prince landmarks  © Photo: PA

Prince's former manager Kerry Gordy pays tribute to the late star

April 22, 2016

Iconic landmarks around the world were lit up in purple to honour Prince, who sadly died on Thursday, while stars have been expressing their sadness on Twitter and Instagram. Among those who have paid tribute is Prince's former manager Kerry Gordy.

Speaking about the 57-year-old, Kerry said: "He was a great songwriter, he was a great producer, he was a great arranger and he was a great musician.

"Not only was he a guitar player, he was a keyboard player, he was a drummer, he was a bass player, he did all of the instruments and he did all of the arrangements."

© Photo: Getty Images

Prince's former manager said: "He will be remembered for a person who was truly multi-talented"

Kerry added to Good Morning Britain: "He was a total talent as opposed to people who just do one thing... he did everything. He will be remembered for a person who was truly multi-talented."

STARS PAY TRIBUTE TO PRINCE

In 1993 Prince famously changed his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol, also known as the 'Love Symbol'.

© Photo: Getty Images

Kerry Gordy managed the singer's record label

"The reason why he did it was he felt that Warner Brothers owned him and he didn't want to be owned," explained Kerry. "He felt that they owned the name Prince and that they dictated when he could release a record, when he could not release a record and he didn't want anybody to own his name.

"Therefore he decided, 'I'm dropping my name and I'm going to release records when I want to release records and I'm going to do what I want.'"

Apart from Prince's legacy, his former manager also praised the When Doves Cry singer for his business acumen.

© Photo: Getty Images

The When Doves Cry singer died at the age of 57

"First of all I got to meet him before he became a star," said Kerry. "When he was out trying to become a star when he first got his deal with Warner Brothers Records.

"I didn't start running his company until long after that but once he became a star, it was amazing and he had incredible business acumen. He definitely wanted to own his music, his copyrights and his masters."

Prince, full name Prince Rogers Nelson, sadly died on Thursday at his Paisley Park studio in Minnesota. His publicist confirmed the news and an investigation is currently underway.

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