r/toronto • u/waitingforthesun92 • 20d ago

History Prince sitting in front of the BCE Place back when he lived in Toronto from 2001-2006

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2.0k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

96 comments sorted by

213

u/Canadian1934 20d ago

Wonder if he had stayed in Toronto if things would have been different Nice  photo OP

I didn't realize that he had lived here so thank you ☂️

90

u/_Jewli_ 20d ago

Did you know Rick James lived in Toronto too, briefly!

87

u/Abal125 20d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/Mous21IAhJQiI

60

u/Pineapple_Inevitable 20d ago

He was banned from The Chesterfield Shop

21

u/ruckustata 19d ago

Fuck yo couch

5

u/jayman1818 19d ago

UNITYYY

65

u/moosemanstan1234 20d ago

This is correct. Rick James used to baby sit Toronto rapper ‘Snow’ when he was young.

46

u/LostMyBackupCodes 20d ago

Thanks for informing me of this

I lick he boom boom down

11

u/ruckustata 19d ago

I giggled like a little boy at this one

3

u/drue1227 19d ago

I wonder how many peoples heads this one went over lol

20

u/bevelup_ 19d ago

Imagine being so desperate for child care that you get Rick James of all people to watch your kid 💀 his mom MUST have worked in a hospital because those mfs don’t care if you’re on fire, as long as you still have one mostly good hand to work with 🥴

7

u/Scherzoh 19d ago

But what about Charley Murphy?

4

u/Kooky_Soft1822 19d ago

Too busy with basketball.

13

u/overtherainbowofcrap 19d ago

It was Rick James while babysitting that gave Snow his nickname. He named him that after his love of cocaine. It’s a hell of a drug.

5

u/Kooky_Soft1822 19d ago

So did Rick james disrespect princes couch in toronto…?

6

u/TheMonsterPainter 19d ago

He was even in a band with Neil Young while he was here, if you can imagine

5

u/AnyoneButDoug The Annex 19d ago

And he was in a band with Neil Young here

10

u/JimbooJoness 19d ago

And the Duchess of Sussex lived in the Annex

26

u/lw5555 19d ago

Colonel Sanders lived in Mississauga.

6

u/JimbooJoness 19d ago

He donated a lot of his money to Trinity hospital after he died.

5

u/FrostingSuper9941 19d ago

Meghan Markle lived in Cabbage Town.

13

u/the_chin2 19d ago

Nope, the Annex/Seaton Village. I used to live a street over.

8

u/ExtensionParsley4205 19d ago

Ozzy Osbourne lived in Kensington Market for a bit while recording an album

2

u/Canadian1934 20d ago

Nope I didn't realize that either   Thanks for that.  That is so cool 😎

13

u/Alexandermayhemhell 20d ago

He was in a band with a young Neil Young. 

6

u/Canadian1934 20d ago

Thanks for this. You sure know your bands. and their background. 

3

u/ASCII_zero 19d ago

The Mynah Birds

28

u/Randomfinn 20d ago

His Canadian ex-wife seems very grounded. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/PRINCE/comments/1ssremf/manuela_testolinis_social_media_post_from/

11

u/Canadian1934 20d ago

She sure does.  I don't have Netflix so I appreciate the link.  That Is quite the  well yhojghtout account like  you say quite grounded.  Thanks for the  background in the link. 

25

u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 20d ago

He used to have a house in the bridle path. I used to drive by it sometimes for fun.

9

u/Kooky_Soft1822 19d ago

This one.

3

u/FulanoMeng4no 19d ago

OMG! I jogged by that house so many times. I never knew he lived there.

-4

u/Canadian1934 20d ago

Is that where it was? And Drake ! That would have been fun I agree. 

4

u/Kooky_Soft1822 19d ago

Decades apart

6

u/Canadian1934 19d ago

I know but still a bit of musical history along the bridal path 

-1

u/drmoocow Mimico 19d ago

Wouldn't that require Drake to make music?

4

u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 19d ago

What a strange comment

127

u/beepancakes7 Yonge-Bay Corridor 19d ago

my dad was once outside of a club in toronto standing next to “a very fashionable young woman”

it was prince lol

106

u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 20d ago

I remember seeing him at the ACC in 2011, and show #1 was over three hours and ended last midnight. A friend of mine hooked me up with a pair of tickets for the next night, and it was a totally different setlist.

I'll never take granted that I saw an absolute legend and got to check that off of my bucket list.

7

u/cyberphox 19d ago

I was at the second show that night..and yes it was a totally different set list...also heard he did 7 encores the night before!

9

u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 19d ago

The start of night one was delayed, because he decided to do a lengthy soundcheck. He didn't get on stage until just after 9, and he even acknowledged going past the curfew by saying he had hits for days.

Also, the lower bowl wasn't sold out, so they gave people in the 300 level free upgrades and were literally just handing out tickets. I've never gotten a better bang for my buck at any other concert since.

37

u/areyouokeddie 20d ago

Lived in the Bridlepath and went door to door witnessing too

12

u/FrostingSuper9941 19d ago

I was about to ask if he went door to door, the way he did in his home town in the US.

3

u/Em-lee 19d ago

When I found out the my girlfriends mum was JW the first thing I asked is if she knew Prince from when he was n Torono. Sadly it was a no

28

u/Cicche 19d ago

Elton John has a penthouse in king west plus he had another home in the burbs

27

u/the_chin2 19d ago

His husband and in-laws are from Toronto but Elton has never lived here. Prince actually lived here for 5 years. Bridle Path.

14

u/Cicche 19d ago

He spends a couple of months a year in Toronto.... Yes prince was permanent which is more meaningful

13

u/Psychological_Tip86 19d ago

this was the rumoured house he owned up in Stouffville

6

u/markow202 19d ago

Ya I thought so too and the front gates had “EJ” on them

8

u/Kooky_Soft1822 19d ago

That penthouse isn’t finished. He’s at the shangrila until then.

I think tlife or tgam reported on this recently.

13

u/SuzyCreamcheezies 19d ago

I’ve never seen the Globe and Mail referred to as ‘tgam’ before. Took me a minute.

4

u/Kooky_Soft1822 19d ago

tgam.ca is one of their domains.

6

u/falconbridge_ 19d ago

Acronyms are a plague of Redditors

171

u/ThePeej 19d ago

People need to understand: at the turn of the millenium, before social media, celebrities LOVED coming to Toronto, because Torontonians knew how to ACT RIGHT around them. 

They were treated like human beings. They could simply exist in the company of other friendly humans without everyone freaking out & making a scene. 

We rubbed shoulders with HOLLYWOOD & MUSIC INDUSTRY ELITE ALL THE TIME out at clubs. And there was a shared understanding of decorum & discretion. No one made a big deal about seeing these folks among us. 

Only when the possibility of internet notoriety got ahold of society did we forget how to be gracious hosts & treat celebrities with human dignity. Rather than seeing them as sources of potential clout & attention. 

21

u/genfchens 19d ago

One of my favourite memories of my time in TO from years ago is being in line behind Neil Peart with my husband at a Rabba. We played it cool/didn’t say anything/did not approach because we knew he was a private person, and shit, imagine being a celebrity and not even being able to get groceries without people freaking out

17

u/Icy_Activity_6585 19d ago

There are still plenty of celebrities that stay in Toronto and don’t really get bothered like that. Whether they are visiting for TIFF or staying here for Hollywood shoots. Toronto does a relatively great job of leaving them unbothered even after social media. Like check out this video of Shaq https://youtube.com/shorts/dLoKfwhGvPQ?si=4n15PbqTXfSffQ8h

16

u/rekjensen Moss Park 19d ago

Toronto also had the most nightclubs of any city in North America – that's how the Entertainment District got its name – plus all the other rock and jazz etc venues. Toronto was the place to be.

8

u/Candid-Progress-8852 19d ago

Very true. Those days were so good.

18

u/VineStellar 19d ago

Apparently he was a regular shopper at Bayview Village. I think I'd have a minor disassociative episode if I saw Prince perusing the Talbots rack. 

15

u/mfwzrd 19d ago

I listened to the story of Prince's music vault as told by Dave McOmie and it fills me with curiosity and wonder thinking about all the music Prince never released.

The man was an artist, having created more unreleased material compared to his released albums (not driven by bank) he created for his own enjoyment and kept safe that which was truly the most precious to him in that vault; music.

11

u/ThymeIsTight 20d ago

Experiencing Manic Monday on the TTC as Christopher

10

u/ilovetrouble66 19d ago

I remember when his house was for sale. He had a hair salon in his basement

5

u/dolphinboy1637 19d ago edited 19d ago

Seems like they've tried to sell it multiple times but no dice: https://housesigma.com/on/north-york-real-estate/61-the-bridle-path/home/EeVbOYEDqLn3x2P0?id_listing=bqB176Wpdp63ZajD

Can still see the photos of the hair salon in there. Place looks real cool.

6

u/Magjee Woburn 19d ago

https://foresthilloakville.com/property/61-bridle-path/

In case people don't have a login

5

u/oneupsuperman 19d ago

Only 18 milly? Who wants to pool together a house fund?

Also that glass Prince logo monument is awesome

2

u/Magjee Woburn 19d ago edited 19d ago

The house feels like a Prince museum

2

u/Local-Print-6397 19d ago

Imagine buying that house and hearing Prince's ghost at night beginning to sing/play music

2

u/Magjee Woburn 19d ago

See you dancing, in the purple rain

...purple rain, pURple rain

 

PRINCE! Come on man! I got work in the morning!

 

<3

8

u/carpalfun 19d ago

At Macy Gray's Guvernment show in 2000, it was rumoured that the big limo outside was his - and they did meet afterwards. Fun times 😊

10

u/MiszeryLovesCompany 19d ago

I had no idea Prince lived in Toronto. Wild.

3

u/National-Stretch3979 19d ago

Prince is dope. Best live performer I have ever seen.

5

u/talltad 20d ago

Legend

2

u/SarahMenckenChrist 19d ago

He was so fucking cool

2

u/HavingAMidLifeCrisis 19d ago

I remember being at The Guvernment nightclub, turning around and seeing Prince about 10 feet away.

2

u/JimbooJoness 19d ago

He donated a lot of his money to Trinity hospital after he died.

2

u/bravetailor 19d ago

I remember he attended a lot of Raptors games during the "dark years" of the franchise. I wish he could have lived longer to see the Raps win in 2019. He passed just before the team was about to get over the hump.

1

u/OrganizedChaos7121 19d ago

This was the first thing on my feed and Prince is playing on the radio. What a great start to the day 💜💜💜

1

u/jfal11 19d ago

Looks like this was shot from the roof of Union

1

u/0EFF 19d ago

The reason he lived in Toronto from 2001-2006 is because he married Toronto native Manuela Testolini, he divorced 2007.

2

u/Local-Print-6397 19d ago

And then she married Eric Benet!

1

u/MistaNoble 19d ago

The best that ever did it.. and he did it in Toronto for a hot minute... P don't mind the cold - keeps the bad people away.. lol

1

u/WokePredator 19d ago

I had no idea Prince lived here. Only American celeb living here I can think of is Laurence FIshburne, I think?

1

u/b1gw 19d ago

Pretty sure it's because his wife at the time was from Toronto

1

u/Medialunch 19d ago

Why did he live in Toronto? And how long was he actually there during this time?

1

u/No-Teaching-8574 18d ago

The Artist formerly known as a Torontonian!😅

1

u/InternationalSky7893 16d ago

His house in the Bridal Path was locked in inheritance property dispute for a long time and I think it was recently cleared for sale.

1

u/National-Stretch3979 19d ago

Prince is dope. Best live performer I have ever seen.

-3

u/solo_swervin 20d ago

Our city used to be goated

-2

u/Nervous_Card_7718 19d ago

Sitting? From that perspective? How? Seems like he'd be in more of a standing lean.

3

u/Ilpav123 Richmond Hill 19d ago

...he's sitting in a chair lol