The dancer, choreographer and vocalist, who has died aged 60, was sometimes dismissed as eye candy – but her remarkable stagecraft took Prince to the next level

The name Catherine Glover might not mean a lot in isolation, but when you know it’s who Prince commands “Cat, we need you to rap” on Alphabet Street, memories might come flooding back. Beautiful, energetic and comfortable with being wheelbarrowed around the stage in skimpy peach-coloured costumes, Glover – who has died aged 60 – brought brilliant, witty sexuality to Prince’s late 80s era via her choreography and occasional rapping.

It’s now not really a shock to see Sabrina Carpenter playfully dressed in lingerie or Megan Thee Stallion shaking her booty, but Glover pre-empted them while operating in more sanitised times. Born and raised in Chicago, she came on the scene in the late 80s, when Tipper Gore was trying to keep kids safe by slapping a Parental Advisory label over explicit lyrics – and Prince was top of Gore’s hitlist.