Now that Prince‘s former home, Paisley Park, has been opened to the public as a museum, any fan can take a tour. But only one could call herself Prince’s biggest fan—and she had the collection to prove it.
Thrillist‘s Annie Zaleski covered 93-year-old Clevelander Mary Boyer’s intense obsession with the artist (sadly, Boyer has since passed away). According to Boyer, her fandom began at the age of 60 in July 1984, only a short time after Purple Rain was released. The mother of seven wound up seeing Prince 25 times in the coming years; and amassing a collection of memorabilia that included 300 posters, 100 t-shirts, and 1,200 albums. “I didn’t intend to be a collector, but if I went to a store and there was something there with Prince, I just couldn’t leave it there,” she told Zaleski. She would end up filling her entire home with Prince-related items—and even painting some of her walls purple as a nod to her hero.
Unfortunately, Boyer was never able to have a private moment with Prince when he was still alive. However, she did have a great encounter she recounted to Zaleski. “The closest personal experience she had was at an April 1993 after-show at Chicago’s Metro, when the artist pulled her up onstage during the first encore,” notes Zaleski. Prince sang the dirty-ish song “Johnny,” while she was onstage and ended up giving her a big hug.
To read Zaleski’s piece on Boyer and take a look at some of her incredible collection, click here.
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