RICK JAMES

It's surprising that Rick James never had a UK Top 40 hit ever. But I think that's because in the early 80s, he saw Prince as a rival to what he was doing even when Prince was supporting him on tour, and when he saw that Prince was becoming more accessible to wider audiences, Rick resented that and felt he was in competition with the Purple One himself. And whilst Prince's career soared and he became massive (and with him and Michael Jackson getting lots of play on MTV), Rick James on the other hand, wasn't getting much airplay and I think part of his lack of success had been marred due to his lifestyle choices and personal troubles. And even his most famous song "Super Freak", which got sampled by MC Hammer on "U Can't Touch This" never charted here either.