Long-lost video of Prince as child unearthed in Minnesota

WASHINGTON

A CBS affiliate in Minnesota has unearthed video footage of late music legend Prince commenting on a teachers’ strike when he was just 11 years old, a child instantly recognizable to the journalist who found it purely by chance.

The television station, WCCO in Minneapolis, was going through old reels and restoring some footage in an effort to provide context about a similar strike last month, and production manager Matt Liddy stumbled on the clip.

“Are most of the kids in favor of the picketing?” the reporter asks the child, who is wearing a coat and headband to keep his ears warm.

“Yep,” the child answers.

“How come?” the reporter asks.

“I think they should get some more money ’cause they work... extra hours for us and all that stuff,” he replies, flashing a sly grin.

On seeing the child’s face, Liddy said he showed it to multiple people in his newsroom, “and every single person” shared his view that it was Prince.

A weeks-long investigation, involving analysis of the child’s face, hairstyle and still pictures from the same era, allowed WCCO to verify that the child in the clip was indeed Prince, who grew up in Minneapolis.

The pop icon died in April 2016 at the age of 57 following an accidental overdose of painkillers.

Drummer Sheila E, a frequent Prince collaborator, retweeted the video with a purple heart, his signature color.