Prince dead: When Prince changed his name to a symbol, Warner Bros had to mail floppy disks with a custom font

The singer was constantly playing with his own identity

(Getty)

Prince, who was found dead today, came in for a lot of ridicule in 1993 when he changed his name to an indecipherable glyph, but in retrospect, what a wonderfully bold and open-minded move it was, and how it resonates now more than ever in its attempt to unify the male (♂) and female (♀) symbols.

The glyph, which apparently entered his consciousness during meditation, of course posed a big problem to publications at the time’s printing presses however.

Read more of The Independent's Prince coverage

In a solution few artists could get away with, Warner Bros agreed to send out floppy discs of the symbol so it could be incorporated into a custom font.

‘The Artist Formerly Known As Prince’ appellation might have stuck with his detractors, but his fans, enamoured of his creativity, took the name change in their stride.

The ‘Love Symbol’ as it came to be known, was just a footnote in a career that constantly challenged identity, and the world has lost a great today, the second true icon to pass this year.