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Cape Town - Only a lucky few people got to meet superstar Prince in the flesh. This is the story of one of them.
Since news first broke of Prince’s death on Thursday night it’s been a bee hive of activity in the Channel24 office.
We’ve been hard at work covering the music legend's death since his body was discovered at his Paisley Park compound in Minnesota early on Thursday morning.
Authorities were called to a medical emergency at the estate at around 09:43. The hitmaker’s publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, later confirmed the news of his death.
The lucky few
The most emotional part of covering the death of such an international figure is probably the stories that people share of how their paths once crossed with that of Prince.
Somewhere, somehow a few lucky individuals got a few seconds, minutes or even hours with the Purple Rain singer.
One of those lucky few is a Channel24 user who phoned in to share her story of her chance encounter with the 1.57m tall star.
The user, who has asked to stay anonymous, shared a wonderful story of the night she met Prince in a pizza shop in Paris.
Prince in the pizza shop
"It was the summer of 1992 and I was staying in Paris. A friend and I had a Friday tradition of going to the Pizza Pie Factory on Rue de Berri off the Champs Elysées and enjoying pizza with a pitcher of daiquiris.
"One Friday we arrived and the doors were closed with bouncers outside stopping the general public from going in. We were regulars and really pissed off so we kicked up a fuss because it was our weekly tradition.
"Turns out, Prince was having dinner inside and the public wasn’t allowed. However after we made a scene someone from Prince’s entourage arrived and invited us in. There he was. Right in the corner. Shy. It was Prince.
"It was a surreal moment to see him and The Revolution sitting in our pizza shop. We didn’t bother them because we knew they were there to enjoy their meal. Instead we sat at our table and enjoyed our evening. When he later got up and left I noticed how short he was. About my height. We got handed tickets to his show. It was the beginning of a great weekend and a memory I’ll never forget.
"Shortly after news broke of his death I got a text message from my friend who now lives in America. She wrote: 'Remember that night?'"
The Pizza Pie Factory on Rue de Berri has since closed its doors.
