Prince often interviewed by fax

Last Update: August 9th, 2021

Following Prince’s recent death, some media outlets are showcasing former interviews with the star – many of which happened over fax (allegedly at Prince’s insistence).

Danny Kelly (former editor of Q) reveals in the Guardian under “Prince: memories of U” how he would send lengthy faxes to the artist’s studio requesting an interview and many reasons for it, only to have them mostly unacknowledged. After two and a half years of constant faxing and no message, eventually a reply came over the fax saying “Monte Carlo, this week”.

In some interviews, such as a 2001 interview with a newspaper in Omaha, saw Prince replying over fax with shorthand such as “What u R is what u C when listening 2 it”.

Another interview saw many answers to a fax interview being the same length as the questions being asked – only a sentence or two.

Sources and more information:

• The Guardian – Prince: memories of U
• Omaha Go – 2001 Q&A: In a rare interview – conducted via fax and e-mail – Prince talks about music and other unanswered questions
• Vancouver Sun – That time our music reporter interviewed Prince by fax by Stuart Derdeyn