Prince snubs singing dentist

Prince: teething trouble with 'popera' plan
Prince: teething trouble with 'popera' plan

American legend Prince has banned a singing dentist from covering Purple Rain. Opera-loving dentist Andrew Bain recently won a four-album recording contract with SonyBMG worth £1 million. Bain, 35, previously worked as a dentist in London for more than 10 years.

His album of light opera - so-called 'popera' - is due in September and will feature operatic versions of hits such as The Smiths' How Soon Is Now?, David Bowie's Life On Mars, Abba's The Winner Takes It All and Prince's Purple Rain. No, really.

Well, that was the plan until Prince perhaps wisely objected to his song being re-recorded in such a way. Now he's banned Bain from recording the song for his album. "I struggled until I took a chance, mixed my operatic style with pop in Purple Rain," says Bain, "and realised my dreams."

Dreams? More like a nightmare, surely?

MusicRadar can only side with Prince on this one, despite his sometimes 'novel' treatment of fans. We've got toothache just thinking about this album…