You might not think there’s many things The Gorillaz’ front man Damon Albarn might regret. But Albarn recently sat down with Gordon Smart of Radio X to discuss his band’s upcoming album The Now Now. At one point their conversation turned to that time Albarn almost worked with Prince.
He’d been invited “to go and play with Prince,” Albarn explained. A chance to jam with Prince at his Paisley Park studio? Who wouldn’t say yes? Well, apparently Albarn wouldn’t say yes. In fact he turned down the invite because Prince didn’t want anyone smoking in his studio.
“I was having a drink and a fag—I don’t actually smoke anymore, knocked that one on the head—but if you can’t be who you… If I’ve invited someone to my studio, they’re my guest, and there aren’t any conditions like that,” Albarn said.
He continued, “Anyway, it’s like, I can have a cigarette outside if I needed it—I’d be fucking excited, right? Why the fuck would I not want to fucking go mad if I’m with Prince? I’d rather not do it and not get pissed off with the whole thing. It’s just one of those ‘could have been’… I’ve got a few of those.”
By all accounts, that’s kind of insane. Don’t play with Prince because you don’t like being told no smoking in the studio? We guess every man has a line in the sand, but maybe when your line involves not playing with Prince, it’s time to reconsider.
