Prince’s estate has hit out at Donald Trump, accusing him of breaking an agreement they had made over not using the late musician’s tracks at his political events.
“The Prince Estate has never given permission to President Trump or The White House to use Prince’s songs and have requested that they cease all use immediately,” they said at the time.
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Prince performing in 2007
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With Trump on the campaign trail in the US once again, the track was played at one of his events, this time at a rally in Minneapolis, the state where Prince was born, and which is often associated with his legacy.
Voicing their disapproval, Prince’s estate said, in a post shared on the singer’s official Twitter page: “President Trump played Prince’s Purple Rain tonight at a campaign event in Minneapolis despite confirming a year ago that the campaign would not use Prince’s music.
“The Prince Estate will never give permission to President Trump to use Prince’s songs.”
They also shared a letter seemingly sent from Trump’s lawyers, in which they said: “We write to confirm the Campaign will not use Prince’s music in connection with its activities going forward.”
This comes as it was revealed that Queen were also planning to block Trump’s use of their track We Will Rock You in one of his campaign videos.
A representative for the rock group told BuzzFeed they had “already entered into a process to call for non-use of Queen song copyrights by the Trump campaign”.
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Trump at his Minneosta rally
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Back in June, Sharon Osbourne was left fuming when she found out Trump had been playing husband Ozzy’s hit Crazy Train at rallies, but these are far from the only musical figures to voice their disdain for the Republican party’s use of their music without permission.
Last year, Rihanna issued a typically withering response upon learning that her song Don’t Stop The Music was being played at a Trump rallies, writing: “Not for much longer… me nor my people would ever be at or around one of those tragic rallies, so thanks for the heads up!”
A week earlier, singer and music producer Pharrell Williams sent the POTUS a cease and desist letter, after his tune Happy was played at a Trump rally on the same day as a massacre at a synagogue in Pittbsurgh.
Artists Who Condemned Politicians For Using Their Music
Calvin Harris(01 of12)
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Prior to her already-infamous speech at the 2017 Conservative Party conference, Theresa May entered the stage to the Rihanna and Calvin Harris collaboration, 'This Is What You Came For'.
Calvin tweeted by way of a response: "Conservative party conference playing my song was not approved - I do not support nor condone happy songs being played at such a sad event." (credit:Dave J Hogan via Getty Images)
Florence Welch(02 of12)
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At the same event, Florence's cover of 'You Got The Love' was played at the end, when Theresa May left the stage.
The singer tweeted: "Today's use of 'You've Got The Love' at the Conservative party conference was not approved by us nor would it have been had they asked."
She also requested that the Conservative party "refrained from using" her music at future events. (credit:Joseph Okpako via Getty Images)
Adele(03 of12)
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Adele took umbrage with Donald Trump during his 2016 election campaign, when 'Rolling In The Deep' was used repeatedly at his rallies.
In a short but to-the-point statement, her spokesperson said: "Adele has not given permission for her music to be used for any political campaigning.” (credit:Gareth Cattermole via Getty Images)
R.E.M.(04 of12)
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Adele's statement was somewhat more subdued than R.E.M., who were less than thrilled to learn that Trump had been blasting their tune, 'It's The End Of The World As We Know It' at his rallies.
Frontman Michael Stipe issued a statement telling the then-Presidential candidate to "go fuck himself", making it clear he wanted nothing to do with his ideologies. (credit:Rex/Shutterstock)
Abba(05 of12)
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They may not have been together for the past few decades, but in 2010, Benny and Björn from Abba reunited to sue a far-right Danish political party for using one of their songs.
The party re-wrote lyrics to 'Mamma Mia!' at a rally, prompting the pair to take legal action.
Benny said: "Firstly, you cannot just rewrite songs as you like and secondly we want them to understand that we have absolutely no interest in supporting their party." (credit:Gus Stewart via Getty Images)
Bruce Springsteen(06 of12)
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Ronald Reagan seemingly missed the ironic message behind Bruce Springsteen's 'Born In The USA' when he reached out to use the song in his re-election campaign, only to be rebuffed.
In later years, Bob Dole and Pat Buchanan both used the songs in their campaign, only for the rocker to distance himself from the candidates. (credit:Samir Hussein via Getty Images)
Aerosmith(07 of12)
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Steven Tyler sent Donald Trump a cease-and-desist letter when he first started using 'Dream On' at his campaigns.
True to form, Trump responded on Twitter that he'd already found a "better song" to replace 'Dream On', adding: "Steven Tyler got more publicity on his song request than he’s gotten in ten years. Good for him!"
If you just felt your chair shake, it was a monumental eye roll felt around the world. (credit:NurPhoto via Getty Images)
James(08 of12)
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It's not just right-wing candidates that musicians have objected to, though, as Gordon Brown found out when he used James' hit 'Sit Down' at a Labour conference in 2008.
Singer Tim Booth commented that the leader was "missing the point" of the song by including it, as it was written about the "unity of people and spirit rather than healing the divisions of political parties". (credit:C Brandon via Getty Images)
Elton John(09 of12)
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Sir Elton flat out refused to play at Trump's inauguration, telling the press there was "no fucking way" he'd be appearing, despite his song 'Rocket Man' appearing on his rally playlists.
Of course, 'Rocket Man' later became part of Trump's vernacular when it came to goading North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un on Twitter. (credit:Daniel Perez Garcia-Santos via Getty Images)
Survivor(10 of12)
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When 'Eye Of The Tiger' was used by Kim Davis, who made headlines with her anti-same-sex marriage beliefs, Survivor were not impressed.
"We did not grant Kim Davis any rights to use ['Eye Of The Tiger']," they wrote on Facebook, "I would not grant her the rights to use Charmin!" (credit:Michael Ochs Archives via Getty Images)
The Smiths(11 of12)
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In 2010, then-PM David Cameron named The Smiths as one of his favourite bands, much to the chagrin of guitarist Johnny Marr.
"Stop saying that you like The Smiths, no you don't," Johnny tweeted at the time, "I forbid you to like it." (credit:ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
Queen(12 of12)
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If anyone was going to try and appropriate a message as clumsy as 'We Are The Champions' in their political campaign, it was going to be Donald Trump, right?
Guitarist Brian May assured one fan in 2016: "I will make sure we take what steps we can to dissociate ourselves from Donald Trump's unsavoury campaign."
The amount of pop stars distancing themselves from Trump during his campaign was in stark contrast to opponent Hillary Clinton, who had the support of huge singers like Beyoncé, Katy Perry, Madonna, Lady Gaga and Jay-Z. (credit:Express Newspapers via Getty Images)