Video of teacher devastated in class at news Prince died
By Barry Lord @bazneto
For some the news of losing one of the greatest rock icons of our time, Prince, was too much to bear, as this YouTube clip of school teacher Matthew Patterson proves.
The singer’s death left the teacher crestfallen. As he Patterson tries to carry on his school day, the sound of Prince’s Purple Rain is just too much as the teacher buries his head in his hands.
Speaking to the New York Daily News, Patterson said: “”It hit me like a ton of bricks. I’ve been listening to Prince since I was 7… I must’ve spent thousands and thousands of hours listening to Prince. I was just a huge fan.”
“I talked about what Prince meant to me as an artist and a brave performer and a person unwilling to take stuff from record companies.”
And for Ireland and the world, there’s been too many losses this year. David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Terry Wogan, Glenn Frey, Victoria Wood, Ronny Corbett…
Just some of the pop cultural masterminds that have bid their final farewells in 2016.
Last night saw another illustrious name added to that ever-growing list of performers to sadly depart this earth…Prince.
News of the diminutive rock icon’s death broke here late yesterday, sending his fans on social media throughout the world into a state of disconsolation.
The Minnesota-born star, born Prince Rogers Nelson in 1958, had boarded his private jet on April 15, but the plane was forced into an emergency landing when the star complained of severe flu-like symptoms. He had recovered somewhat a few days hence, but collapsed at his home early Thursday morning.
Despite paramedics’ attempts to revive him, he was pronounced dead at 10.07 am local time, aged just 57.
His passing has reverberated around the globe and today his many fans are in mourning and filling their homes with the sounds that he created over a 30 year plus career.
And what a body of work he left behind.
Even the most casual music lover can’t deny the impact Prince made on popular music and culture.
He released his first album For You in 1978, following it up with the eponymously titled Prince album the following year. But it was in 1984 that he became a global phenomenon with the release of Purple Rain, the title track and iconic album imagery cemented his position as rock superstar.
In this time of reflection, everyone is recalling their favourite Prince memory online. This reporter vividly remembers his mother, having seen the movie Purple Rain, raiding a St. Vincent De Paul charity shop in Bray looking for a Prince-like wardrobe for her young son, with some success.
As much as I idolised the great man then, even as a young kid, I knew a white frilly shirt would not go down well at my school.
Fellow Irish fans took to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to pay tribute to the star, with some deeply poignant messages.
Ian Claxton @IClax remembered a special gig he attended at the Point in 1995, whilst fellow Twitter users Marion Keogh and Colin John Tuite had their cameras ready to shoot the purple-hued skies above Dublin last night.
Prince Rogers Nelson, June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016.