“Prince said, ‘Think more Elton John.’ I was like, ‘Is he clowning? Is he trolling me?’” Session ace Ella Feingold once auditioned to join Prince’s band – and was told her playing was “too funky”

American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker Prince (1958-2016) performs onstage during the 1984 Purple Rain Tour on November 4, 1984, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan.

Session ace Ella Feingold has recalled the time she auditioned to join Prince's band – and the Purple Rain legend joked her playing was “too funky”.

The Prince guitar gig was widely known to be a grueling experience. Ida Nielsen, for example, once recalled how “it wasn’t like a normal bass gig where you have 30 songs: I had to learn 300!”.