Prince gatecrashes jazz show

Pop icon Prince dropped in to watch a jazz night in Hollywood this week – and ended up playing with the house band.

He was at the W Hotel On Hollywood Boulevard for their weekly jazz event which houses a residency by Nikki Leonti And The Honest Cheaters. She was playing With A Little Help From My Friends with Ryan Edgar when Prince approached the stage.

He picked up a guitar and joined in, playing just over two minutes. He then handed the instrument back and immediately left the venue.

It was his first public appearance since he deleted his Instagram, Facebook and Twitter accounts last week. He’s also removed his official videos from YouTube but has yet to give a reason for the move.

Last week Foo Fighters’ mainman Dave Grohl revealed he jammed with Prince at the LA Forum in 2011 during the artist’s run of 21 dates.

In September Prince released his 37th album Art Official Age on the same day as his funk rock band 3rd Eye Girl issued their debut Plectrumelectrum – his first releases since 20Ten four years ago.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.