Suzanne Vega regrets Prince snub

Perth Now

12-05-2025

Suzanne Vega regrets turning down an invitation to Prince's house.
The 65-year-old singer was touched to receive a handwritten letter from the late 'Purple Rain' hitmaker - who died from an accidental overdose in June 2016 aged 57 - and he later saw her in concert but left before the end, though offered an invitation for her to spent a day with him at his Paisley Park estate.
However, Suzanne "foolishly" said no, imagining she'd get another opportunity in the future, but never did.
She told Vulture: "I got a handwritten letter from him, which was a thing of art and beauty. He drew a little flower, and he wrote 'Thank God for you.'
"He liked the song 'Luka'. He was at the Grammys when I performed that year. He jumped to his feet at the end of the performance, and it's a moment I've never forgotten. I think of that as sort of the pinnacle of those years.
"I had hoped to meet him. He came to a show and I thought, Oh, I'll meet him then.
"But he was, you know, kind of eccentric. He waited until everyone came into the venue and he came in with his bodyguards, sitting on the flight cases by the side of the stage.
"When I sang 'Luka', which at that moment in time was the fourth song in the set, he got up and danced, and then he left.
"He asked if I wanted to meet with him the next day and get a tour of Paisley Park. I foolishly thought, We're friends now, so I'll do it next time. Well, the next time never happened."
One of Suzanne's biggest hits is 'Tom's Diner', which was inspired by her student haunt, Tom's Restaurant in New York City, but the singer quipped she's never even had a "free coffee" as a thank you, and her association with the eatery has been overshadowed by the fact it was used as the exterior for Monk's Cafe in 'Seinfeld'.
Asked her standard order there, she said: "It was always fried eggs over easy with bacon, hash browns, coffee with cream, and whole-wheat toast. It was $2.75. No one at the diner has since ever given me free coffee or anything.
"There is a picture of me on the menu, though, a very tiny one next to a big one of Jerry Seinfeld. They misspelled my name: 'Susan Vega'.'