Swarms of People Are Getting Prince Tattoos to Forever Remember the Legend

Impact

When Prince died at age 57 on April 21, many of his fans were at a loss as to what they could do. How do you properly memorialize a pop star whom you loved? Listen to their songs on repeat? Buy all of their albums? Lay flowers near their home or at a memorial?

Those are all pretty easy, swift and painless processes. But what if you were a really, really big fan? And what if you wanted everyone, for the rest of your life, to know that? 

Read more: Prince, Like David Bowie, Was a Pioneer in Outrageous, Fun and Flashy Fashion

Since his death, Prince fans have been flocking to tattoo parlors across the country in droves to get their very own Prince-inspired tattoos

What that means exactly is that his hit song "Purple Rain" is now memorialized on the bodies of his fans in the form of an umbrella with purple raindrops...

...or just purple raindrops alone as a small tribute...

...or a cloud releasing literal purple rain...

...or drops falling into Prince's own frilly hand. 

During this time of mourning, plenty of people are getting his lyrics and song titles inked as well. 

One person wanted to get his hits "Purple Rain" and "When Doves Cry" in one tattoo — and were remarkably successful.

Another person was even more literal. 

Then, of course, there is Prince's very own insignia, a period when he forced people to call him "the artist formerly known as Prince." Appropriately, some are getting it in his favorite shade of purple. 

And finally, the most devoted fans of all are getting portraits of Prince on their bodies, signature outfits and all. 

Tattoos have been used to memorialize specific moments in people's lives and to remember loved ones for centuries at this point, and this really isn't any different. But what's interesting here is that all of these were done in just the past few days. Clearly people were eager to get this creative genius forever inked on their body. 

Does this take public mourning to an entirely new (and painful) level? Maybe so. But more importantly, would Prince approve? For a man so in control and proud of his image, lyrics and music, we can't see why he wouldn't. 

h/t Metro U.K.