Prince is celebrating his 50th birthday - and three decades in the music business.

Born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis in 1958, he began teaching himself to play the piano at the age of seven and added two dozen instruments to his repertoire in the years that followed.

The purple-loving pop legend released his first album For You in 1978, writing the songs, playing most of the instruments and producing the tracks himself.

His 1984 album "Purple Rain", sold 13 million copies and earned him an Oscar in 1985.

The eccentric star changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol after the release of his twelfth album in 1993, preferring to be known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince or simply The Artist.

By 2000 the name Prince was back in circulation at the artist's request.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

The rock, pop and funk maestro enjoyed a successful UK tour last year where he played at London's O2 arena. He plans to play at Croke Park in Dublin on June 16th.

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