Photos of Prince as a teenager to be displayed in touring exhibition

Following his recent London live residency, never-before-seen photographs of Prince at the age of 17 are set to be shown as part of a touring exhibition.

The snaps were taken by photographer Robert Whitman in 1977, used as the musician’s first ever press shots.

“I didn’t know anything about him and he was shy and I was nervous,” Whitman said, remembering the shoot. “I knew he was going to do something big when they played me his track Soft & Wet and he performed at his studio. I got goosebumps.”

The photographer added: “About 10 years later I was on the phone at LaGuardia Airport (in New York) and Prince walked by and said, ‘Whitman, how are you?… I started to think about what to do with my archive… and started talking about a touring exhibition. It’s very exciting.”

The touring display will start at Hollywood’s Mr. Musichead Gallery on 20 February, running for a month.

Photo by Robert Whitman