Watch Prince At Age 11 Appear On Minneapolis Local News

Rare footage featuring an 11-year-old Prince was recently discovered in the archives of Minneapolis-based television station WCCO. The footage of the late musician as a pre-teen speaking about a Minneapolis Public Schools educators’ strike in 1970 was shared by the CBS affiliate along with the story of how it was unearthed.

In what is likely his first television interview, the artist born Prince Rogers Nelson — who died in April of 2016 at age 57 — was among kids who spoke with WCCO in April of 1970 regarding the strike. “I think they should get a better education too cause … And I think they should get some more money cause they work, they be working extra hours for us and all that stuff,” the young Prince told a reporter in supporting his teachers.

The 52-year-old footage was found by WCCO Production Manager Matt Liddy as he dug into the station’s massive film archive to find clips to give context to a teachers’ strike in the same district last month. Liddy was astounded when he came across what he thought was a young Prince jumping around and speaking with a reporter. However, the reporter didn’t ask the pre-teen for his name. So, Liddy enlisted WCCO reporter Jeff Wagner to confirm it was indeed Prince in the footage.

The film was restored and Wagner contacted historians and utilized other research methods to help solve the mystery. Wagner was eventually connected with Prince classmate and former bandmate Terrance Jackson who confirmed the youngster in the footage is Prince.

Check out the footage of an 11-year-old Prince below:

Watch a mini-documentary about the newly discovered footage: