well up. It's a very sad time to think about it again is all I can say," said Matt Fink, aka Dr. Fink, a keyboardist for Prince’s band The Revolution.
Fink says he can't believe it’s been five years since he lost the man, who he thought of as family, so suddenly.
"These are the Grammy Awards for 'Kiss' and best rock performance for 'Purple Rain,'" said Fink.
Since Prince's death, the band has reunited to play 20 to 30 shows a year to keep his legacy alive and help his fans heal.
"It perpetuates his music to be out there playing his music and the fans want it," said Fink. "They want to hear the music played live and hear it similar to the way it done back in the day and we give it to them."
Prince's music is still one of the top sellers at the Electric Fetus. Some fans wonder what he would be singing about today if his voice hadn't been so tragically silenced.
"I know social justice issues were near and dear to him," said Novak. "He wrote about Freddy Gray on his last album. And what would he be saying now? Really curious about that. And sad about that because I think we could really use his voice."