Sheila E. is putting together a Prince tribute concert.
The 58-year-old drummer – who first worked with the late singer while he recorded his 1984 album ‘Purple Rain’ – is helping to arrange a special show in the star’s home city of Minneapolis featuring a number of his former collaborators.
Sheila said: "I’m supposed to be the one musical director to put his tribute together with all of the original people and we hope that that happens.
"We’re working on it, we’ll see what happens… the plan is to have something here in Minneapolis."
Sheila – whose full name is Sheila Escovedo – was among the mourners at a memorial service at Prince’s Paisley Park estate on Saturday (23.04.16), just two days after he was found dead, and found the small gathering very emotional.
She told ‘Entertainment Tonight’: "It was very sombre. It was sad."
Around 20 members of the iconic star’s family were in attendance, and a number of Prince’s classic hits were played in his honour, but Sheila found the musical tribute tough to hear.
She said: "What was challenging yesterday was listening to his music at a very low soft volume and the room very low in lights and everyone just taking a moment, just sitting there, kind of going, ‘Wow,’ [in] disbelief."
Though fans have been paying tribute to the ‘Most Beautiful Girl In the World’ hitmaker from across the world, Sheila doesn’t think her former lover realised just how much his work touched people.
She said: "When you’re in a place of musically creating and writing, you just do your thing, and you don’t realise how many people you touch.
"I don’t know that he really knew how he touched almost everyone in this world."
Sheila E planning Prince tribute show
