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Cat Glover was Prince’s thrillingly sexy sidekick – and brought out the best in him

The dancer, choreographer and vocalist, who has died aged 60, was sometimes dismissed as eye candy – but her remarkable stagecraft took Prince to the next level

Beautiful, energetic and comfortable with being wheelbarrowed around the stage in skimpy peach-coloured costumes, Glover – who has died aged 60 – brought brilliant, witty sexuality to Prince’s late 80s era via her choreography and occasional rapping. Sheila E, Jill Jones, Vanity, Apollonia; I fell in love with Wendy and Lisa watching Purple Rain and listened to the soundtrack over and over again (except Darling Nikki, which I self-censored like a young Gore in case my parents heard me playing a song that centred on a “sex fiend masturbating with a magazine”). When it came to the UK, the only act I’d seen live was the squeaky clean Five Star, and making that pilgrimage to Birmingham NEC (by coach, with my mum) changed the way I saw life, opening my eyes to a way of being sexual that was fun rather than scary.

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