--- title: Prince Death: Obama Listened to 'Purple Rain,' 'Delirious' description: The President listened to two of the artist's biggest hits to honor his memory canonical: https://time.com/4305070/obama-prince-death-london-purple-rain/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-22T17:43:11.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:58:33.689Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Listened to 'Purple Rain' and 'Delirious' to Remember Prince og:description: "He was extraordinary and creative and original and full of energy" og:url: https://time.com/4305070/obama-prince-death-london-purple-rain/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e0af548d87968bc/6988905ccf40a822b1c42f2b/gettyimages-523220768.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: President Obama Meets With David Cameron At Downing Street og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Listened to 'Purple Rain' and 'Delirious' to Remember Prince twitter:description: "He was extraordinary and creative and original and full of energy" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e0af548d87968bc/6988905ccf40a822b1c42f2b/gettyimages-523220768.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Listened to 'Purple Rain' and 'Delirious' to Remember Prince by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Apr 22, 2016 5:43 PM UTC  US President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on April 22, 2016 in London, England. WPA Pool—Getty Images US President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference with British Prime Minister David Cameron at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on April 22, 2016 in London, England. WPA Pool—Getty ImagesWPA Pool—Getty Images by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Apr 22, 2016 5:43 PM UTC President Barack Obama eulogized deceased pop icon Prince on Friday during [a visit to London](http://time.com/4305022/president-obama-pushes-against-brexit-during-u-k-visit/), saying he and the U.S. ambassador to the U.K. listened to two of the artist’s biggest hits in his honor. “He was extraordinary and creative and original and full of energy,” said Obama. “It was a remarkable loss.” The President, who is on a six day trip overseas, added that he was able to play a few Prince records Friday morning, as the U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom Matthew Barzun has a record player. “This morning we played ‘Purple Rain’ and ‘Delirious,'” Obama said. Obama hailed Prince as a [“creative icon” and an “electrifying performer”](http://time.com/4304190/prince-dead-barack-obama-reaction/) after [his death Thursday at the age of 57](http://time.com/4304492/prince-singer-autopsy-minnesota/). The President recalled performance by Prince and Stevie Wonder at the White House last year, [which was held in “secret.”](http://time.com/3921658/barack-obama-prince-stevie-wonder/?iid=sr-link1) The public and press were not invited, but found out about the party after celebrity guests posted to social media about the event. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4305070/obama-prince-death-london-purple-rain/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4305070/obama-prince-death-london-purple-rain/"},"headline":"Obama Listened to 'Purple Rain' and 'Delirious' to Remember Prince","datePublished":"2016-04-22T17:43:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:58:33.689Z","description":"\"He was extraordinary and creative and original and full of energy\"","url":"https://time.com/4305070/obama-prince-death-london-purple-rain/","keywords":["White House","Barack Obama","celebrities","Music","Prince","United Kingdom"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e0af548d87968bc/6988905ccf40a822b1c42f2b/gettyimages-523220768.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2e0af548d87968bc/6988905ccf40a822b1c42f2b/gettyimages-523220768.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Obama Meets With David Cameron At Downing Street","caption":"President Obama Meets With David Cameron At Downing Street","creditText":"WPA Pool—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4305070/obama-prince-death-london-purple-rain/","name":"Obama Listened to 'Purple Rain' and 'Delirious' to Remember Prince"}}]}] ```