Steve Parke's 'Picturing Prince': Rare Stories Behind the Photos

Broadway is getting ready to resurrect another pop icon when Purple Rain opens at the Majestic Theatre next March. Based on Prince’s 1984 film of the same name, the stage musical will feature hits from the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning score, including “When Doves Cry,” I Would Die 4 U,” “Take Me With You,” and more. But capturing the rock star’s allure will be a monumental task. Fortunately, there are plenty of references thanks to photographer Steve Parke.

Parke’s photo book, Picturing Prince, recently re-released with 16 pages of new material, charts the musician’s dynamic career and association with Parke, who worked as the musician’s art director, designing everything from album covers and merchandise to tour sets. Eventually, Prince asked Parke to start photographing him, and the result is an exclusive peek into his elusive world.

Few had such access to Prince as Parke, and his stories run the gamut. While we don’t want to give away all of his secrets, here are a couple of anecdotes to give you a sense of what can be found among the pages and photos of Picturing Prince.

Prince’s unlikely film crew

Prince was a perfectionist. Not just musically, but visually, too. When preparing to shoot the video for “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World,” Prince and Parke decided the elevated round stage, covered by a red velvet drape, needed something more.

Parke suggested melted candles, but to achieve the desired effect by the shoot time that evening, Parke would need help but didn’t have crew. Prince’s response?

“Do I pay all the people in this building?” Prince asked. Parke nodded yes. “There’s your crew.”

Parke recruited the accounting department and anyone else he could find. Here is the result:

An unusual late-night request

Prince rarely—if ever—squelched his creative inspiration. One late night, Parke was working in his office when a producer frantically entered. “Do you have any idea where we can find a camel?”

They were shooting a commercial for Prince’s new fragrance, Get Wild. A few minutes later, the Purple One arrived, asking the same question and contemplating whether a helicopter might be able to transport one from LA.

Less than an hour later, Parke received a call from the building manager, asking him to come to the lobby. Sitting on the front desk was a mountain lion. Not a camel, but still.

As Parke recalls, “Turns out some animals are available at midnight in Minneapolis.”

Fast facts: ‘Picturing Prince’

Picturing Prince is Steve Parke’s photobook of rare, intimate images from his 13 years as Prince’s in-house art director and personal photographer at Paisley Park.