January 1991, the western desert of Iraq. The sand stretched to the horizon in every direction, flat and empty and cold in a way most people never imagine a desert could be. Temperatures dropped below freezing at night and the wind cut through clothing like a blade. Somewhere out in that darkness, hidden among the…
In 2008, deep in the mountains of Urus Gun Province, Afghanistan, a combined patrol of Australian SAS operators [music] and American green berets drove into a valley called Anakalai. They were hunting Taliban. They had done this before, just days earlier in a neighboring valley, and it had gone perfectly. [music] But this time, the…
17 seconds. That is how long it took a four-man SAS entry team to clear a compound in eastern Baghdad. 17 seconds from breach charge to last room declared clear. Inside, 11 insurgents. Nine were dead. Two were zip tied before the dust settled. The Americans watching from a drone at 8,000 ft could not…
July 4th, 1987. 10:23 p.m. Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 29-year-old Prince Rogers Nelson was deep into the guitar solo that had made Purple Rain immortal. His Purple Teleer crying through the stadium speakers as 50,000 voices sang his lyrics back to him when something in the front row made his fingers freeze on the frets. There,…
September 15th, 1986, 1:23 a.m. The Palladium, New York City. 28-year-old Prince Rogers Nelson was enjoying a rare night off from his parade world tour celebrating at Manhattan’s most exclusive nightclub when 52-year-old Anthony Big Tony Castellano, a feared enforcer for the Gambino crime family, approached his VIP table with obvious hostile intent. Big Tony…
November 22nd, 1984, 11:47 p.m. Abbey Road Studios, London, England. 26-year-old Prince Rogers Nelson was in London for a brief recording session while touring Europe when he encountered 38-year-old Freddy Mercury in Studio 2, the same room where the Beatles had created their masterpieces 20 years earlier. What should have been a respectful meeting between…
October 7th, 1993, 2:18 p.m. United States District Court, Southern District of New York. 35-year-old Prince Rogers Nelson sat in the witness stand of the federal courthouse, having been called as an expert witness in Campbell versus Akuff Rose Music, a landmark case that would determine the future of artistic sampling, fair use, and creative…
June 16th, 1988, 7:43 p.m. Buckingham Palace, London, England. 29-year-old Prince Rogers Nelson stood in the palace’s blue drawing room, having been invited to perform at a private charity gala for the Prince’s Trust, when 24year-old Prince Andrew, Duke of York, looked at him with barely concealed disdain, and said loud enough for nearby guests…
September 14th, 1984, 21:17 p.m. The Cotton Club, Memphis, Tennessee. 26-year-old Prince Rogers Nelson stood outside the most prestigious music venue in the city, holding a signed contract for what was supposed to be three soldout shows during his Purple Rain World Tour. But club owner Raymond Big Ray Morrison, a 58-year-old man who had…
February 18th, 1983, 11:47 p.m., Studio 54, New York City. The most exclusive nightclub in the world was hosting an afterparty for the American Music Awards when 24year-old Prince Rogers Nelson found himself face tof face with 24year-old Michael Jackson in what would become the most legendary confrontation in music history. The two biggest stars…
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