In Minneapolis, thousands of fans thronged the First Avenue club for an all-night dance party, some carrying purple flowers, after the news of Prince’s death was released. The atmosphere was carnival-like with the crowd erupting into renditions of Prince’s hits, including Purple Rain.

“It’s crazy how everybody is coming together like this. It’s mind-blowing. I’ve never seen anything like it before,” said 22-year-old Madalyn Holbeck.

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• Purple tributes

Fans also gathered outside his compound overnight, where flowers were piled high along the

fence, purple balloons billowing in the wind. Named after his jazz pianist and songwriter father’s stage name, the pop icon was born Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis, USA, although his family had its roots in Louisiana.

In rare interviews he revealed that he suffered from epilepsy as a child but told his mother, jazz singer Mattie Della, that he had been cured by divine intervention.

Among his many achievements, one of the most frequently cited was a spellbinding guitar solo during a cover of The Beatles classic While My Guitar Gently Weeps at his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.

He was in the middle of a pared-back Piano and a Microphone tour when he began experiencing health problems. The musician invited fans on April 16 via Twitter to a “dance party” at Paisley Park, where he kept his back recordings in vaults, in a bid to prove his health problems were behind him, Minnesota’s Star Tribune newspaper reported. “Wait a few days before you waste any prayers,” he reportedly told the roughly 200 in attendance.