The story of Prince and his Valentine’s Day roller disco: “This is historical”
If there’s one thing that can be deduced from the countless anecdotes about Prince’s life, it’s that the man loved a side quest. He made movies cause he felt like it, he loved to play ping-pong, he collected mugs, he could knit and fish, and he built model trains. Beyond being a musical genius, he had so many hobbies and clearly knew how to have fun with his downtime during a busy schedule, including one Valentine’s Day when he decided to spend the day off hosting a roller disco.
It’s always nice to hear about a musician still intent on living a full and fun life beyond their career. Too often, there are stories about artists getting swept up and overwhelmed. They become so stressed out by their fame or their schedule that they lose all sense of joy in it or lose sight of the privileges that life grants them.
Prince never did that. Instead, he seemed to use the money and power his talent granted him to allow himself to do whatever he wanted. If he wanted to stage a musical based on Homer’s The Odyssey, he was going to do that. If he wanted to cast himself in a somewhat biopic of his own life, he was going to do that. If he wanted to buy himself an extravagant pair of light-up rollerskates, he was going to do that, and he was going to throw a party just for the chance to wear them.
“I got a text from Prince’s assistant. That’s how things go in the Prince universe: You get a pre‑message saying that a phone message is coming later. But this time, the message said something different. It said that there was going to be a roller‑skating party that night for Valentine’s Day and that I should bring some cool people.” That was Questlove’s memory from February 14th. He looked around the room he was in when he got the message, turning to the all-star cast of people to ask simply, “Hey, guys, want to go roller‑skating with Prince?”
Eddie Murphy accepted the invite, as recalled by Questlove, “‘This is historical,’ he said. ‘For starters, I need to see if Prince can roller‑skate. I’m a comedian, and honestly, what’s funnier than that?’” So they went down the rink only to find a small gathering of people and no Prince. They skated and waited, and eventually, he showed, beginning what reads as a completely insane scene.
“Prince was carrying a big briefcase in his hand, and he was acting all mysterious, like it contained the glowing substance from Pulp Fiction or something. He made like he was going to open it, then stopped, then started again. Then he walked toward me,” he remembered. What followed was a tense negotiation as Prince demanded Questlove lock his phone away in the coat check to make sure there was absolutely no evidence of this event. Only then would he open the briefcase.
“He clicked the lock and opened it and took out the strangest, most singular pair of roller skates I had ever seen. They were clear skates that lit up, and the wheels sent a multicoloured spark trail into your path,” he said. It feels more like a dream than a fact. Prince, the 5’2″ musical genius, doing laps of a roller rink in light up skates.
“Man. He could skate like he could sing. I watched him go, so transfixed,” Questlove continues, caught up in a trance as the sort of scene that no one would believe if he told them. But skating was just another one of those hobbies. Another random skill that the musician had mastered and another strange exhibit of proof that his talent truly knew no bounds.
