Channel 4 to look back at Prince's final year in new documentary

30 November 2017

At the time of his sudden death at the age of 57 in an elevator at his home at Paisley Park, Prince was one of the most successful performers of all time. A gifted composer, singer and instrumentalist, Prince sold more than 100m records in an unrivalled career that spanned musical genres as diverse as pop, blues and soul and garnered him the love and admiration of millions of fans.

A new documentary, Prince’s Last Year will examine the last 365 days of his life, following him from a secret gig at The White House to his first ever solo concerts, called the Piano & a Microphone tour.

With no backing dancers or theatrics, this was the sound of Prince stripped bare; the simplicity of these performances showed Prince in reflective mode, all the more poignant in hindsight, as these would be his final shows.

While Prince was an artist in complete control of his music, image and his life, in his last year he was also troubled by a long-standing addiction to painkillers, taken to alleviate hip pain from years of performing. It was a secret he kept from even his closest friends and family; the only hint that all was not well came just two weeks before his death when he cancelled a concert in Atlanta, later saying he was feeling ‘a little under the weather.’

With extraordinary access and contributions from CeeLo Green, George Clinton and Rev Al Sharpton, this hour-long documentary will follow the musical and political passions of Prince’s life.

In his later years he turned his creative attention to his music factory at Paisley Park, mentoring a new generation of female artists. And he underlined his political activism, which began with his well-publicised battle with Warner Brothers in 1993, with his Rally4Peace in Baltimore, following the death of Freddie Grey in police custody, with the support of Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Jay Z.

 

The film will also focus on the days leading up to his death, with interviews from friend and political commentator Van Jones, singer Eryn Allen Kane and former girlfriend Andy Allo.

Prince’s Last Year is Produced and Directed by Adrian Sibley, Executive Produced by Dan Goldsack and Sheldon Lazarus is Creative Director for Lincoln Square Productions.

The documentary is a compelling insight into this complex and contradictory character; the shy and sometimes even awkward man whose exceptional talent and vision propelled him to become the greatest pop star of the 20th Century.

ENDS

 

ABOUT LINCOLN SQUARE PRODUCTIONS

ABC News’ Lincoln Square Productions produces original content for broadcast, cable and digital distribution specializing in compelling ways to tell fact-based stories, including ABC’s “What Would You Do?,” “Madoff,” “In An Instant” and the “Oscars® Opening Ceremony: Live From the Red Carpet,” Investigation Discovery’s “Barbara Walters Presents,” as well as documentary programming for a wide array of partners, including PBS, Discovery Communications and A & E Networks. Lincoln Square Productions is wholly-owned by the American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. The headquarters are located in New York City’s Lincoln Square neighborhood and a UK office in London.