Viv Prince, best known as the wild and unpredictable drummer of The Pretty Things, has died. He was 84.
Jack White of The White Stripes confirmed Prince’s death in an Instagram post on Friday, Sept. 12, calling the drummer “one of the real ones.”
“Viv was an incredible drummer, wild and full of abandon. He played for the band The Pretty Things, and he influenced many other musicians like Keith Moon,” White wrote.
“I was lucky enough to meet Viv some years ago who was working on his farm in Portugal at the time. He was an inspired and eccentric rock and roller and maybe I’ll have to put together a team to work on a documentary about this man one day,” White continued. “Safe travels into the sweet beyond Viv, you were one of the real ones.”
Born in Loughborough, England in 1941, Prince began his professional career in the early 1960s with bands like The Jazz Cardinals before joining The Pretty Things, where his chaotic playing style cemented the group’s reputation for raucous performances, Parade reported.
Prince’s influence extended to other rock legends, particularly Keith Moon of The Who, who frequently attended Pretty Things shows to study Prince’s technique. Moon’s admiration ran so deep that he once asked Prince to fill in for him at a 1965 performance, the publication noted.
Despite his undeniable talent, Prince’s off-stage behavior ultimately led to his departure from the band.
Pretty Things guitarist Dick Taylor explained in a 2021 interview with Classic Rock magazine that Prince’s exit came after “one too many off-stage dust-ups.”
“The final straw with Viv came at The Twisted Wheel in Manchester,” Taylor recalled. “He refused to play because the pub across the road wouldn’t serve him. What he hadn’t twigged was that it was attached to the hotel he’d been in the night before, causing mayhem with The Kinks. In the end, Phil said, ‘You’d better just go home.’”
Though Prince recorded only two albums with The Pretty Things, his impact on rock drumming was significant. The band later honored him with the 1999 track “Vivian Prince.”
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