Tributes for Prince poured out of south west London last night with Brixton’s Ritzy cinema taking the lead, after the iconic musician died yesterday.
Prince Rogers Nelson, who sold more than 100 million records during his career, was found dead in a lift at his Minnesota home on Thursday morning at the age of 57.
Just a few hours after the superstar’s death was announced, The Ritzy set out the touching message on its listings billboard.
A spokesperson for the cinema said: “We wanted to pay tribute to Prince because he is one of the few icons who really shaped popular culture in all respects, not just in music but queer culture and black culture as well.
“There are not many people we would commemorate up there, but David Bowie was one and so is Prince — we just had to pay tribute to him because of his amazing legacy.”
People from all over the globe have expressed their grief on social media, with #PrinceRIP being tweeted 146,000 times and #RIPPrince more than 950,000 times.
Among those paying tribute to the massively popular and influential Let’s Go Crazy singer were a number of south west London stars.
Kingston Vale-based Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood tweeted a heartfelt message in Prince’s honour.
I will miss a good friend who was so talented. He was such a great performer / guitar player. Sleep well Prince 🙏 pic.twitter.com/4EZLFyGw9X
— Ronnie Wood (@ronniewood) April 21, 2016
Grammy winner and Brixtonian La Roux kept it simple.
https://twitter.com/larouxofficial/status/723207819898531840?lang=en-gb
Meanwhile, Merton comedian David Walliams recalled his own personal experience of Prince’s famously flamboyant personality.
Thank you so much @bryanferry for inviting me to have dinner with #Prince a few years ago. One of the most unforgettable nights of my life.
— David Walliams HQ (@davidwalliams) April 21, 2016
And Richmond comedian Shappi Khorsandi struggled to contain her shock at the sad news.
NO WAY!!!! I'm on a crowded tube sobbing. This can't be true!
— Shaparak Khorsandi (@ShappiKhorsandi) April 21, 2016
My boyfriend and I got to be SO close to him at Koko last year. Went in both of our 'top five best experiences ever' he high fived my boy 🙂
— Shaparak Khorsandi (@ShappiKhorsandi) April 21, 2016
Featured image courtesy of The Ritzy, with thanks
