📰 V Magazine Cover & Twelve‑Page Feature Sep. 2013

A twelve‑page V Magazine feature and cover story capturing Prince in the midst of his 3RDEYEGIRL era — a period defined by late‑night shows, guitar‑heavy reinvention, and a renewed willingness to speak (briefly, intensely) to the press.

📰 Excerpt

Nearly forty years into his career, Prince is still playing two shows a night, still reinventing himself, and still preaching — at 2 a.m. — about sex, religion, and rock and roll. This feature follows him backstage, onstage, and into the philosophical spaces where his music is born.

📰 Overview

Published on September 10, 2013, this V Magazine issue presents Prince through the lens of high fashion and high voltage performance. Photographed by Inez & Vinoodh and styled by Melanie Ward, the editorial frames him as both timeless icon and contemporary force — a musician in full command of his image, his band, and his message.

The accompanying profile by Vanessa Grigoriadis captures Prince in motion: touring with 3RDEYEGIRL, playing marathon sets, enforcing strict no‑phone policies, and exploring a harder, rock‑leaning sound. The feature positions him as a figure who remains mysterious not because he hides, but because he refuses to dilute himself.

📰 Source Details

Publication: V Magazine

Issue: Fall Preview Issue (No. 84)

Date: September 10, 2013

Format: Cover story + twelve‑page feature

Provenance Notes: US fashion and culture magazine; part of V’s tradition of spotlighting boundary‑breaking artists.

📰 The Story

The feature opens at the City National Grove of Anaheim, where Prince is performing two full sets in one night. He tells the writer he feels more energized after the second show — a testament to his stamina and his deep connection to live performance.

The article explores:

• His strict no‑phone policy, enforced with zero negotiation

• His evolving look — a tight Afro, a black bodysuit with white lines, a spider‑like silhouette

• His complicated relationship with technology and digital culture

• His duality as a devout Jehovah’s Witness and a writer of erotic, spiritually charged music

• His refusal to conform to labels around gender, sexuality, genre, or identity

• His creative sanctuary at Paisley Park, including the legendary vault

• His shift toward a rock‑driven sound with 3RDEYEGIRL, including songs like “Screwdriver”

• His stripped‑down reinterpretations of classics such as “Raspberry Beret,” “When Doves Cry,” and “Computer Blue”

The profile paints a portrait of an artist who is both intensely private and intensely present — a man who controls his environment completely, yet gives everything onstage.

📰 Key Highlights

• Twelve‑page feature with photography by Inez & Vinoodh

• Fashion direction by Melanie Ward

• In‑depth profile by Vanessa Grigoriadis

• Behind‑the‑scenes look at Prince’s 3RDEYEGIRL tour

• Exploration of his philosophy on technology, spirituality, and performance

• Rock‑focused reinterpretations of classic songs

• Rare mid‑2010s interview during a period of creative resurgence

📰 Visual Archive

all pages are listed at the bottom of the post

Caption

V Magazine — Cover and twelve‑page feature, September 10, 2013.

📰 Article Text

Paste your cleaned transcription or selected excerpt here.

(Short excerpts only — no full copyrighted reproduction.)

📰 Related Material

• Explore the tags below for connected eras and themes.

📰 Closing Notes

This V Magazine feature captures Prince at a moment of raw power — a performer pushing himself harder than ever, a philosopher wrestling with modernity, and a fashion icon whose image remains as controlled and compelling as his music. It stands as one of the defining documents of his 2010s renaissance.

📰 Sources & Copyright

All original text and images remain the copyright of their respective publishers and creators.

This post is presented for historical, educational, and archival purposes only.

📰 Tags

#GlamSlamChronicles #MusicEphemera #Prince #VMagazine #3RDEYEGIRL #GlamSlamEscapeNEARLY 40 YEARS INTO HIS CAREER, PRINCE IS STILL CHURNING OUT

MIND-BLOWING MUSIC. CURRENTLY PLAYING TWO SHOWS A NIGHT WHILE ON TOUR WITH HIS NEW BAND, 3RDEYEGIRL, THE ICON TAKES A MOMENT (AT 2 AM) TO SERMONIZE ON SEX, RELIGION, AND ROCK AND ROLL

PHOTOGRAPHY INEZ & VINOODH

FASHION MELANIE WARD

TEXT VANESSA GRIGORIADIS

It's no sweat for Prince to play two sets a night, as he does this evening at the 1,700-seat City National Grove of Anaheim California. IIe tells me that if anything he's more energized after the second show, not less. Both shows stretch to a delicious two hours, as the crowd, in blowouts and Vegas-style cocktail dresses (it's worth dressing up for Prince, even in California), screams and sings along with glee. The only tense moment comes when we file into the theater and a security guard says, "No cameras, no cellphones-don't even take them out of your pocket. Tonight, we're not asking, we're just escorting." I ask her what that means. "If we see you with your phone out, we're not going to ask what you're doing-you're just gone."

This demand might seem extreme coming from the Purple One-a very young-looking 55, with a tight Afro instead of his usual loose curls, clad in a black bodysuit with white lines that makes him look like a spider-but in fact it's not out of character.

You could argue that Prince was an carly adopter of phone-text-speak ("I Would Die 4 U" and all that), but he's eschewed the PR opportunities afforded by the latest tech almost completely, refusing to put his videos on YouTube and offering new music mostly for sale on his websites. And in part by making himself so unavailable, he's remained as mysterious as ever. Prince has always refused any label the world wants to slap on him. A devout Jehovah's Witness since 2001, he writes music that is explicit about both Jesus and sexual desire. IIc's a black man with light skin who usually dresses in clothes that seem inspired by female icons, from Twiggy to Marie Antoinette. A heterosexual man who deeply worships sexually confident women, he nonetheless wants to dominate them. Prince keeps his private life private: he's usually either on the road or at Paisley Park, his $10 million compound in the suburbs of his hometown of Minneapolis, with multiple recording studios, wardrobe rooms, a video-editing suite, a sound stage, production offices, rehearsal arcas, and "the vault," which includes his extensive library of unreleased recordings. Tonight's show is a lot less about pop, R&B, and funk than his music has been in the past-in fact, he's playing rock, like his new song "Screwdriver," and doing guitar-heavy, stripped down versions of his old hits, including "Raspberry Beret," "When Doves Cry," and "Computer Blue." for which the stage is suffused in blue light. For this tour he's backed by 3RDEYEGIRL, a new rock band that he assembled himself. It's made up of Danish bassist Ida Nielsen, wearing pigtails, blonde Chicago College