The 80s mostly belonged to Prince and Michael Jackson, the pair contesting a cold war for pop supremacy throughout that decade. But if Jackson had had his way, then they would’ve put the rumoured rivalry to bed by performing together on the title track to his monster 1987 album Bad, but Prince was not having it.
In an interview with the comedian and actor Chris Rock in the 90s, he outlined his chief objection. “The first line of that song is ‘Your butt is mine’,” he said. “Now I’m saying, ‘Who is going to sing that to who? Cos you sure ain’t singing it to me and I sure ain’t singing it to you so right there, we got a problem’.”
