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Scene from "Nothing Compares 2 U" video: pictures can be seen, but no music
At the end of September, the documentary »Nothing Compares« was shown at the film festival in Zurich.
Seven people from the audience bothered to post a positive comment on the festival website.
But none of them mention that Sinéad O'Connor's biggest hit by far is not even heard in this tale of her life and career.
»Nothing Compares 2 U« was number one in the single charts in Germany alone for eleven weeks in the spring of 1990;
it was a huge hit around the world and made the Irish singer with the cropped hair an instant star.
However, the song was written by Prince and was first released on the 1985 album by the funk band The Family, which was released on Prince's record label Paisley Park Records.
But Sinéad O'Connor's emotional singing (and maybe her tears in the music video) made the song a hit.
The fact that the documentary about O'Connor's turbulent life can do without her biggest hit was already noticed at the premiere at the Sundance Festival in January.
In the credits, a text panel apparently informs that Prince's heirs have prohibited its use.
The industry magazine »Billboard« asked Sharon Nelson, a half-sister of Prince, who died in 2016, on the occasion of the US theatrical release.
"I didn't feel like she deserved to use the song my brother wrote in her documentary," Nelson told the paper.
"That's why we turned it down."
Nothing compares to Prince's 1992 live version duet with Rosie Gaines, which appeared on the best-of album »Hits 1«, said Sharon Nelson, noting that it will be re-released on vinyl on November 4th: » His version is the best.«
The lack of cooperation from Prince's heirs may also be due to the fact that Sinéad O'Connor reported disturbing encounters with Prince in interviews and in her 2021 memoir.
He criticized her for swearing in interviews.
During a pillow fight, he hid a hard object in a pillow.
He later followed her in the car.
The documentary's director, Kathryn Ferguson, was initially disappointed by the ban, but in the end she is happy with how the passage has turned out.
She uses in-depth recent interview excerpts from Sinéad O'Connor, which can be heard on the audio track: "It keeps the focus on Sinéad's words and on her own songwriting," Ferguson told Billboard.
It is not yet known if, when and where »Nothing Compares« will be shown in Germany.
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