Prince 'took drugs' to combat stage fright

The legendary singer's former drug dealer, only known as Doctor D, claims the 'Purple Rain' hitmaker - who died on Thursday morning (21.04.16) at his Paisley Park estate - would shell out up to $40,000 a time on drugs because he was so nervous about performing in front of people.

He said: "I first met Prince in 1984 while he was filming the movie 'Purple Rain' and he was already majorly addicted to opiates - I didn't hook him on drugs he was already a really heavy user. In the beginning he would buy speed as well as Dilaudid. I would sell him black beauties which were a black pill and cross tops which were also speed pills. He would use that as a counter balance to get back up again from taking opiates.

"That lasted for a couple of years then he would just buy Dilaudid, which is a heroin-based opiate. It is highly addictive. As far as I knew he never took heroin - as that would leave you out of it for days whereas Dilaudid gives you an energy buzz as well as making you feel relaxed - so he preferred it.

"He needed the drugs because he was so nervous - he could be nervous in a room with just five people in it. He was scared to go out in public, he was scared to talk to people and didn't like to go on stage - he had the worst case of stage fright I'd ever seen."

And the dealer also claimed his client's habit cost him up to $300 a day but he felt it was necessary so he "could feel at ease around people".

He added to the Daily Mail Online: "He'd buy large supplies of both drugs - I think the most he ever spent was around $40,000 at one time. I'd say in general his habit was costing him about $2-300 a day but that didn't matter to him as he had plenty of money - he never ran out ...

"He never smoked or shot up, or snorted cocaine. He was always functional too - I never saw him out of it or strung out because I always provided him with what he needed and he would buy in bulk so he was always prepared. At the time I was dealing other drugs too but he never asked for anything else. He wasn't really a party guy either, he was doing these drugs so he could feel at ease around people."