Prince’s death spurs purple tributes

Tributes poured in from around the world on Friday following the sudden death of superstar Prince at age 57, with fans flocking to all-night dance parties to celebrate the life of the Purple Rain music legend. As US authorities sought to shed light on the artist’s mystery death in an elevator at his home and studio complex in Minnesota, buildings were lit in purple in memory of the performer hailed by President Barack Oba-ma as a “creative icon.”

In his hometown of Minneapolis, a huge crowd gathered outside the First Avenue club, where Prince recorded the film version of Purple Rain, as well as outside the secluded compound where he was found dead on Thursday. Fans also gathered in other cities, including New York, where director Spike Lee led a Prince sing-along at a packed block party in Brooklyn.

Prince’s death came a week after the enigmatic Grammy and Oscar winner — acclaimed for his guitar and keyboard skills and soaring falsetto — was taken to a hospital with a flu-like illness that he later downplayed.

The Carver County sheriff’s office said that deputies responding to an emergency call found an “unresponsive” Prince in an elevator.

Attempts to resuscitate him failed and he was pronounced dead at 10.07 am (1507 GMT), it said, adding that an investigation had been launched.

The cause of death remained unclear. A spokeswoman for the Anoka County Midwest medical examiner’s office said that authorities would perform an autopsy on Friday. Entertainment website TMZ, citing multiple unnamed sources, said the musician had been treated for a drug overdose in the week before his death, following a show in Atlanta. The singer was taken to hospital after his private jet made an unscheduled landing in Moline, Illinois, amid previous reports that he had been battling flu. “Multiple sources in Moline tell us Prince was rushed to a hospital and doctors gave him a ‘save shot’... Typically administered to counteract the effects of an opiate,” TMZ said.

In Minneapolis, authorities lit up a bridge in purple in Prince’s memory, while Chicago’s skyline also took on a mauve hue. Prince — whose huge catalogue of hits includes 1999, Cream and Kiss — lived on the outskirts of Minneap-olis, where he mostly kept to himself.