Prince wanted to play Ottawa less than a month before he died

It’s the show he never gave, but wanted to.

Fans of the late musical legend, Prince, could have seen him perform in Ottawa one last time less than a month ago, in an intimate solo show. It would have followed on the heels of similar “drop-in” shows he performed in Montreal and Toronto the week leading up to Easter.

“My friend was with him in Toronto. He said do you think we can do Ottawa on Sunday or Monday? And he said we'll try, and we tried,” says Ottawa concert promoter, Dennis Ruffo.

But the last-minute show never happened.

Blame the calendar. The venue, the National Arts Centre, was closed for Easter.

“So we were out of luck,” says Ruffo. “(We) couldn’t put the pieces together or we would have had him here in Ottawa too.”

The 57 year-old performer was found dead at his Paisley Park Studios near Minneapolis, Minnesota on Thursday. An autopsy was completed today but officials say the results could take weeks.