It’s proving to be a solemn year with April’s noted passing of Funk/Rock ‘God,’ Prince, who superseded that – almost within hours - of comedienne Victoria Wood and soul singer Percy Sledge. The death of ‘The Purple One,’ might have caused greater reverberations throughout the entertainment world, but the loss of the lyrical genius that is Victoria and the soul legend with the smoothest of voices  is showing a rise in the number of significant celebrity death being reported for this year – so far.

From David Bowie in the second week of January, to actor Alan Rickman a week later, then magician Paul Daniels, American entertainer, comedian and producer David Guest and ‘pocket-sized’ comedy giant Ronnie Corbett, 2016 has already been a year where, already, too many of the great and the very good, in entertainment, have left this mortal coil leaving memories of their genius and – for many – a deep hole in their hearts.

The departure of Prince Rogers Nelson, one of the most prolific artists in music – EVER! - proved ‘sudden’ at the extreme, releasing 39 studio albums, including four in the last 18 months and enough completed works locked away in a vault to see him release one album a year – for a generation, or two.

A child prodigy self-taught on dozens of instruments, from the piano to the guitar, bass and drums, the diminutive figure, with the giant personality, introduced his trademark deep synth funk sound after releasing his debut album, ‘For You,’ in 1978, followed by ‘Prince’ (1979), ‘Dirty Mind’ (1980) and ‘Controversy’ (1981), but came to world prominence with his multi-award winning album ‘Purple Rain,’ which garnered him with Grammy, Oscar, BRIT, Image and World Soundtrack awards in 1985.

‘Sign o' the Times,’ ‘Lovesexy,’ ‘Batman,’ ‘Graffiti Bridge,’ ‘Diamonds and Pearls,’ ‘Love Symbol Album’ and ‘Emancipation’ were just some of the hugely successful albums which cemented his position as the unique best, in his field, throughout the 1990s.

‘One Nite Alone,’ ‘Xpectation,’ ‘N.E.W.S,’ ‘Musicology,’ ‘The Chocolate Invasion,’ ‘Planet Earth’ and ‘20Ten,’ again, just ‘touched the surface’ by way of the number of albums he did, during this century alone.

Prince has left a mighty chasm in the hearts of millions around the world – and, of equal proportions…in their music box too.

The world of entertainment will never see the likes again.

The same too can be said of David B, Alan, Paul, David G, Ronnie, Victoria and Percy.