Prince's UK interview: 7 most surreal moments

​In anticipation of the free distribution of his new album, 20Ten, via the UK's Daily Mirror this Saturday, Prince invited Mirror reporter Peter Willis to Paisley Park for what the paper is touting as a "world exclusive interview" -- never mind the fact that he recently invited a reporter from Ebony into his home for an almost identical interview. We're not ones to complain, however, as the article contains more than a few surreal glances into the Purple One's ever-evolving, eccentric world. Here are our seven favorite parts.

1. Prince declares the internet dead.

"The internet's completely over. I don't see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won't pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can't get it.

"The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

2. Prince gets spooked by cameras.

As he bids me farewell, I cheekily pull out a camera and ask for a picture.

He shakes his head. "It's much better in the memory bank," says the star. Then he turns to a backing singer and says: "The picture will make your eyes look red and they will use it really big."

3. Prince's new album doesn't sound half bad.

Prince jabs a few buttons and hidden speakers burst into life with my preview. He looks at me searching for a reaction. All fears that it might be uninspiring vanish as my foot starts tapping. It's instantly infectious. Amazing. Thankfully it's a return to his early blistering form which captivated millions of fans around the world and I love it.

4. Prince has creepy religious films cued up to play for visitors at a moment's notice.

"I just think it's a year that really matters," he says. These are very trying times." To emphasise the point he chivvies me into another room, switches on the TV and shows me clips from an evangelical TV documentary blaming corporate America for a range of woes from Hurricane Katrina to asthmatic children.

5. ...And a whole room dedicated to religious texts.

He even has a space set aside which he's labelled The Knowledge Room, with a library of religious books.

6. Even when there's no one else around, Prince's girlfriend Bria Valente wears a ballgown.

Prince walks in with girlfriend Bria, in a shimmering full-length evening gown like she's at the Oscars. Twice married and divorced, he has been with the singer, who's almost half his age, for three years.

He produced her first solo album Elixer last year and she has become a Jehovah's Witness. He introduces her and she looks around and says: "Sorry, I think I'm a little overdressed!"

7. Prince is "ashamed" of his old music.

"Someone told me they saw me at my peak, but how do they know when my peak is? I think I'm improving all the time. When I listen to my old records I'm ashamed of how I played then."

He adds earnestly: "Playing electric guitar your whole life does something to you. I'm convinced all that electricity racing through my body made me keep my hair."

Read the whole interview on the Daily Mirror's site.