Jack White was given advice on playing guitar by Prince.
The 46-year-old star – best known as a member of The White Stripes – got the chance to meet the late music legend at a show and claimed the ‘Purple Rain’ hitmaker was impressed by his song ‘Another Way to Die’, which he had written for James Bond movie ‘Quantum of Solace’ back in 2008 and was performed with Alicia Keys.
He said: “The phrase he had said to me was like, ‘No one is going to tell you how to play your guitar, Jack.’ And he talked about the James Bond song I had just done. And he said, ‘I really like it.’ .”
The ‘Screwdriver’ singer was thrilled when Prince – who died of an accidental drug overdose back in 2016 – reassured him that the track was “really strong”.
Being interviewed by Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1, he added: “And I said, ‘Oh, that’s great. Because some people, it’s like making a song for ‘Star Wars’ fans or something. You’re throwing yourself into the sea of … It’s a very divisive track.’ And he goes, ‘Oh, I thought it was real strong.’”
Jack formed The White Stripes with now ex-wife Meg back in 1997 and went on to launch a solo career following their split in the late 2000s.
He had initially abstained from making comment about it and admitted he only felt the need to do so upon releasing his debut album, ‘Blunderbuss’, in 2012.
He said: “I had a feeling, maybe it’d be healthier for me and her and for the fans … Because I’m about to release a solo record, and if I hear someone say, ‘Well why didn’t you just make a White Stripes record? I don’t want to hear that. So that was one of the reasons for the health part of it.”