Corinne Bailey Rae says Prince was a big part of her life.
The 57-year-old musician – who died suddenly at his Paisley Park home in the US last month – had championed Corinne, 37, since before she released her debut album in 2006 and although they weren’t extremely close, she misses the ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker.
She told The Telegraph: "That was a sad day. I only knew him a little but he felt like a big part of my life.
"I always thought that I would see him again. I guess that’s the main thing when someone dies, the realisation that you won’t get to be with them and talk to them. But we’re very lucky with the musical legacy that Prince has left behind because we can always hear him."
And Corinne praised Prince for his generosity towards other artists.
She said: "Something like that [Prince showing up at her gig in 2005] is an incredible vote of confidence. So much of how he presented himself in the world was obviously a well-crafted persona, a way of controlling public perceptions, but in everyday life he seemed really kind and grounded and very generous."
Meanwhile, Corinne recently revealed that she experienced a "rebirth" after the death of her husband.
The ‘Put Your Records On’ hitmaker was left devastated when Jason Rae died from an accidental overdose eight years ago and found that after his passing, she had to rediscover who she was away from her spouse.
She said: "When you’re married, so much of what you do is collapsing the space between you.
"There was a lot of unpicking of what I actually liked. I realised I’d been sitting through certain comedies I didn’t even like, or that I had avoided certain foods because he didn’t like them. It’s a total rebirth of who you are."
And the 37-year-old singer – who went on to marry old friend Steve Brown in 2013 after two years of dating – no longer feels "defined" by the tragedy.
She told Grazia magazine: "Two years ago, I couldn’t imagine how anyone, even a friend, could understand me without me explaining everything and what Jase was like.
"But I’ve stopped using what happened as this big thing about my life. Losing him doesn’t define me anymore."
Corinne Bailey Rae: Prince was a big part of my life
