Prince paid tribute to his former love and protege Vanity on Tuesday, with a set of stories, during his concert in Melbourne, Australia. Vanity, whose real name is Denise Katrina Matthews, passed away on Monday at the age of 57 after a long battle with kidney failure.
Prince discovered Vanity in 80s Photo: Getty Images
During the concert, the 57-year-old music legend paid tribute to the "Nasty Girl" singer with a set of funny stories during the first show of his global Piano and a Microphone solo tour.
"Can I tell you a story about Vanity? Or should I tell you a story about Denise," the "Purple Rain" singer asked the audience according to News Corp Australia. "Her and I used to love each other deeply. She loved me for the artist I was, I loved her for the artist she was trying to be. She and I would fight. She was very headstrong, cause she knew she was the finest woman in the world. She never missed an opportunity to tell you that."
He continued: "I'm trying to stay focused, it's a little heavy for me tonight. Just keep jamming."
During his stripped-down set, Prince dedicated his hit song "Little Red Corvette" to the late singer. While the news of the singer's death broke Monday night during the Grammy awards, celebrities took to social media to express their condolences during the telecast.
"Man. Vanity was everything to me. Rest in peace. Denise "Vanity" Matthews," Questlove, drummer for The Roots captioned a throwback picture of the singer on his Instagram.
Prince continued the set with a story about the fight the two lovers had, in which he threatened to throw her in the pool. “You can’t throw me in the pool, you’re too little," he jokingly told the audience before explaining that his 6-foot female bodyguard did it for him.
“I probably shouldn’t be telling this story, but she’d want us to celebrate her life and not mourn her.”
