- 1981 Jan 81
Early 1981 : Prince moves to Lake Riley (Chanhassen)
Prince moves into a new home, a cream-coloured ranchstyle two-story house, along a small lake, in a suburb of
Lake Riley in Chanhassen (near MPLS). A little later, the
house was painted purple. A studio was installed in the
basement, which once was a family room. While Prince
still records on a 16 tracks, several of its facilities have
been updated since the recording of Dirty Mind, in the
original studio of his former home in Lake Minetonka. Yet
we are still far from the sophisticated recording studio.
With a Yamaha acoustic piano on the top floor in the living
room, just above the studio, Prince could record himself at
the piano, which was not the case in his previous home
(there is no piano on Dirty Mind).
Home Studio
Broken (2:59)
Commercial
Hump You
She’s Just A Baby (1) (4:47)
Susan
Broken (occasionally erroneously referred to as Broken, Lonely
And Crying) uses a 1950s rockabilly style, and may have been
intended for Prince's next album (which became Controversy)
until the similarly-styled Jack U Off was recorded in SpringSummer 1981. Prince performed the track a number of times on the Dirty Mind Tour club dates in Spring, 1981. The track sounds
like a spontaneous band number, but was in fact recorded by Prince on his own. She’s Just A Baby (possibly inspired by Susan
Moonsie who was 16 when Prince started dating her) is a soft ballad with falsetto vocals. The lyrics point to the narrator's love for a
young girl. Commercial was remixed in 1988 at Paisley Park, indicating that it is not simply a commercial but may in fact be a full
song or instrumental.
Broken
Till U come back 2 me
There'll be nothing left 2 say, no
Broken
My heart is broken, yeah
Broken, oh baby
My heart's just broken in 2
Until U bring your sweet love, bring it on home 2 me
I'll be your broken-hearted man alone in misery
Broken, Lord
My heart is broken, Lord
Broken, yeah
My heart's just broken in 2
If U think that I'll beg 4 your sweet love,
bring it on home 2 me
I'll be your broken-hearted man alone in misery
Lonely
I'm so lonely
Lonely
I don't know what do 2
Until U bring your sweet pussy, bring it on home 2 me
I'll be your broken-hearted man alone in misery
Cryin'
I'm just a-cryin'
I'm just a-cryin', baby, all night
I don't know what 2 do
Until U bring your sweet honey, bring it on home 2 me
I'll be your broken-hearted man alone in misery
Oh oh, baby
Until U, baby
Until U, baby, Lord
Until U, baby
Until U bring your sweet love, bring it on home 2 me
I'll be your broken-hearted man alone
I'll be your broken-hearted man alone
I'll be your broken-hearted man alone in misery
Cymbals !
Until U bring your sweet love, bring it on home 2 me
I'll be your broken-hearted man alone, baby
Broken-hearted man alone, baby
Broken-hearted man alone in misery
She’s Just A Baby
She's just a baby, a baby
But she's my lady
My lover, my only friend
She's just a baby
But maybe she'll understand
That I am made of a true love
That will never end (Hey, hey)
People don't understand what she sees in an older man
They never stop 2 think that maybe I'm what she's lookin' 4
They never take the time 2 look into her mind
They just keep on sayin' she's just a baby
But maybe one day they will see
She's not such a baby, no baby is she
She's just in love with me
She's just a baby, a baby
But she's my lady
I know there are some things she'll never see
She's just a baby
But maybe one day she'll see
Although she's young
She's the only one that can bring out the man in me
Can't U see ? Yeah
People don't understand what she sees in this lonely man
Don't they know that everybody needs somebody sometime ?
Oh
I give her all I can
But the people don't give a damn
They just keep on sayin' that she's just a baby
But maybe one day they will see
She's not such a baby, no baby is she
She's just in love with me
Oh no, no, no, yeah
12-01-1981 : Howard Bloom letter
New York publicist Howard Bloom, hired by Prince’s management, writes to Fargnoli, commenting on the reception of Dirty Mind :
“The verdict from the press is clear : Prince is a rock ’n’ roll artist ! In fact, the press is saying clearly that Prince is the first black
artist with the potential to become a major white audience superstar since Jimi Hendrix. So the task is to hold his black audience
while agressively pursuing the rock and new wave audience.”
Without doubt, Prince’s management realized that the controversial nature of much of Dirty Mind’s lyrics and the exciting blend of
rock and funk made Prince highly interesting to the rock press. Despite Prince’s resistance towards interviews, his management
convinced him to do phone interviews with several music magazines and daily papers while on the Dirty Mind tour. Most of the
interviews Prince has given during his career date from this period in 1981.
15-01-1981 : LA Times
Los Angeles Times publishes a lengthy interview with
Prince. The interview by Dennis Hunt was syndicated and
appeared in several US papers. Most writers who talked
with Prince during this period of interviews commented
on his shyness and cautious reserve, and many were
struck by the disparity between the on-stage and off-stage
personas. In the Los Angeles Times interview, Prince
explained why he preferred to do phone interviews : “No
one can see me on the phone. I would wonder what it
would be like if you were sitting here with me ? I don ’t
seem shy now but I would if you were here. I ’m really
shy when I meet someone for the first time. You see, I like
to listen. I think other people are more interesting than I
am. An interview means I have to do all the talking. I’m
supposed to be a mysterious person, but I’m not
mysterious.” Jim Farber, who did an interview with
Prince for Playboy, commented : “At first, I was a bit put
off by Prince; he was withdrawn at the start of our
conversation, and I had the feeling he was putting it on. I
didn’t find him overly forthcoming. He didn’t volunteer
much information.” Tony Mitchell, Sounds, said : “It was
almost as if he was embarrassed that people should hail
him as the natural successor to everyone from Jimi
Hendrix downwards. Prince, a man of few words,
doesn’t give the impression he’d waste any of them of
bullshitting. So he remains, either naturally or by design,
an enigmatic, charismatic character.” British journalist
Geoff Brown recalled his meeting with Prince in a
retrospective article : “He was odd. Different. The
handshake was like having someone place a glass flower
in your fingers, but physically he was taut and wiry - the
physique of someone good at sports (which he was). He
totally avoided eye contact and spoke in a voice which
barely rose above a whisper.”
End 01-1981 : Hollywood Sound :
Gotta Stop (Messin’ About) Remix
Prince works on “Gotta Stop (Messin’ About)” at Hollywood Sound Recorders, LA. The track was a leftover from the Dirty Mind
sessions. He re-recorded his vocal, changing some of the lyrics in the process, and remixed the track.
Feb 81
11-02-1981 : Cincinnati Bogart’s
* Attendance : 450 / Sold Out
A sell-out crowd of 450 saw this show. Prince played Bogart’s again in 1984, when he performed a dress-rehearsal
with the Revolution for the Purple Rain tour.
??-??-1981 : Black Stars
By Bob Lucas
Q. Your music has been called a mixture of “contempo rock and R&B”. What’s your description ?
A. The only thing I can say is it’s real music. Other categories I leave up to the music people (critics).
Q. Has your music changed any ? I understand you started when you were 12 years old.
A. Yes, it changes constantly. It’s hard to say what I’ll do next. It depends on my lifestyle in a way, you know, things I see around
me.
Q. I gather your lifestyle is rather far out compared to that of an average person.
A. Yes, I’ve been told that.
Q. Well, is it a fair description ?
A. Yeah… as far as most people’s standards are concerned. I consider it quite normal.
Q. Your last album was called Dirty Mind. How is the airplay on that ?
A. I don’t think there is ANY airplay. I think (the tune) Uptown got some, but the rest of the cuts weren’t played too much. Of
course, I knew that (would happen) when I made it, so I wasn’t shocked or anything.
Q. So obviously, when you do a project, it’s not based on what will sell.
A. Well, no, not this one. I had different management when I did my first album and that one was geared a little bit more to the
public. This album that’s out now, Dirty Mind, is more me. They (record executives) looked up and it was finished and it was too
late for them to say anything.
Q. Your lyrics are describe as “X-rated”, sexually explicit. Do you do that to shock people ?
A. My lyrics are everyday talk that goes on around me all the time. The radio stations that don’t play it are only denying the
public of their lives. Anything older than that – the labels they put on it and things like that – it’s pretty useless and unnecessary, I
think.
Q. What do you think about Millie Jackson’s songs ?
A. She’s dealing with life. She’s stll telling it basically like it is. She ain’t gettng no radio play either, but that doesn’t stop her from
reaching people she wants to reach. ‘Cause she’s hitting home. She must be if she’s got any type of following. She’s hitting home
with somebody.
Q. I understand you play 26 instruments and that you’re self-taught.
A. I think all instruments are related in some way or another to the piano. Once I learned that, the rest seemed to come pretty
easily.
Q. Did your parents infuence you ?
A. My father played piano and had his own jazz band. My mother sang lead for him for a while.
Q. What about your education ?
A. Well, I had a real good teacher, inasmuch, ah he understood what I was about, what I was trying to do, and he never tried to
teach me. He used to lock me in the music room and that way no one could come in and bother me. I used to play the piano all day
long. That was what my music education consisted of. I was very grateful to him. He’s give me an A as long as I was working on
something.
Q. What’s your private life like ?
A. I live with a lot of different friends. I move around a lot. I have a small place in Minneapolis but I don’t stay there very much.
There are a lot of guitars there, but contrary to what most people think I don’t do music a lot. I do it when I have to, when we’re
playing or rehearsing. I don’t just do it. Some musicians, that’s all they can do. I like what I do, but it’s more or less a hobby. I like
to paint and I like to do other things too. I’m more into people, I guess. Friends… I love friends.
Q. You never use your last name… why ?
A. I just don’t like it, so I don’t use it. See, it doesn’t belong to me, it belongs to my forefathers, I guess, to whoever gave it to them.
It’s a slave name. My father gave me the name Prince and that was his name. It wasn’t his real name, but he maded it up and
gave it to himself ‘cause he was playing music. So that’s more important than something just given too him that he had no control
over.
Q. What did he think of your last album ?
A. My father hated it.
Q. What is your goal in life ?
A. The only thing I’d like to see more of in music – and that’s the reason I don’t listen to a lot of it – a lot of musicians, a lot of
black musicians, tend to make music to get over. It basically comes from us being oppressed for s long and wanting to see some of
the good life. I don’t know… a long time ago it was never like that, so my dad tells me. They played music and they were trying to
be better than the other person. They were more or less competing with themselves, as well as with other people. They were
always trying to outdo themselves instead of just meeting how much money they could make. What’s nice, I guess, is to check out
an artist after he’s been through the tubes and he’s made his money and it doesn’t make a difference to him. But then it always
happens, where a guy gets used the Eldorado, the big house and stuff, and he has to keep up the payments. So he has to keep
getting those hits. It starts to jurisdict his music, your feelings, and you start putting in things you wouldn’t ordinarily do because
maybe that’s what’s going on at this particular time. When it gets to that it’s like, you know, what do you want to listen to music
for ? It’s better to listen to a poor, broke musician on obscure records that never made the radio, never made the charts and they
don’t care. They’re making them for their friends and themselves rather than the record company.
Q. But then when the popularity comes, recognition starts coming, what does the artist do ?
A. I think you stick to your guns and to the people who are really into you, rather than what’s happening. See, I have people who
don’t like me now for the changes I’ve made, because it’s so different from my first record, which was really full of love and
romance and things like that. That’s the frame of life I was in then. I had a lot of fantasies and dreams that I wanted to relate into
music. I didn’t realize, I guess, at that time that music could be an extension of one’s character. And now I do.
Q. You’ve had success. What do you do with your money ?
A. Well, most of the money I have now goes back into our sets and to people who work for us… just to sustain us. There are six of
us including me. Then there’s the management, the crew, the lighning people, sound (technicians). I’m not a real ambitious
person. I think I deal mostly day-to-day. I don’t think it’s wrong to set up goals and things like that. I think one has to find out
what they want in like and just do it and no think about day-to-day failures. That causes nervous breakdowns to happen. I like
what I’m doing and I just do it.
19-02-1981 : Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone publishes its first article on Prince, entitled "Will The Little Girls Understand." Tracing Prince’s background and
discussing his penchant for writing sexually explicit lyrics, the article did much to focus the attention on Prince’s potential as a
cross-over artist.
Love and lust in Minneapolis
By Ken Tucker
Dirty Mind is a pop record of Rabelaisian achievement: entirely,
ditheringly obsessed with the body, yet full of sentiments that
please and provoke the mind. It also may be the most generous
album about sex ever made by a man. Like the good lovemaking
he celebrates, Prince is both subtle and forceful. His voice is a
high, tinkling soprano that curls into delicate squeals when he's
excited and dips into a scratchy murmur when he's figuring out
his next move. As if to offset the ingratiating hesitancy of his
vocals and phrasing, Princes comes off like a cocky boy wonder.
Just barely twenty, he's written, produced and played all the
instruments on each of his three LPs. Prince's first two collections
(For You, Prince) established him as a doe-eyed romantic: i.e., his
carnal desires were kept in check. Though the chorus of his first
hit single was "Your love is soft and wet," the raunchiest
interpretation permitted by its slightly damp melody was that
perhaps the object of Prince's love had been caught in a sudden
rainstorm. And while the song that made him a star, 1979's "I
Wanna Be Your Lover," snuck the line "I wanna be the only one
you come for" onto AM radio, the singer delivered it with such
coy ignorance, as if feigning ignorance of what the words meant
but confident they'd please his lover. Nothing, therefore, could
have prepared us for the liberating lewdness of Dirty Mind. Here,
Prince lets it all hang out: the cover photograph depicts our hero,
smartly attired in a trench coat and black bikini briefs, staring
soberly into the camera. The major tunes are paeans to
bisexuality, incest and cunniligual technique, each tucked
between such sprightly dance raveups as "Partyup" and the
smash single "Uptown." Throughout, Prince's melodies peel back
layers of disco rhythm to insert slender, smooth funk grooves and
wiggly, hard-rock guitar riffing. In his favorite musical trick, the
artist contrasts a pumping, low-toned drum sound with a light,
abrupt guitar or keyboard riff pitched as high as his voice (which
is often double-tracked to emphasize its airiness). Though Prince
is playing everything himself, the result isn't bloodless studio
virtuosity. His music attains the warmth and inspiration of a
group collaboration because it sounds as if he's constantly competing against himself: Prince the drummer tries to drown out Prince
the balladeer, and so forth. Dirty Mind jolts with the unsettled tension that arises from rubbing complex erotic wordplay against
clean, simple melodies. Across this electric surface glides Prince's graceful quaver, tossing off lyrics with an exhilarating
breathlessness He takes the sweet romanticism of Smokey Robinson and combines it with the powerful vulgate poetry of Richard
Pryor. The result is cool music dealing with hot emotions. At its best, Dirty Mind is absolutely filthy. Sex, with its lasting urges and
temporary satisfactions, holds a fascination that drives the singer to extremes of ribald fantasy. "When I met you, baby/You were
on your way to be wed" is how he begins "Head," a jittery rocker about the pleasures of oral sex. In Prince's wet dream, no woman
is forced to do anything she doesn't want to do: her lust always matches her cocksman's. As the guitar groove of "Head" winds
tighter and tighter, Prince brings off the young bride in a quick interlude en route to join her fiancé at the altar. She is more than
eager to return the favor. By the time Prince yelps, "You wouldn't have stopped/But I came on your wedding gown," the entire
album has climaxed in more ways than one. This is lewdness cleansed by art, with joy its socially redeeming feature. Dirty Mind
may be dirty, but it certainly isn't pornographic. Somehow Prince manages to be both blunt and ambiguous - and occasionally just
dreamily confusing. "When You Were Mine" (in which the line "I used to let you wear all my clothes" is offered as proof of a man's
devotion) blithely condones infidelity of the most brazen sort - "I never cared.../When he was there/Sleepin' in between the two of
us" - as long as the artist can be sure that the woman continues to love only him. Yet in "Sister," Prince notes that his female sibling
is responsible for his bisexuality, a word whose syllables he draws out with a lascivious relish. Little more than a brisk pop-funk riff,
"Sister" forces the pace, making it build, until the singer finally blurts out a jabbering confession: "Incest is everything it's said to
be." What can you do with a guy like this ? Love him, obviously. If Prince indulges his appetites with a bold and lusty vigor, his
pleasure is always dependent upon his partner's satisfaction. In a reversal of the usual pop-song aesthetic, the artist's crisp, artfully
constructed compositions are a metaphor for the care and consideration that inform the lovemaking detailed in his lyrics. Less
obviously, Prince deserves our admiration. Though Dirty Mind is an undeniably appositive title, the LP might just as accurately
have been called Prince Confronts the Moral Majority: except for "Uptown," "Partyup" and the loping "Gotta Broken Heart Again,"
none of Dirty Mind could make it onto the most liberal radio-station playlists these days. In a time where Brooke Shields' bluejeaned backside provokes howls of shock and calls for censorship from mature adults, Prince's sly wit - intentionally coarse amounts to nothing less than an early, prescient call to arms against the elitist puritanism of the Reagan era. Let Prince have the
last word: "White, black, Puerto Rican/Everybody's just a-freakin'."
Will the little girls understand?
By Bill Adler
Snaking out from the wings toward center stage at the Ritz, prancing like a pony with his hands on his hips and then flinging a
clorine kick with a coquettish toss of his head, Prince is androgyny personified. Slender and doe-eyed, with a faint pubescent
mustache, he is bare-chested beneath a gray, hip-length Edwardian jacket. There's a raffish red scarf at this neck, and he's wearing
tight black bikini briefs, thigh-high black leg-warmers and black-fringed go-go boots. With his racially and sexually mixed five-piece
band churning out the terse rhythms of "Sexy Dancer" behind him, the effect is at once truly sexy and more than a little disorienting
, and his breathy falsetto only adds to his ambiguity - for sheer girlish vulnerability, there's no one around to touch him: not Michael
Jackson, not even fourteen-year-old soul songbird Stacy Lattisaw. At age twenty, Prince may be the unlikeliest rock star, black or
white, in recent memory - but a star he definitely is. As quickly becomes apparent, Prince's lyrics bear little relation to standard AM
radio floss. In addition to bald sexual come-ons and twisted love plaints, he champions the need for independence and selfexpression. And one song, "Uptown," is, among other things, an antiwar chant. Further complicating the proceedings are the heavymetal moans Prince wrenches out of his guitar and the punchy dance-rock rhythms of his band (bassist Andre Cymone, guitarist
Dez Dickerson, keyboardists Lisa Coleman and Dr. Fink and drummer Bobby Z.), all of whom are longtime cohorts from Prince's
hometown - Minneapolis, of all places. "I grew up on the
borderline," Prince says after the show. "I had a bunch of
white friends, and I had a bunch of black friends. I never
grew up in any one particular culture." The son of a halfblack father and an Italian mother who divorced when he was
seven, Prince pretty much raised himself from the age of
twelve, when he formed his first band. Oddly, he claims that
the normalcy and remoteness of Minneapolis provided just
artistic nourishment he needed. "We basically got all the
new music and dances three months late, so I just decided
that I was gonna do my own thing. Otherwise, when we did
split Minneapolis, we were gonna be way behind and dated.
The white radio stations were mostly country, and the one
black radio station was really boring to me. For that matter,
I didn't really have a record player when I was growing up,
and I never got a chance to check out Hendrix and the rest
of them because they were dead by the time I was really
getting serious. I didn't even start playing guitar until
1974." With his taste for outlandish clothes and his "lunatic"
friends, Prince says he "took a lot of heat all the time. People would say something about our clothes or the way we looked or who
we were with, and we'd end up fighting. I was a very good fighter," he says with a soft, shy laugh. "I never lost. I don't know if I
fight fair, but I go for it. That's what 'Uptown' is about - we do whatever we want, and those who cannot deal with it have a
problem within themselves." Prince has written, arranged, performed and produced three albums to date (For You, Prince and
Dirty Mind), all presenting the same unique persona. Appearances to the contrary, though, he says he's not gay, and he has a
standard rebuff for overenthusiastic male fans: "I'm not about that; we can be friends, but that's as far as it goes. My sexual
preferences really aren't any of their business." A Penthouse "Pet of the Month" centerfold laid out on a nearby table silently
underscores his point. It took Prince six months alone in the studio to concoct his 1978 debut album, because, he says, "I was
younger then." Prince required six weeks. He controlled the making of both records, but notes that they were "overseen" by record
company and management representatives. Dirty Mind, however, was made in isolation in Minneapolis. "Nobody knew what was
going on, and I became totally engulfed in it," he says. "It really felt like me for once." The result of this increased freedom was a
collection of songs celebrating incest ("Sister") and oral sex ("Head") in language raw enough to merit a warning sticker on the
album's cover. "When I brought it to the record company it shocked a lot of people," he says. "But they didn't ask me to go back
and change anything, and I'm real grateful. Anyway, I wasn't being deliberately provocative. I was being deliberately me."
Obviously, judging by the polished eclecticism of Dirty Mind, being himself is the best course. "I ran away from home when I was
twelve," Prince says. "I've changed address in Minneapolis thirty-two times, and there was a great deal of loneliness. But when I
think about it, I know I'm here for a purpose, and I don't worry about it so much."
21-02-1981 : e Saturday Night Live (NBC) (0:04)
Partyup
Appearance on Saturday Night Live, US TV. Introduced by Charlene
Tilton (from Dallas), Prince and his band played “Partyup" live. The
word "fuck" was said twice in this episode. In Prince's performance of
"Partyup", he sang the lyric "Fightin' war is such a fuckin' bore" and it
went unnoticed at the time. But in the closing goodnight segment,
Charles Rocket clearly said "I'd like to know who the fuck did it."
Rocket and executive producer Jean Doumanian were fired after the
next episode. Eddie Murphy, one of the SNL regulars, struck up a
friendship with Prince and some of his band members during their stay
in Los Angeles.
24-02-1981 : Blues & Soul r 81
06-03-1981 : DO IT ALL NIGHT UK Single Release
The first British single from the album was ”Do It All Night" / "Head,” released in
March 1981 without chart success.
09-03-1981 : ♫ MPLS Sam’s Club
* Advert. Time : 8:00PM / Duration : 1:35 / Tick. Price : $6.50
(Opening Act : Curtiss A)
(A : Sam’s 81 Remastered – 5/10)
Do It All Night / Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad ? / Gotta Broken Heart Again / Broken
When You Were Mine / Sexy Dancer / Sister / I Wanna Be Your Lover / Head / Still Waiting
Partyup / Uptown / Crazy You / Gotta Stop (Messin’ About)
Dirty Mind / Everybody Dance / Bambi
Prince plays Sam‘s, a club in Minneapolis that
later became the renowned First Avenue. This
is the first concert of a one-month tour. 18
dates in clubs are designed to attract a white
rock-oriented audience. Bob Dylan attended
the Sam's club concert and would like to meet
Prince. But Prince is not interested and
declined. The disappointing ticket sales on the 1980 tour led Prince and his management to
reconsider the touring strategy. The purpose of the Dirty Mind club tour was to pursue the
rock and new wave audience that was beginning to take notice of Prince due to his growing
critical acclaim. The Dirty Mind club tour took in venues predominantly to white new wave
rock audiences. Young comedian Keenan Ivory was the support act on a handful of the 1981
dates.
The Sam’s show was longer than Prince’s customary Dirty Mind set and included two songs rarely
played on the tour as an extra encore, "Everybody Dance” and ”Bambi.” The only known concert tape
from the Dirty Mind tour comes from this concert at Sam’s, which later became the renowned First
Avenue. This tape is also the earliest known recording of Prince in concert The 86-minute tape features
almost the entire concert. "There's no place like home," Prince announced three times before ripping
into ”Do It All Night," which went straight into "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad ?” After the
powerful opening, the tempo was slowed down a bit for "Gotta Broken Heart Again.” A previously
unheard "rockabilly" number, possibly titled "Lonely", followed. The sound is so muddy that it is
difficult to hear the lyrics. It is uncertain if it is a Prince composition or if it is a cover version. Bobby
Z’s drumbeat then signalled the start of ”When You Were Mine,” which was followed by ”Sexy Dancer,"
which really got a wild audience response. "Sister" was played with a lot of energy. It lead directly into
”I Wanna Be Your Lover." Instead of jamming on the instrumental coda, Prince launched into ”Head,”
which was extended with long guitar and synth solos. It was gradually broken down to a guitar riff and
drums. The audience started chanting ”We don’t want to fight no more” from ”Partyup,” but Prince
chose to play "Still Waiting" instead. Next came "Partyup," followed by "Uptown," which Prince closed
with a Hendrix-like guitar solo, while Bobby played a march-like drum beat. "Crazy You" was
performed quite differently from the For You album, before Prince announced "Gotta Stop (Messin’
About).” "Dirty Mind” finished the main set, but the audience wanted more. ”We’re running out of
songs,” Prince said before playing "Everybody Dance,” which had the audience chanting along to
Prince's instructions, "everybody scream,” "everybody say yeah,” etc. The final number was ”Bambi.”
The tape is cut short before the song is over.
Another of the old guard, fellow Minnesotan Bob Dylan, had
attended the home-town show at Sam’s in Minneapolis. Channelling Dorothy, Prince had
opened the show by repeating, ‘There’s no place like home,’ and there wasn’t : his home-town
shows were often the site of his most significant transformations, with a friendly audience that
he would use to road-test new ideas and directions. That night Prince played two songs which
still remain unreleased, ‘Broken’ (a sort of epilogue to ‘Gotta Broken Heart Again’, which he’d
also do in New York) and, as an encore, ‘Everybody Dance’, a short version of the extended
robotic improvisations he would later favour in rehearsal. When fans fantasise about which
concert recording they’d most like Prince to release officially, the show at Sam’s in 1981 always ranks near the top of the list.
Randy Anderson, writing for Sweet Potato, thought the show was the best he had seen in three years : “Prince and his band of
urban renegades take over the stage like pirates storming a Spanish galleon. They know they're fantastic and they flaunt it. This
is the stuff of breakthroughs. What we have here is a native wunderkid who writes and plays everything and has an alternately
swashbuckling/peekaboo stage presence that is nothing short of enthralling.”
Prince immediately acknowledges that this is a homecoming gig- when the recording begins the first things we hear him say are
“there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home”. The recording is thick and I do initially have
trouble making out what he is saying. However, it’s by no means unlistenable, and once the music starts it’s not too bad, the music
is nice and deep and strong, but disappointingly the vocals remain incomprehensible. But for an audience recording of this age I
can’t say its surprise to me. The first song played is Do It All Night. It has a nice aggressive start, with several thrusts before it
begins proper. The guitar and drums are what I can hear best, but during the chorus the noise pulls back just enough for me to hear
the keyboards. There is a drum break and Prince gets the crowd to sing along “do it all
night”. They sound full of energy, and it’s an enjoyable moment. Bobby Z closes the song
with plenty of cymbals and we move easily into Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad. Prince’s
vocals become clearer on this part of the recording, and I think the recording picks up his
lower register much better than his falsetto. This is bared out when he gets to the chorus
and again the vocals distort. The interaction between the bass and guitar is worth listening
to, you can hear them intertwining and it’s something I hadn’t noticed before. The first half
of Princes guitar break is exactly the same as I have heard plenty of times, it sounds good,
but I don’t pay it too much attention. But immediately after he says “Why you wanna treat
me so bad, bitch !” the guitar really heats up, and this grabs me straight away. It’s
aggressive and loud, and it is the stomping sort of solo that I like to hear. Bobby Z adds
weight to this with plenty of crashes late in the break, before it all stops for Prince to give
us another 30 seconds of guitar howl to end the song. A slow start, but excellent finish this one surprised me. Gotta Broken Heart Again subdues the mood, and its feels very
calm and smooth after the previous song. The piano is lost in the recording somewhat, and
it’s all Prince and the bass that I can hear. I do catch snatchs of the piano, but I have to
listen carefully. The song itself does sound good, and Princes vocals are better on this than
the previous two songs. The song gets better as it goes, and there is some nice guitar and
cymbal interplay. Again it heightens my appreciation of Bobby Z and how much he was
part of Princes setup in the early days. There is a long gentle finish with Prince singing with only piano, and it does have a better
sound to it than the first part of the song. Next we get Broken, a track that has never been released by Prince. It was played several
times on the Dirty Mind tour, but here is its first live appearance. Over hand claps Prince sings the opening few lines, before a
rockabilly piano enters and the energy jumps up. It sounds slight, and awkwardly out of place. But I do like it, especially the backing
vocals of the band and their call and response with Prince. As with all his songs in this style its short, there’s just enough time for a
piano break before the song quickly ends. I am back in more familiar territory next with the sound of the drum intro into When You
Were Mine. The guitar comes on board, but due to the recording it doesn’t have the crisp clean sound I am used to, and the same
could be said for Princes vocals, I know what he is singing, but I have to listen very carefully to make them out. As always, the
keyboards sound joyful and full. The solo is a little quiet for my liking, but it’s still good. Prince doesn’t dwell too long on the break
down as he does on some shows, and the song moves along at a good pace. It doesn’t have the passionate howls near the end as we
get on the Controversy tour, it’s a nice rendition, but better was still to come later in the year. Some nice rhythm guitar followed by a
Prince scream begins us into Sexy Dancer. The tone and attitude is just right on this one, and the music itself does sound like a sexy
dancer. The music is strong, but there is a nice funk guitar slithering underneath that gives it a sexy feel. There is a lot of crowd
noise, and I guess Prince is doing some sort of sexy dance. It doesn’t matter that I can’t see it, as there is plenty for me to listen to.
There is plenty of time for a keyboard break, and some more funky rhythm guitar. The rhythm guitar is a little low when it gets its
break, but I can still hear it OK. The piano keyboard that follows is the best part of the song for me, it plays for a while, both doing it
on thing, as well as interacting with the rest of the band. The song ends right after this with a bubble of electronic noise. Sister takes
us in another direction entirely, it’s upbeat, noise and brash. Again Prince’s vocals are loud but I can’t make out his words, and its
probably just as well in this case ! The rest of the band play with energy, and the song is over in less than two minutes. It was almost
a diversion rather than a song. The pop sounds of I Wanna Be Your Lover follows next. I have always preferred the live versions of
this compared to the album version, they seem to have more intensity and grit to them. This is no exception, the crowd love this
one, and the band do play it well. The bass and Prince are picked up best by the recording, so the keyboard sound is secondary to
the bass. I’m sure that’s not the case, but on this recording that’s what I can hear best. It’s not a bad thing I do enjoy grooving along
to the bass, and Princes vocals almost have me singing along. The coda is relatively short and it’s a nice lead in to what I know is
coming next. A blast on the keyboard signals the beginning of Head. I have never heard a version of Head that I didn’t love, and this
one is no exception. Right from the start there is plenty of screams and yells for the crowd and I am right with them. Even on
audience recordings Head still pops out of the speakers at me nice and strong. The keyboard stabs are captured well by the
recording and of course the bass and Prince vocals. The audience sing enthusiastically throughout, and at one stage are chanting
“head, head, head, head, head” There is an interesting little drum roll into a quirky keyboard break that I hadn’t heard before. It’s
after Dr Fink’s main solo, and I can’t explain it well, but I do like it. The
song quiets down to just bass and cymbals, and the crowd can be heard
chanting ” you gonna have to fight your own damn war, we don’t want to
fight no more” A very cool moment, before some keyboard stabs and
Princes guitar begins. After some guitar noodling the keyboard comes
faster than I had heard before and again it’s an interesting variation on a
song I have heard plenty of times. It ends not as I expect with the strong
sound of Prince’s guitar, but instead just sort of fades to an end.
Surprising, but very enjoyable. Still Waiting lacks the intensity of the last
two songs, and the audience can’t be heard as much either. It seems
lackluster after listening to 10 minutes of Head. But it’s not a bad song, so I
am beginning to question its placement in the set list. The sound is better
on this, I find it easy to listen to and Princes vocals sound sweet, although I
still can’t understand what he is singing. The song takes a big up swing half
way through, the recording changes, as Prince screams and the drums
crash over the top. There is then another quiet passage of just Prince and
the band singing, which is pretty much as good as it gets in this song. It’s a
cool moment, but then the rest of the song doesn’t do much for me as the
recording deteriorates. Partyup has a much tighter feel to it, and isn’t as
bass heavy as other songs on the recording. The keyboards are more to the
fore, and although I can’t hear the guitar as well the vocals do sound
better. The song is played as we know it from the record, so there aren’t
any surprises to be heard. There is plenty of noise, and keyboard from Dr
Fink, and the drums are nicely in the mix too. It’s played for what it is, an
audience pleaser, and you do hear the audience chanting near the end, and
all the while Dr Fink keeps the keyboard noise going. It’s does sound just
like on the album, but it runs out to eight minutes here, as the end is
played out and the crowd begin chanting, although you can barely hear them due to the glorious racket the band is making. There is
a brief pause and then the band returns with Uptown. I have always thought that Uptown is thematically very similar to Partyup, so
I was surprised to hear them side by side on this recording. Uptown is much better than Partyup here, and I enjoy it much more. It’s
got a clean sound, and is very danceable. There is some excellent guitar work, and a great solo. Unfortunately it’s a very quiet on the
recording, but it does sound fantastic. The band stops and there is plenty more guitar that I can barely hear. A shame, but that is the
way with audience recordings. There is a drum beat that begins some more guitar playing, but it all sounds like it’s far away. The
ever reliable Bobby Z plays us into Crazy You. A song I very rarely listen to, here I find it a real high point. The keyboard and bass
bob along just nicely, and even though again I struggle to hear Prince I do like the melody. There is some gentle guitar playing
which I do hear better, and it lures me in well. The second half the song moves along faster and louder, but still retains it nice
groove. There isn’t much in the way of singing, but I do like all of it. The guitar plays over the groove for a good two or three minutes
and it’s excellent. Gotta Stop doesn’t sound as fast as it does on record, and it is much better for it. The raw guitar tone and the
steady drums rolls work well. The keyboards aren’t as strong as they were earlier. I like Prince’s vocals, but the lyrics do start getting
repetitive, but I could listen to the groove all day. I am surprised when it suddenly ends, but I see that it was played for quite a
while, so it really drew me into the music. The pounding beat of Dirty Mind next, and that great driving keyboard riff. The recording
lacks the intensity and energy of other shows, Princes vocals are too lost in the mix, and I can’t hear any guitar. Even the parts
where I know he is yelling in the microphone still sound very quiet. To compensate though, Bobby Z and his drums sound great,
and I especially like the hard electric noise he gets from them. The song lacks something without the guitar sound, and it’s one of
the weaker recordings I have of this song. I can hear the guitar later in the song, but it’s mostly Bobby Z that I can hear with his
drums. Prince tells us “we are running out of songs” before he plays Everybody Dance. As with Broken, this song never made it
onto an album, and was only played at a few shows on this tour. There isn’t too much to the song, just a keyboard lead groove, and
Prince sing “everybody, everybody dance” He does mix it up a little with lines such as “everybody, everybody say yeah” but there
is nothing more in the way of lyrics. Even the groove doesn’t vary much and I can see why we didn’t hear much more of this song.
But it is good to hear unreleased songs from this era, and I do enjoy it for its novelty value. It does outstay its welcome by a good
couple of minutes, and there is no tears from me as it ends. The grinding guitar of Bambi takes us to the last song of the evening.
The power of the song is neutered by the recording, but it’s still good to hear it. With the recording being weak, it’s mostly Prince’s
vocals that I listen to, he is finishing the gig strongly, and his voice is standing up well against the drums and guitar. The first half of
the song sounds a little mundane, but things pick up later when Prince begins to play his solo. It’s very unfortunate that the
recording ends here, and we don’t get to hear the end of the song. There was plenty to like about this recording, and plenty to
dislike. I did enjoy the fact that there was a couple of rarities in the set list, and the hometown crowd added a warm atmosphere to
the show. However at times the limitations of the recording did mar my enjoyment of the show. I have listened to plenty of audience
recordings, and this one is by no means a terrible one, but there is some songs where I didn’t quite get all the sounds that I might
have otherwise wanted to hear. A good show, with a less than average recording, it was still worth a listen. Something I would listen
to once every few years rather than something I would give a high rotation to.
Minneapolis Star
Prince gives city claim to a star
By Jon Bream – Minneapolis Star
Minneapolis finally has its own bona fide rock star. Born, bred and based right here in the Twin Towns. His name is Prince. That's
his real name. He doesn't use his surname and it really doesn't matter. Since Prince released his third album, "Dirty Mind," last fall,
the rave notices have been pouring in from all over the country. From the traditional columns of the Los Angeles Times and
Newsweek to the hip pages of Rolling Stone and the Village Voice, Prince has been crowned as rock's latest contender to the throne.
And last night at Sam's Prince showed his hometown why he's royalty. He demonstrated the requisite musicianship, moves, style,
charisma and sex appeal. Once he adds some more quality material to his already impressive repertoire, this star is going to be a
monster. Since Prince and his five-member band performed at the Orpheum Theater in February 1980, he toured extensively and
recorded "Dirty Mind." Both experiences seem to have been major growth steps in his career. Onstage, the 21-year-old star, who
had only limited performing experience in his mid-teens, has grown confident as well as coy. He knew how to work the crowd at the
jam-packed Sam's where people were sitting on the bars and hanging from the balcony railings. "There's no place like home," he
announced three times before he launched into "Do It All Night," Then, he proceeded to play a 95 minute, three-encore
performance. It was much longer than his customary set and a couple of the numbers seemed like unfinished tunes or merely
vamps the group plays during rehearsals. But hometown heroes can get away with a lot, especially when they pull it off with such
convincing panache. And it was a triumphant evening indeed. It's right here in Minneapolis where Prince recorded much of "Dirty
Mind." And it's in Minneapolis where he nurtured the thoughts that developed into
songs about incest, oral sex and homosexuality on the album. Lyrically, "Dirty Mind"
walks the line between naivetey and innocence, between bravado and libido
pornography and eroticism, sex and love. Yet, Prince is so refreshing that his boyman lyrics and his deliciously androgynous image (wildly marcelled hair-do,
pubescent moustache, trench coat, bikini briefs, leg-warmers and breathy, girlish
falsetto) could hardly be a well-calculated marketing scheme. Musically, Prince is, as
the Village Voice put it, the "cutting edge of whatever wave is new." He's as much
new-wave as he is rock-funk. And he throws in enough sweet ballads and jazz and
rhythm-and-blues romps to make his music incapable of being plugged into any
established, marketable category. And that's just the way Prince wants it. Without
question, the raw-edged tunes on "Dirty Mind" have more bite than his older, more
pop-flavored material, including "Soft and Wet," “I Wanna Be Your Lover" and "Sexy
Dancer," which have been big disco and soul hits for Prince in just about every major
city but Minneapolis. In concert, he has trimmed the excesses that marred his
Orpheum show last year and his debut at the Capri Theater in January '79. Gone,
Lover except in the we're-running-out-of-songs-extra-encore "Bambi," was the
ferocious, feedback-dominated heavy-metal that brought the comparisons to Jimi
Hendrix. Sure, Prince may hump the mike stand and fondle the neck of his guitar,
but he does it neither as boldly as Hendrix nor as blatantly as the Plasmatics' Wendy
Williams. He does it his way, like the sexy dancer he is. As guitarist, Prince showed
improvement Monday. His playing was clean and bouncy, his fingerwork nifty and
nimble. Of the 26 instruments this one-man recording band plays (yes, he plays all
the instruments on his albums, which he produces, composes and arranges, too), the guitar appears to be the one he has mastered
onstage. Last night, he received solid support from his touring band. Matt "Doctor" Fink and Lisa Coleman propelled the new
keyboard-oriented songs. Guitarist Dez Dickerson, who seemed less prominent than in past performances, was a strong visual and
musical foil for Prince. Steady drummer Bobby Z. Rivkin and bassist Andre Cymone, whose instrument was decorated with zebra
stripes, provided the propulsive foundation that kept the crowd dancing. As a singer, Prince demonstrated incomparable command
of his rangy falsetto. He's not boyish like Michael Jackson, to whom Prince is often compared. Rather, he has the ability (as he
showed on the sweet ballad "Still Waiting") to seduce both male and female listeners the way only soul giants Smokey Robinson and
Al Green have been able to do. And, Prince's falsetto provided the perfect boy-man charm on such soft-edged dance numbers as
"Sexy Dancer" and "Why You Want To Treat Me So Bad." Occassionally, too, be surprised the enthusiastic crowd with some talk
singing in his natural tenor voice. Above all, though, what makes Prince such a captivating performer is his stage manner. He knew
when to dance with his hand in his coat pocket, just when to show a little leg, when to strip down to his briefs and when to strut his
stuff. And his soulful strut would make Mick Jagger jealous. Prince knew when to dance in unison with Cymone and Dickerson. He
knew just when to shake his shag and coyly glance over his shoulder. And he knew how to mug for fans with cameras. His face was
so cute-and-nasty. And if eyes could talk, his might say more from the stage than his songs do. If there was one glaring weakness in
Prince's show, it was the pacing. The performance started powerfully, slowed almost to the point of losing momentum, rebounded
strongly and ended awkwardly with "Party Up," the song the group recently performed on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." The first
encore, the recent buoyant hit "Uptown," would have made a more effective ending. But, after all, it was only the first night of the
second leg of Prince's U.S. tour, and those things can be worked out. Anyway, sometimes rough edges and a little revealing
moments surface in hometowns that don't happen elsewhere. Like the bashful, gosh-this-isMinneapolis smile that Prince, who is shy offstage, flashed after the opening number. Or the
cocky, lean-against-the-speaker gesture of triumph at the end of the regular set. Or the modest,
almost reticent "thank you" after the final song, and the nervous smile that comes when you
recognize too many hometown faces who finally know who you are.
11-03-1981 : Royal Oak Theater (2 shows)
* Attendance : ? / 1.700
Two concerts were played at the 1,700-capacity Royal Oak Music Theatre, outside Detroit.
Detroit News’ Jim McFarlin described Prince as "the best soul-rock crossover talent of his age, a
refreshing innovator in a time of stagnation.”
! Detroit Radio Station Interview
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13-03-1981 : Atlanta Agora
* Tick. Price : $7.50
While in Atlanta, Prince and his band attended a concert by Baby and The Pacifiers, a local band led by
saxophonist David Eiland, an old acquintance of Prince and Andre Cymone.
15-03-1981 : Virginia Beach Rogue’s
* Advert. Start : 8:00PM / Tick. Price : $8.50
17-03-1981 : Boston Channel
* Attendance : 1.300 / Sold Out
The Channel was renamed Citi later in the eighties, and Prince played at the
club again in 1988, when he did an after-show on the Lovesexy tour. Peter
Wolf and Magic Dick from the J. Geils Band attended the show.
18-03-1981 : Cherry Hill Emerald
20-03-1981 : Ypsilanti Bowen Field House
* Advert. Start : 10:00PM / Attendance : 300 / Tick. Price : $10.50 / $9.50
Only 300 people attended the show at Bowen Field House in Ypsilanti, outside
Ann Arbor, Michigan. The concert was basically a ”warmup” for the prestigious
New York gig.
I live in Michigan in a city called Ypsilanti. Our city is smack in the middle of two
large universities, the University of Michigan & Eastern Michigan University.
Back in 1979 I was standing in a small record shop when I noticed an album
which had a picture of a black guy sitting upon a magnificent white flying horse.
Being a horse lover and into new groups, I bought it. I knew at first play that I
was hooked by this guy named Prince. When Dirty Mind was released, Prince was
finally showing up in magazines and even on television, but it was the Dirty Mind
Tour that I first saw him live and raw. It was March 17, 1981 in that same small
record shop where I purchased the first album that I bought my first Prince
concert ticket for the show at the campus of E.M.U. in a gym called Bowen Field
House (the Ypsilanti Free Press, Friday 20 March 1981 advertised tickets at $9.50
and $10.50). When I got to the gym there were about 200 or so people inside,
with 95% of the audience being black. The gym was very small with chairs on the main floor and bleechers at the rear and sides. I
was right up front (my first and last front row seat for
Prince). Someone from the road crew was selling posters
for $2 - it had a picture of Prince’s face on the front in B/W
and pictures of the Gap Band and Kool & The Gang on the
back. The stage was also very small with speakers stacked
up about 6 feet on each side with Bobby Z's drums in the
middle. At either side of the drums were keyboards and in
front of all this stood three microphones with regular
lights, like you'd see in any small club, overhead. As we
were waiting for the show to begin, the crowd started to
cheer. I turned to look and next to me, in the aisle, walked
Andre Cymone, Prince and Dez Dickerson. They walked to
the rear of the gym and slipped out a side door !! That's all
it took to get the crowd going crazy. Then the main lights
went down and the stage lights came on. Dr. Fink was at
the left keyboard wearing his doctor’s uniform. Bobby Z.
was at the drums and Lisa, wearing a blue trench coat, was
at the right keyboard. Out front at the left was Andre
Cymone on bass - he was wearing a blue shirt which was
open and, to my surprise, was wearing see-through pants !
At the left of the stage played Dez. He looked so wild in a
tan trench coat, and a white bandana around his forehead
under his dyed orange hair. But it was the guy in the
middle of all these musicians who mesmerized me. He was
wearing a tan trench coat, black legwarmers and highheeled black boots. He danced and twirled all over that stage. He was in total control of the band and the audience - I couldn’t keep
my eyes off him. He would make love to his guitar and tease the crowd. To this day, I have never seen a show like that one; it was so
raw and so fresh. Prince performed every song off the Prince and Dirty Mind LPs except Bambi. When it was over, the crowd felt as
drained as the band did. As everyone was leaving by the front door, I decided to exit through the back door. When I got outside, I
saw a white Rolls Royce parked at the rear of the gym. As I walked towards it, I saw some of the crew and then the band. l walked
over to them as they escorted the band into the Rolls and saw Prince. He looked tired but friendly. All I really had a chance to say
was that I loved his music and that his show was the best concert I had ever seen. He turned to me and said thanx and he was glad
that I like it, and before I knew it he was in the car and the tail lights were trailing off into the distance. I went home that night with
such a natural high - I didn't get much sleep because the show kept going on over and over in my head. Next day I found out about,
and bought, the For You album. Prince is a true artist in every way - I just wish that everyone who is into him now could have the
chance to see him like I did.
21-03-1981 : Baltimore
Concert in Baltimore. Thousands of fans milled in the streets after the concert, making their way to the band’s hotel, a few blocks
next to the club.
22-03-1981 : ♫ h NY Ritz
(0:57)
* Duration : 1:15 / Tick. Price : $10.00
(A : Dirty Mind New-York – 10/10 * V : The Ritz ’81 - 9/10)
Do It All Night / Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad ? / Gotta Broken Heart Again
Broken / When You Were Mine / Gotta Stop (Messin’ About) / Sexy Dancer / Sister
I Wanna Be Your Lover / Head / Still Waiting
Partyup / Uptown / Crazy You / Dirty Mind / Everybody Dance / Bambi
After the reports of Prince's Ritz concert in
December 1980 and the increased media
interest the club was crammed with record
industry and press people. Mick Jagger,
Darryl Hall and Al Kooper attended the
show. The show resulted in rave reviews
in several papers, including some of
Prince's first coverage in England. The
possibility of a small tour in England was
then considered.
Mick Jagger’s interest must have been
piqued by Robert Christgau’s ‘penis’ comment – especially coming from a hardcore Stones fan who could even find something nice to say about Dirty Work – as
he showed up to watch the young pretender when he played one of the Stones’
favourite venues, New York’s Ritz club, on 22 March 1981.
A : Fullasoul's treatment of the classic New York 1981 Dirty Mind show previously (and most famously) circulating
on the City Lights 'New York / Paris 81' release. Anyone who has listened to their City Lights discs will know these
unfortunately suffer from a rather loud buzzing between songs and often during them, along with a few small
glitches. The City Lights New York release also has an early fade in/out towards the end of 'Still Waiting' from the
video recording these have been sourced from. The first noticeable thing about the Fullasoul release is that the
high-pitched buzzing noise has all but gone. It is still evident during parts of the show - for example during the
guitar solo on 'Head' - however it has been reduced dramatically
throughout. The missing section on 'Still Waiting' has been very
smoothly repaired and if I hadn't been aware of it on the City Lights
release I would never have known Fullasoul had done some work to
repair it - a major credit to him. The recording overall is far cleaner
sounding, much fresher and a high quality, professional product.
V : Enigma's release of the fantastic New York 81 club gig, and their
first video release. Previous to this, the Global Funkschool release of
this show (and the Paris 81 gig) was undoubtedly the best release,
however both the picture and sound quality of this release is far
better. The Global Funkschool release suffered from some terrible
black lines on the screen whenever there was movement on stage
(which there constantly is) - this release thankfully does not suffer the
same problem. The colours are more defined, the overall picture
quality is much clearer, and the sound quality is FAR sharper. The only
small complaint I have is that the picture drop-outs during 'Head' and
'Still Waiting' are still evident, however the problem appears to be on
all versions. The recording has been professionally filmed by a single camera situated at the rear, however there
are a number of excellent, tight close ups throughout. The show itself is an energetic, fascinating view into Prince's
early stage show routine and features a rare performance of the unreleased 'Broken' followed by a lengthy, nasty,
funky 'Head' with some infamous Hohner wanking taking
place. In comparison to the Global Funkschool version
this wins hands down.
Richard Grabel reported for New Musical Express, ”He’s best
when being playful and insinuating. The band backs up those
moods expertly, laying on polished, sophisticated disco-funk.
Anyone who can play so long, so well, and still have new twists
left to reveal, bears serious watching.” Even though he wasn’t too
taken by the music, Sounds reporter Tim Sommer was impressed
by Prince's stage presence : “Before long you ignore the adept but
undistinguished music and just appreciate it for what it is, a
forum for Prince’s considerable charisma. He's a snotty, sexy,
flashy, uptown-gone- downtown punk, with a presence and style
unlike anyone l’ve ever seen. Prince is truly a master showman
and image manipulator, if only an average song stylist and
composer.” Stephen Holden, writing for New York Times, drew
parallels with some of rock’s greatest, ”Prince is such a
charismatic performer that his stylized salaciousness doesn’t
offend. With his sassy grace and precocious musicality, he is heir
to the defiant rock and roll tradition of Elvis Presley, Mick
Jagger, and Jimi Hendrix.”
The first thing I hear is the bass snap of Do It All Night and the simmering synth riff. Prince appears bathed in dry ice, and I already
love this show. It’s got such a classic feel to it, it’s hard not to be swept along on a high. Prince’s vocals are nice and pure, and the
bass in particular sounds great. The whole recording is very clean, it really is a treat to listen to. The band certainly looks like they
are ready to rock, however the song doesn’t require it and they are nicely restrained. There is a cool moment in the show when
Prince calls Andre and Dez to walk and the three of them pull a nice little move off together. Prince is a little quiet, that is by no
means a criticism as his vocals are so crisp. The rock part of the gig starts next as Dez throws himself energetically into Why You
Wanna Treat Me So Bad. There are a few squeals from the crowd as Prince sings his lines, but it’s at the chorus that the song really
takes off. Both Andre and Dez put a lot of energy into it, and I feel it elevates the song considerably. There is also a nice moment as
Prince and Dez strike their classic guitar gods pose. I can just about sing Princes guitar break note for note as I have heard it so
many times, and it gets my heart pumping now just as much as it did 30 years ago. It has been a good while since I last heard this
song, and I had forgotten how much enjoyment I get out of it. Prince’s second guitar break is more interesting, he is backed by the
keyboards, and they ably match him. The song isn’t as long as I have sometimes heard, and it leaves me wanting more as Prince
brings it to a close. “We’re going to do something for the rude people” has me wondering what he is going to play next, and I am
pleasantly surprised as Prince croons his way through Gotta Broken Heart Again. Not only is his singing gentle on the ear, but there
is also some delicate piano and guitar play which has me paying close attention. The song doesn’t contain anything in the way of
surprise, and that is a surprise in itself and Prince keeps it simple. He does indulge in some vocal play at the end of the song before
it comes to a close with that piano again. This song is great, and I’m doing it a disservice by not writing more about it. I wrote about
Broken when I covered his 81 show at Sam’s Minneapolis, and here it once again appears. Its rockabilly style feels a little out of
place, but in retrospect it’s nothing like the stylistic jumps later in his career. I like Princes vocals, his singing at this time is a nice
falsetto, it’s just the music in this song is so slight it leaves me feeling hollow. Bobby Z gets to play a nice long intro to When You
Were Mine, before Prince comes in with his guitar. The song isn’t as strong as I like, there is certainly much stronger versions
floating around. It’s played well though, and I can’t fault it in any way. Prince looks incredibly young, and it’s hard to believe he’s
lived the experiences he is singing about. The break down is normally longer than what we hear on this recording, and after a quick
line Prince jumps back into the song. It’s all very fine, but I get the feeling that something needs turning up to 11 to make the song
jump. Gotta Stop Messing About sounds good, so I am surprised to see how static the audience is. Andre’s bass is the star for me
through this song, he has a nice pop going in my left ear. Dez and Andre both contribute backing vocals to Prince and it does add a
more manly sound to the song, although the synth squiggle undoes some of that. Prince does bounce and bob, and yet the song
never really ignites and comes to an end leaving me wishing it was something more. I hear a funky guitar play and the rhythmic
pattern of Sexy Dancer played on the cymbals and my spirits lift. The main elements of the song are Princes guitar and his vocals,
and that’s no bad thing at all. There is a keyboard solo, but I find myself still listening to Prince’s guitar as it plays. The song
becomes a dance after about half way, plenty of bass, guitars and a nice easy chant rolling over and over. There is a brief guitar
break from Prince that becomes more and more and we get a good couple of minutes of him playing rhythm guitar centre stage. I
was about to dismiss the rest of the band, but Dr Fink plays a really cool solo, complete with bobbing head and jerking motions. I
love ya Doc ! I don’t recall the last time I listened to Sister. Some days I love it, and some days I dismiss it as a throw away piece. I
like seeing the performance here, but truthfully I could probably live without it. It’s hard to be critical of something that’s so brief,
so it’s with pleasure we move to the next song. I Wanna Be Your Lover is a slab of pure pop, and it’s hard for me to reconcile
between the look of Dirty Mind era Prince, and the pop sound of the song. In later years he would joke with the lyric “Ain’t got no
money (now that’s a lie)” but I have to say looking at him here, he definitely looks like he’s got no money. As good as his vocals
sound, for this song it’s the rhythm guitar of Dez that I focus on. Not just the chorus, but also the verses his guitar sound is fantastic.
I don’t think I had noticed it earlier, but now it’s all I can hear. As befitting a pop song it finishes after three minutes and we move
onto something much darker, and funkier. There is no better sound than that of Prince and the band grooving on the intro of Head.
That opening synth stab and the delicious sound of the guitars before Prince intones his opening lines, all of it is great for me. I
would love this even if it was a bad performance, but then again how often does that happen ? This one is great, and right at the
start there is a fantastic shot of a very young Lisa Coleman singing her lines, the show is worth seeing just for that alone. Another
highlight is seeing Dr Fink doing what he does best, and I swear one day I am going to learn how to dance like that. Prince looks
somewhat like Mick Jagger as he leads the crowd into singing “head”, and there is plenty of strutting and prancing. The band hit
their straps at this point, and all of them look like they are feeling the groove as the play. Andre in particular puts on a great show.
For many years the highlight of this song has been the second half as Prince engages in his guitar noise and showmanship. Seeing it
as well as hearing it is a bonus, and even though I have heard it a lot I still find myself watching transfixed as Prince plays. The last
few minutes are epic as Prince plays lead, rhythm and masturbates with his guitar. I can’t help but think of the word ‘raw’ again.
And ‘awesome’ Things take another change as Still Waiting is the next song played. Dr Fink again is a star with his piano playing
carrying the song early on. Prince is once again at his crooning best, I may not catch all the words but I catch his meaning. The song
has a gentle elegance to it during the chorus and the lights come up slightly as the music rises. Prince steps out from behind the
microphone stand and engages with the audience with his looks and vocal performance, and I find myself warming to him much
more here. Prince shows more of his star power as later in the song he sings under a single spotlight and we hear some of his great
falsetto. Prince directs the band to finish the song and with a final vocal flourish it ends. The show does go for longer, but sadly the
video footage ends here, and so must my blog entry. It’s very hard for me to write objectively about any show from this time period.
I am a life long fan of Prince, and I listen to all sorts of shows, but some years are better to me than others. Give me anything from
1981, 1986 or 1995 and I am about as happy as I can be. This isn’t the best from this time, but seeing it does give it some extra merit.
There are only a few shows documented on video from this time, so I do treat this one with reverence. A good show, and a nice
video, it’s got plenty going for it, it’s just a shame it wasn’t the whole show or a more impassioned performance. A worthy addition
to the collection and worth watching a couple of times a year.
Reading Eagle
Prince Gives A Royal Performance
By Tony Lucia – Reading Eagle 22-03-1981
Don’t mean to brag, but I was entertained by royalty the other night. Of
course, I’m speaking of Prince, the sensational young performer who’s setting
the country on fire on his current tour. Prince hails from Minneapolis, not
previously known as a musical hot spot but now definitely on the map. Barely
21, Prince has already recorded three albums for Warner Brothers records.
The latest of these, “Dirty Mind,” is a great breakthrough for the artist, one of
the best records of 1980. To give you an idea of his prodigious talents, Prince
produced, arranged, composed and performed “Dirty Mind.” And he does an
excellent job on every score. Categorizing Prince’s music is difficult. I would
put it somewhere between rock and funk, but then Prince turns around and
does a song like “Sister” that doesn’t fit neatly into any pigeonhole. It’s safe to
say most of his material is fast and dancy, but he also performs a modicum of
slow numbers, written to spotlight his shimmering falsetto. His concert at
New Jersey’s rock hall Emerald City was extremely exciting. The opening act
was Nona Hendryx and Zero Cool. Hendryx, formerly of Labelle, performed
ably with her new band, which has a punchy New Wave sound. There’s an
interesting hot-cold contrast between her voice and the band’s style, and the
men in the audience were mesmerized by this attractive and talented
performer. But it was ladies’ night at Emerald City. Girls were packed in front
of stage, waiting for Prince. The curtain to the stage was drawn, but that didn’t
stop his subjects : They lifted it and peeked underneath. The mirrored arch
that flanks the stage was rocking precariously as the fans pressed closer. It’s
easy to imagine the disaster that could result if Prince cancelled an
appearance. At last, before it was ripped to shreds, the curtain was raised. The
band tore into a throbbing “Do It All Night” and were off and running. During
the concert, they played everything on “Dirty Mind,” some new material, plus
songs from Prince’s first two albums (“Prince” and “For You”). Since Emerald
City is one of the few rock showcases around with a good and clear sound
system, the material sounded even better live than on record. Prince’s voice, in particular, came across well. On record, his falsetto
can occasionally sound thin and forced. But on stage, it sounded full-bodied and proved to be a very versatile instrument. And I
don’t know where in Minneapolis he found his band, but I guess it just goes to prove you can find great talent almost anywhere
these days. This is a band that means to cut across barriers. Its members are black, white, male, female. If it were just a gimmick,
you might not take notice. But this is an A-1 rock band. Ranging in age from 18 to 22, the band members are Andre Cymone on bass,
Dez Dickerson on guitar, Bobby Z on drums, and Lisa Coleman and Dr. Fink on keyboards. The stage show centers on Cymone,
Dickerson and Prince as a very energetic front line. These three musicians really know how to work an audience. They used some
choreographed stage moves, and Prince obviously knows which expressions and gestures will make people go crazy. But mostly the
show seemed loose and spontaneous. There was an incident when a fan got on stage during the song “Dirty Mind.” Prince took one
look at him and disappeared. This was during an encore, and some thought he wouldn’t come back. However, the band kept playing
and Prince finally rejoined them to cap the evening with one of his best songs, “Uptown.” Prince naturally expects to be treated like
royalty. So there were to be no interviews, no photos. The Emerald City staff supposedly had to buy fresh towels for Prince and his
band to use, rather than have them be forced to use the same ones everyone else who plays there uses. Just a ego trip ? Perhaps. But
it’s a little deeper than that. After all, Prince is an aristocrat of sorts. Everything about him – his songs, his appearance, his multiple
talents, his bands – makes a clear political statement (although he professes to hate politics almost as much as he hates clothes).
His music is about freedom. As he sings in “Party Up,” it’s “revolutionary rock ‘n’ roll” that he’s playing. He really is unique. The
voice seems inspired by Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson, but there’s also a beautiful effeminate quality to it. The music calls
to mind influences as diverse as the Rolling Stones and Parliament, while the lyrics suggest a less comic, but no less outrageous or
suggestive, George Clinton. Visually, the band’s closest antecedent is Rick James’ band, but Prince’s band isn’t as glittery and
decadent-looking. Prince certainly has the ability to go far in show business. He’ll have to cross over to really become a star, but he’s
already got a strong and loyal base of support. If there were any justice, “Dirty Mind” would have spawned at least one Top 10
record. The suggestiveness of his lyrics will have to be curbed before he makes it big, although such songs as “Do That To Me One
More Time” and “Do You Love As Good As You Look” could be construed as being far more obscene than any of Prince’s material.
There’s nothing sleazy about him. He’s honest and forthright, not coy, and those qualities can be hard to find today. If he does tone
down his approach, he shouldn’t sacrifice this honesty. Still, It’s only a matter of time until this man’s awesome talents make his
name a household word. What he’ll do with the opportunity remains to be seen, but this is certain : Prince is a man to watch.
NME (UK)
Sex and sex and rock and roll
New York
This is the kind of gig for which The Ritz, a well-appointed,
spacious ballroom, is perfect. The place isn’t about intimacy, it’s
about dazzle and flesh, which is just what Prince is about.
Tonight the place is sold out, packed with a congenial mix of
uptown flesh and downtown trash. Young black girls squeeze up
in front of the stage, old white hipsters hang out in the back
trying to look funky. The word is out – Prince has the hottest,
flashest show going. Prince is gonna be the new R&B royalty. He
is a bit of Michael Jackson, a bit of Wendy O. Williams, a bit of
Grace Jones and a soupcon of some anonymous topless dancer
in some sleazy bar in Newark. Prince’s sexuality isn’t macho
strutting. It’s a campy, almost a spoof – no threat. When Prince
tosses a sweat-soaked cloth to the crowd, the young girls scream
and squeal for real. He does go in for some dodgy sleeze routines
but these are the peripheral stuff. The core of his sexiness is his
sweet voice and his good moves – loose, sly, knowing
mannerisms. It’s in the way he teases and strokes his high notes.
It’s in the way he vibrates, the way he, you know, gets down. So
far he’s recorded as a one-man show, playing everything himself
on his new album. But his touring band, when not indulging an
unfortunate penchant for guitar solos and other heavy-metal
rituals, is a crack outfit, both smooth and funky. He’d be well
advised to start using them for recording as well. They come on,
six in all, wearing long raincoats – flasher chic. Soon everyone
strips down to something colourful and bizarre. Prince wears a
skimpy black satin jock strap, tight black leg-warmers, a
sleeveless, fringy shirt and bandana around his neck. Café-au-lait
skin and shaggy hair. He’s a fashion movement all by himself.
O.K. It’s rockist hash but a lot of people are looking for sexy, silly
entertainment and it might as well be someone with the wit, style
and talent to rise above their own gimmicks. His influences are
not yet trans-Atlantic. But I’d bet on Prince going down well anywhere. He might make a few people forget about Adam Ant. He
may get put down for being too fey, or banned from Radio One for risque lyrics. But Prince is the leading candidate to be king of the
real sex music. He’s best when being playful and insinuating. The band backs up those moods expertly, laying on polished,
sophisticated disco-funk. What mars the show are his heavy-handed, heavy-metal, guitar-slinger moods – a total yawn. But the
good parts are brilliant. Prince has written only one song, “When You Were Mine”, that I’d judge great. But he’s written many that
are very good – “I Wanna Be Your Lover”, “Uptown”, “Head” – with Prince in full voice and the band pulling together, they all
sound like monster hits. And Prince’s voice, like Smokey Robinson’s, is made for ballads. So though he doesn’t write great ballads,
the expressiveness of his voice turn them into classic heartstring-pullers. Being alone on the bill, he plays the longest set I’ve seen in
some time. He keeps my interest by throwing in surprises – here a rousing disco instrumental, there a fast blues-based shuffle. The
final encore is Prince alone at a piano, playing pseudo-sensitive ballad (“The Many Moods of Prince”, huh ?). But he does something
new, dropping down to his natural voice and then back up to his falsetto. Anyone who can play so long, so well, and still have new
twists left to reveal, bears serious watching.
Richard Grabel
23-03-1981 : Interviews
Prince gives some interviews in his hotel room to several journalists from the New York Times, New York Newsday, Billboard and
some European critics.
24-03-1981 : Chicago Park West (2 shows)
* Advert. Start : 7:30PM (1) / 11:00PM (2) / Attendance : 750 / Sold Out / Tick. Price : $9.50 / $9.00
The two sets at the Park West Theatre were sold-out. People lined up
for hours before the shows to get tickets. Producer Narada Michael
Walden took in the concert.
Don McLeese’s review in Chicago Sun-Times was full of praise for
Prince, ”So far, too much of the publicity surrounding Prince has cast
him as some sort of freakshow attraction. Forget it. While I’d be even
more impressed if his lyrics went a little less for shock value and a
little more for soul, this is one guy who’s got it all. If he isn’t selling
millions of records a year or so from now, somebody isn't doing his
job.” A local newspaper wrote : “The Prince show is so theatrically well presented, with outstanding choreography, lights, special
effects and dynamite music, that it ’s obvious that he's destined for superstardom.”
Blues & Soul
Prince airs his Dirty Mind
His album, titled “Dirty Mind”, has been banned by radio stations because of its lyric content but Prince aims to promote it on the
road until people get behind it… Throughout the long and varied history of Black music, I don‘t think there has ever been a more
controversial artist than Prince, the highly talented and individualistic genius from Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has to his credit
three albums - with the newest, titled “Dirty Mind", being by far the most provocative. Because of some of the lyric content, the
album has been banned by several radio stations - a dubious honour that has previously only been afforded to white acts. “I think
this album is the most direct of the three and that I have really found myself," the softly-spoken twenty-year-old says in his
defence. "This album deals with more definite events and not so much with fantasies and dreams. For the listener, I believe I have
covered a wider range of subjects, too - though that wasn't something I planned consciously in advance. The funny thing about
the album, though, is the tact that I actually never planned to release these songs - they were really only demos that I had
recorded for my own satisfaction. The two albums before were completely planned and thought out - this one was totally
spontaneous. In a lot of cases, I recorded the tracks first and then just added the lyrics as I went along - often making them up as
I went along, too. That’s why there are some really strange lines in there !" As with its two predecessors, “Dirty Mind” can well and
truly claim to be ‘all his own work‘. All of the songs are Prince creations and the versatile youngster also played all of the
instruments, too. It was actually recorded back in the summer of 1980 - straight after Prince's first American tour. The album has
also paved the way for the recent and far more successful nationwide tour. As
those who have seen the show will willingly testify, his is a magnificently different
show. Having never witnessed a Punk concert, I can't honestly say whether
Prince took his ideas from that area of music - suffice to say that I have never
witnessed an R&B type concert of this ilk ! The whole thinking behind the tour is
for Prince to support the album. “And I‘m going to stay out there until the people
get behind the album," he states firmly. “So far, airplay has been limited and so
actual sales have only been moderate. A lot of radio people are so used to
playing junk than when something different comes along they are frightened to
programme it. Probably, if l had actually planned a new album in advance - the
way I did with the other two – I wouldn't have used any at these songs. But,
once they were done, I realised that this was the real me. It deals with real
subjects and the language is the way we really talk. When I say ‘we', I mean
young people. Everything is so much more to the point, I believe.” Obviously,
Prince’s frame of mind was considerably different at the time of his recording this
set. For example, the album lacks those sparkling ballads that have been a
hallmark of the previous two. “I guess I just wasn't in that mood,”' he smiles
softly. “When I did the other two albums, I think I was in love - and I wasn’t
when I did this one. You see, I think I always tend to write what I feel at that
given moment.” Another pet peeve of this forthright young man is in being
labelled. Just about everywhere you look, he has been termed ‘Punk’. "That's just
a fad," he points out - almost as a put-down ! “I hate being put into any specific
category so I never planned to get caught up in that punk thing. But then I’m
not an R&B artist either - because I‘m a middle-class kid from Minnesota, which
is very much White America. My background has restricted me to some degree
and, frankly, my family don't understand what I am doing one little bit. In fact,
they don’t understand me !" One of the intriguing thing about this ninth child (he
has four sisters and four brothers) is the amazing Mr. Hyde and Dr. Jekyll
transition that takes place once the stage lights are switched on. Sitting with him
backstage after witnessing his amazingly extrovert show, it’s hard to imagine this
gentle, softly-spoken and highly sensitive young man swaggering around on stage
exposing the majority of his booty for girls and guys alike to howl with
uncontrollable desire over. “Once I’m on stage, I do change,” he agrees. "A lot of
what we do on stage is not planned - and that helps, I think. For example, we
wear what we feel comfortable in. A lot of clothes would be restricting because
the show is so… athletic, shall I say. Sometimes, sure - I get nervous. But I think
I get more nervous about interviews than I do about being on stage ! I used to be even worse with interviews, though ! Now I
guess I’ve got more to talk about. Before, well, what was there I could say about ‘Sexy Dancer’ ? With this album, I’ve got things
that I can actually talk about and discuss. Songs such as ‘Party Up’ – it deals with a seventy-five year old politician type guy
who's got one foot in the grave and sipping Pina Coladas in Palm Springs and he’s ready to press the button and start a war that
that the young people are going to have to go out and fight for him. It's never his son... oh, no, he pays off the right people so that
his son doesn’t have to go ! I just believe that this kind of a decision shouldn't be left to one person to make - especially someone of
that age.” Prince’s visual image is as outrageous as his verbal image is outspoken. It has often crossed my mind whether his actual
raw and basic talent is afforded the correct credit because of his wild and rebellious image. Or if, in fact, this image detracts from
the considerable talent that is so obviously there in abundance. “I think so - yes" Prince almost hesitantly responds. "But it really
doesn't bother me any longer. If I were to come out in a three-piece suit, it wouldn't have the kind of effect on people that I want to
have. You see, I hate to see people standing still. Things start to get boring and so movement is a necessity for me. With ticket
prices being up at $8 or $9 each, I want everything to be just perfect. The sound, the lights – everything ! The band are really
excellent musicians - and they are all open-minded people... like me. That’s one of the reasons why we all still live in Minneapolis it keeps our minds free. Everything there is five or six months behind the rest of the country so it encourages us to think for
ourselves. When I was about twelve years old, my sister went to live in New York and she started sending me records and thing
back home. That was when I realised that if I was seriously going to do anything in my life, I’d have to come out of the box and do
it for myself. Because in Minneapolis, there is no real competition and so nobody else can really have an effect on us. That also
accounts for why we could never be termed an R&B group, for example, too. Like I said, categories are stupid anyway. But we
tend to attract all kind of people – white, black; gay, straight; male, female. But all young – that’s important ! For me, music is
music and you can miss a great deal by categorising things.” Prince has been acclaimed on many occasions as being precocious.
Though the dictionary sums that precocious is “remarkable for early development”, it is a term that is usually reserved for
childhood film stars who come across as being spoilt brats ! “At times, I can be," Prince confesses. "In the beginning, it was more so
and I still can be if I feel in that mood. It all depends on the vibe I get from the people I'm with - and if anybody starts attacking
me verbally, that’s when I’m at my most precocious. You see, it is important to me that I am taken seriously. Young people today
are not taken seriously enough. I ran away from home when I was twelve years old because I knew what I wanted to do in life
and because nobody would take me seriously. Yes, I was misunderstood. At school, I was always ridiculed because of my name,
Prince. Now, today, I just do what I want to do, what feels right to me. I don’t accept the morals and standards that have been
laid down before me. I have my own morals and my own standards to live up to. Right now, my strongest feeling is my fear of
war breaking out. I find it repulsive that we have to live with that fear. Other than that, I try to take everyday as it comes. I try
not to look ahead and prefer to wait until something happens before I react. It can vary at times - depending on how I feel at any
given moment. Business ? No, I'm not really into that. I have a good manager who is an even better friend to me so I trust her.
Right now, the uppermost thing in my mind is this album. It is the most important event of my life and I'm going to keep playing
these songs across America until everybody has heard what I want them to hear. It's important that I get this combination of
messages over to the young people out there. Basically, I don’t claim to speak for everybody - but I do believe that in speaking for
myself, I am also speaking for a lot of the young people of America. And since we always found it difficult to relate to people on a
one-to-one basis, I relate to the masses through my songs. And that's why I am outspoken in what I sing about." For those of you
interested in facts and figures, Prince's father was a prominent jazz band leader in the Minneapolis area and it was on his dad's
piano that he made his first musical steps. His mother also sang with a band in her younger years. At the tender age of 12, Prince
and Andre Simone (who plays bass with Prince’s band today) formed their own band, called Champagne, and spent the next five
years playing local hotels and high school dances. When seventeen, he started his recording career - by trading with an engineer
friend for time ! Prince provided music to his friend's lyric. However, since he had no producer, arranger or musicians, he simple
decided to do it all himself. Armed with these tapes, he then headed East to New York and returned to Minneapolis with two
definite offers from record companies. However, since neither allowed him to produce himself, he turned them both down. “They
had a lot of strange ideas – tubas, cellos and such - and I knew I‘d have to do it myself if it was to come out right.” So, it was back
to the studio for Prince and this time he came up with three songs that earned him a contract with Warner Brothers Records and
that yielded the excellent “Soft & Wet" success that paved the way for the “For You“ album. As successful as that first album was, it
was the second one – or more specifically the “I Wanna Be Your Lover” track - that really carried Prince into the big league.
However, with "Dirty Mind” this provocative young Gemini (born June 7) has really given the world something to think about. And,
judging by the response to his music that I witnessed, Young America (and therefore, presumably, the world) is giving serious
consideration to this deep young man.
(JA)
26-03-1981 : Denver Rainbow Music Hall
* Advert. Start : 7:30PM / Tick. Price : $7.50
Prior to the concert teenage girls surrounded the trailer which functioned as dressing room for the band. They began pounding on it
and a window broke. It was a real effort for Prince and the band to get from the dressing room to the car.
In early ‘81, Prince’s group graduated to headline status, and the players found rabid fans just about everywhere they went. For
instance, in Denver, the band was in a trailer-turned-dressing room behind a club called the Rainbow. Teenage girls surrounded the
vehicle and began pounding on it. A window broke, a hand reached in. It was a real effort for the band members to get from the
dressing room to the car. And then a wild goose chase through residential neighborhoods ensued as the band tried to shake the
trailing fans. A similar type of chaos occurred in Baltimore, as thousands of people milled in the streets after a Prince concert,
making their way from the concert to the band’s hotel a block and a half away.
29-03-1981 : San Francisco Stone
* Advert. Start : 9:15PM / Attendance : 700 / Sold Out
Prince’s first San Francisco concert, at Keystone (or just The Stone), a 700-seat club in Berkeley was hugely successful. People
danced on chairs and tabletops, straining to view the stage.
In an exalted review of the concert, Joel Selvin said in the San Francisco Chronicle, "An electrifying performer, Prince pumped the
room full of thick, dripping vibrations. People danced on chairs and tabletops, straining to view the stage. In every way, this was
a smashing debut. Prince may be rude and raunchy, but he is also right on.” A journalist in New West wrote : “The most serious
presentation of sex is undercut with the freest humour; macho poses are used for all they’re worth and trashed along with the
black-is-black, white-is-white stereotypes the band denies by the plain fact of what it looks and sounds like.”
31-03-1981 : LA Flipper’s
* Advert. Start : 8:00PM / Attendance : 1.500 / Duration : 1:40 / Tick. Price : $9.50 / $8.50
A capacity of 1,500 people attended the show. The audiences that came to
see him on the Dirty Mind tour were intrigued, and fan hysteria gradually built
during the tour. Although the majority of Prince's audience still was black, the
Dirty Mind tour, which took in many rock clubs, showed that Prince was able
to draw a racially mixed audience. "People who come to our shows are really
into us. And if this one’s like most of the rest of this tour, it will be a half black
and half white audience,” Prince told the Daily News before a concert at
Flipper’s in Los Angeles.
Comparing the concert to Prince's previous
Los Angeles outing (on his first tour in
November 1979), the reporter from Variety
felt the show offered ”strong hope for his
eventual evolution into more consistently
innovative approaches.” Noted music critic
Robert Hilburn, Los Angeles Times, compared Prince to David Bowie in his review titled ”A Sexual
Outlaw of the Eighties,” ”Even with its dazzling heights, however, Prince's show ultimately didn’t
have the impact of Bowie’s at the Santa Monica Civic. For one thing, Prince doesn't yet have the
theatrical range of the mime-trained Bowie, and Prince’s visual concepts aren’t as consistently
imaginative as Bowie’s. With more stage experience, he has the potential to become one of the
greatest rockers ever.” Ken Tucker, Los Angeles Herald Examiner, was also excited, ”Like many
studio obsessives, Prince is said to be shy and inarticulate offstage; I don’t believe it for a second,
but it takes his onstage behaviour all the more thrilling. Prince melts hearts and minds with his
large, heavy-lidded eyes and, while never dropping his soulful, deadpan stare, he dances with
high kicks and thrusts his pelvis forward to meet every drumbeat.”
03-1981 : LA Herald Examiner
PRINCE EXPLAINS HIS ROYAL SECRETS
Dennis Wilen’s interview with Prince was published in Los Angeles HeraId Examiner in March 1981 when Prince was touring
behind Dirty Mind. Although he is shy in person, choosing words carefully and barely speaking above a whisper, Prince loves being
on stage.
When I was younger, I was in a lot of bands,but it’s quite different now. It’s a real powerful feeling — not the kind of power that
you have over anyone else, but the power that's going on around and through me. First of all, my amp is really load, and my
guitar player’s is twice as loud. When you're playing for 17,000 people and they get to screaming, then that's really, really loud.
Maybe that’s the kind of power that could change things. If everybody could funnel their energies into one positive source... well,
that much power, it’s just amazing.
And what responsibility comes with this power ?
No responsibility. I think I’m only a conductor of whatever electricity comes from the world, or wherever we all come from. To
me the ultimate responsibility is the hardest one - the responsibility to be true to myself.
Prince cut most of Dirty Mind as demos.
Basically, these are demo tapes, and I had no idea they’d be on an album together, so that's where I think a lot of the up-front
quality comes from I didn’t have any lyrics written out for some of he tunes – they just came. I recorded at a lot of small eight and
16-track studios around Minneapolis – just personal songs that I wanted to have - and I don’t think it’s dirty. I got a new guitar
before I made the record, and I started to play more one it, rather than just filling up space with other instruments.
Prince's no-holds-barred lyrical approach grew out of the demo-genesis of the album.
When I made these songs, I knew they would never be on the radio, and I’d never be bringing them to Warner Bros. - some of
them, anyway. Then I decided that this was gonna be the record. I was so adamant about it, once I got to the label, that there was
no way they could even say ”we won’t put this out.” I believed in it too much by that time. The one thing that's strange to me about
doing interviews behind this record is that it was made with nothing in mind but dealing with songs and ideas that I was about at
that time. I wasn't gearing myself toward anything except my own personal satisfaction.
Apr 81
03-04-1981 : San Antonio Majestic Theater
04-04-1981 : Dallas McFarlan Auditorium
* Advert. Start : 8:00PM / Tick. Price : $10.50 / $9.50 / $8.50
05-04-1981 : Houston Hofheinz Auditorium
* Advert. Start : 8:00PM / Tick. Price : $9.00
Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top attended the show and visited backstage afterwards
to give Prince a miniature electric guitar.
06-04-1981 : New Orleans Saenger Arts Center
End of Dirty Mind Tour
While Prince’s audience was still predominantly Afro-American, the club tour indicated that he was beginning to attract a racially
mixed following. The tour was a tremendous critical success. A Warner Bros representative claimed that the tour had sold an
additional 1000.000 copies of the album Dirty Mind.
Prince would later loosen up his stagecraft on the Sign o’ the Times and Lovesexy tours, but with all the early line-ups, including
The Revolution, the band would be carefully positioned on stage, the two keyboard players, Dr Fink and Lisa Coleman, on either
side of the drummer, with Prince up front and centre stage, flanked by Dez Dickerson and André Cymone (soon to be replaced by
Mark Brown). At this stage, the choreography was simple and 1950s-influenced, with funny routines like ‘The Walk’, a dance step
that he’d later turn into a song for The Time. Coleman suggested that Prince’s habit of mixing up the set list, which would later
become an essential part of his appeal, was partly due to them gauging the audience. ‘We were wise about which shows would
work. If there was too much funk music, they didn’t like it, so we’d go more rock and roll. There was a good balance. Dez was such
a fiery rock-guitar player. Wendy is a better funk player than Dez, but Dez could stamp on his distortion pedal and woo-eee !
He’d do some of those solos and the kids would be like, “All right, rock and roll !” Prince was very good at being the mastermind.
He’d say, “This is the set list for this city.”’ In a fringed green vest, red neckerchief, black pants and stockings, Prince looked like one
of the Village People. When Lisa recited her lines in ‘Head’, she did so in a sulky, lazy voice from beneath her fedora, very different
from the descriptions of how Gayle Chapman performed them. Rather than being objectified, she seemed as much a hoodlum as the
rest of the band.
Teena Marie later found herself wedged between the two future legends when she went on the road with Prince. “We were on the
Dirty Mind tour together… [Prince and I] never had a problem. We would kick it…neither one of us drank so after the concerts
we’d go and sit and have our little orange juice or whatever. He had a lot of respect for me. There were some nights that I would
come on stage and I would kick his butt, you know, and [afterwards] he’d walk by me and go ‘Whew ! I have to work hard
tonight’ and there were some nights that he would come by and say ‘I whooped you ! I whooped you tonight !’ so it was really
awesome and he’s always been really wonderful to me.”
11-04-1981 : NME (UK)
Downtown posing pouch chic
Prince, New York
WHATEVER PRINCE'S appeal stems from, he packs the
Ritz with a very rarely seen, even mixture of black and white
faces, with virtually no aggro or tension in the air. The
blacks are dressed as sharp punks or upper class whites, the
whites are dressed as lower class punks or college students
— it's all too confusing and almost right to be in the least bit
threatening. Prince and band arrive on stage in a sharply
executed display of dry ice and well coordinated stadium
lights. A neighbour comments "This is like a real rock show
! More dry ice than Teardrop Explodes”, which presents us
with one of the real surprises of the night. Prince, in
presentation and live sound (though not yet on record), is
closer to pomp rock then anything else. It 's not a punk /
funk fusion, but it is sort of a slightly funkified Styx or
Foreigner. Is this a funk artist appealing to white middleAmerican kids weaned on Cheap Trick and Journey, or is it
the other way around ? But the importance of that question and the music itself -soon becomes secondary. Before long
you begin to ignore the adept but undistinguished music
and just appreciate it for what it is, a forum for Prince's
considerable charisma. The visual image is certainly enticing
- the pout and light complexion of Hendrix, the stance,
coiffe, and sneer of Johnny Thunders, and the unsubtle
gender confusion of glitter-era Bowie. He‘s a snotty, sexy,
flashy, uptown-gone-downtown punk, with a presence and
style unlike anyone I've ever seen, though at times lam still
reminded of a more determined and more together Johnny
Thunders. Prince is truly a master showman and image
manipulator, if only an average song stylist and composer.
For every moment of this overlong, overblown glam/funk
escapade, Prince screams “Star !" So don't let people sell you
the idea that Prince‘s music makes him the new Sly, the new
Hendrix, whatever. Prince's gifts aren’t in his sound (there’s
nothing remarkable or really attractive there at all) but in
his style. He’s a joy to watch, a wonder to take in - he gets away with everything. It’s a glam show, it's a sex show, it's a punk show,
it's a funk show, a massive visual cartoon of all these things. I'd like to see what he could do if he was a bit more spontaneous, a bit
less calculated, but then I suppose it wouldn’t be the same. Live, Prince is a manipulative genius, a genius presenting a new sort of
charisma and role; he’ll certainly be copied to no end, maybe with better results - but why not see the original ?
TIM SOMMER
04-1981 : Home Studio - The Time sessions
After Hi-School (Dez) (1) – The Time
Cool (1) – The Time
Get It Up (1) – The Time
Girl (1) – The Time
The Stick (1) – The Time
Oh Baby (2) – Prev. Alpha Studio Spring 79 – The Time
Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Wolf ?
My Slippery Shoes
I Can’t Figure It Out (Dez)
Dancin’ Flu (Dez)
Prince created The Time as a satellite group to present his most funky and dance songs. The project was made possible by signing
a producer contract with the WB allowing him to develop and record his own artists. After the considerable success of "I Wanna Be
Your Lover" and the Prince album on black market audience, the WB was very interested when the group was presented to them.
By creating The Time, Prince could continue under its own control, the path of Dirty Mind and explore other musical genres without
being labeled R&B. His idea of creating an alter ego group was reinforced by The Idolmaker movie released in 1980. Directed by
Taylor Hackford, the film reveals the backstage life of the birth of future stars. The film is based on the life of Bob Marcucci, who
discovered the talents of Frankie Avalon and Fabian in the 50's.
Prince embarks on The Time album before the band was ever formed. The album was completed in two weeks at Prince's studio in
Lake Riley. Andre Cymone was also at the source of The Time before being discarded. For his part, he gathered a group of girls,
The Girls, and designed the satellite groups as an opportunity to bid his limited income as a single guitarist. Andre claims he had
different ideas about The Time project before being put away, which caused a break with Prince. Andre then plans to leave the
band to embark on a solo career. He agrees, however, participating in the next European tour, then left the band shortly after. The
recordings mostly features only Prince and Morris Day, although Dr. Fink provides synth solos, and Terry Lewis and Lisa Coleman
appears on background vocals. I Can't Figure It Out and Dancin’ Flu are unreleased song written by Dez Dickerson, believed to
have been recorded by Dez Dickerson and Prince in April 1981, at Prince's Lake Minnetonka Home Studio, They may have been
intended for The Time's first album The Time, but little is known about the tracks.
After Hi-School
Seems like nothing's ever gonna change in my world
Every day is more the same old thing, yeah
But in the spring, I'm gonna graduate from hi school
Then I won't have 2 live by anybody else's rules
Everybody tells me things don't stay the same
If U wanna live, U gotta play the game
And they say - "Hey U, what U gonna do after hi school ? (Hi school)
Hey U, what U, what U gonna do ?" (Hi school)
And they say - "Hey U, what U gonna do after hi school ? (Hi school)
Hey U, what U, what U gonna do ?" (Hi school)
But there's a lot of stuff that I could learn 2 do in my world
Learn 2 drive a truck or maybe even join a band
My parents tellin' me I got 2 go 2 college
I won't get anywhere if I don't have the knowledge
Uncle Sam keeps sending letters in the mail
If U don't register, U're gonna go 2 jail, gonna go 2 jail
"Hey U, what U gonna do after hi school ? (Hi school)
Hey U, what U, what U gonna do ?" (Hi school)
And they say - "Hey U, what U gonna do after hi school ? (Hi school)
Hey U, what U, what U gonna do ?" (Hi school)
Listen 2 me, listen 2 me !
Hey U, what U gonna do ? {x2}
Hey U, what U gonna do after hi school ?
I say now
(Hey U !) (Hi school) {x6 in BG}
I.. I.. I say now
Oh
I say now, now, now, ... oh
Yeah
I say now, now, now, now, oh !
Hey U ! - Oh yeah
Hey U ! - What U gonna do?
Hey U ! - Oh yeah
Hey U ! - What U, what U, what U, what U gonna do ?
(Hey U !) (Hi school) {x8 in BG}
I'm talkin' 2 ya U stupid slob !
Get a job U bum !
I say now, now, now, ... oh
I'm talkin 2 U
Oh yeah {x2}
(Hey U !) {x3}
Get It Up
Get it up
Get ready 4 a real good time
I’m gonna try 2 blow your mind
Can’t u see
U and me
It sounds so nasty.
Get it up
Let your hair hang down
We could fool around
Don’t ya know
I want ya so
Make me happy.
Get it up
There is nothin’ wrong
With freakin’ all night long
Me and u
We need a groove
It feels good, do it.
Get it up
Leave your cares behind
Let me try 2 find
Find the spot, that gets u hot
Let me do ya, ooh...
Get it up
Get ready 4 a real good time
I’m gonna try 2 blow your mind
Can’t u see
U and me
It sounds so nasty
Get it up
Let your body drift
Let me take u on a trip
Can’t u see
U’re killin’ me
U’re so freaky, yeah.
Get it up
Get it up.
Get it up, get it up, I’ll fuck u all
night
Get it up, get it up, I’ll fuck u all
night.
Get it up, get it up, all night
Get it up, get it up, all night.
The Stick
My stick, I just love my stick
Mmm, my stick, I just love my stick
Girl, your ride is bad but U can't compare
2 my baby black Cadillac, oh so rare
Take a vacation, I don't care
Cuz I can get some simulation anywhere
U just come 2 quick, I'd rather work my stick
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride
U just come 2 quick, I'd rather work my stick
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride {x3}
Girl, U come 2 quick, much, much 2 quick
Girl, U come 2 quick, I'll just work the stick
Offer me your body, I have 2 pass
Cuz every time we make love, U run out of gas
Girl, my car's so bad it runs on H2O (Oh)
No, U can't compete, it's got the cruise control (No)
U just come 2 quick, I'd rather work my stick
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride
U just come 2 quick, I'd rather work my stick
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride {x2}
Everybody
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride
Girl, U come 2 quick, much, much 2 quick
Girl, U come 2 quick, I have 2 work the stick
I've been drivin', baby, since the age of 13
I'm the baddest driver U've ever seen (Oh)
U know I like it fast and I like it slow
Sometimes I let the top down when I wanna let go
(Oh, everybody sing the song now)
U just come 2 quick, I'd rather work my stick {x3}
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride {x2}
Everybody
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride {x2}
Break down
What time is it ?
(Well, your car's 2 slow, baby)
I said "What time is it ?"
Oh
Band
Yeah, that's right
Oh
Oh no
U just come 2 quick, I'd rather work my stick
Oh {x2}
Somebody bring me a mirror so I can uh...
What song we on ?
U just come 2 quick, I'd rather work my stick
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride {x9} (Oh)
What time is it ?
I'm just alright, oh no
Yeah ooh, oh
I don't need U, baby, I'll just work the stick in my ride, yeah
ooh
I don't need your action, baby
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride {x4}
Sing it
Get a little satisfaction, work the stick in my ride {x4}
Everybody
U just come 2 quick, I'd rather work my stick {x3}
It's about time 2 go (No)
I said I don't need U girl, hey
Somebody bring me a mirror
So I can look at my stick, hey
Alright
U wanna see it ?
Should I take it out ?
Take it out, man
Hey
Later y'all
Cool
You don’t have to love me and waste my money
To be a friend of mine
But baby if you know how to shake that thing
I’ll try to squeeze a little time.
’Cause I need love, love every morning
And you by my side
But you might say that I’m a nymphomaniac
But it keeps me satisfied.
When I look in the mirror
It just tells me somethin’ I already know
I’m so cool
Cool, ooh
Honey, Baby can’t you see
Girl I’m so cool
Cool, ooh
Ain’t nobody bad like me.
C-O-O-L
What’s that spell ?
C-O-O-L
What time is it ?
I’m so cool.
Cool, that’s right
I’m cooler than Santa Claus, baby
For ain’t nobody bad like me
Somebody pinch me...
I must be dreamin’
I know that’s right
I said nobody bad like me
What time is it ?
Is it time to get my hair done yet ?
I said what time is it ?
Walk, shake my head
I’m cool till I’m dead
Enough has been said
Come on baby, let’s go to bed.
When I look in the mirror
It just tells me somethin’ I already know
I’m so cool
Cool, ooh
Honey, Baby can’t you see
Girl I’m so cool
Cool, ooh
Ain’t nobody bad like me.
C-O-O-L
What’s that spell ?
C-O-O-L
Bad – Yes
Anybody hot – No
You know why – Why ?
We’re cool – Cool.
Ooh, Im so cool.
I got a penthouse in Manhattan
And two more in Malibu
For every sevens Cadillac Seville
Got a Maserati too.
I wear diamonds on my fingers
I got a couple on my toes
I wear the finest perfume money can buy
It keeps me smellin’ like a rose.
You wonder how I do it?
There’s just one simple rule
I’m just cool
Cool
Honey, Baby can’t you see
Girl I’m so cool
Cool
Ain’t nobody bad like me
Hey.
C-O-O-L
What’s that spell ?
C-O-O-L.
I might dine in San Fransisco
Dance all night in Rome
I go any freakin’ place I want to
And my lear jet brings me home.
I got ladies by the dozen
I got money by the ton
Just ain’t nobody better
Heaven knows that I’m the one.
And it’s all because of somethin’
That I didn’t learn in school
I’m just cool
Cool, ooh
Honey, Baby can’t you see
Girl I’m so cool
Cool, ooh
Ain’t nobody bad like me.
Sing it baby
C-O-O-L
What’s that spell ?
C-O-O-L
That spell cool.
Cool, ooh, Cool, ooh
Cool, ooh, Cool, ooh
What time is it ?, ooh
Listen baby.
Girl
Girl, I called U up 2 say
That I'm havin' trouble sleepin'
Ever since U went away
Girl, I know U need a little time
2 get your head 2gether
But baby, I can't stop cryin'
Girl (Girl)
Why'd U go away ?
What can I say 2 make U stay ?
Girl (Girl)
I was a fool
Don't know what 2 do
Still in love with U
Still in love with U
Oh baby
Girl, I guess I was a fool
2 try 2 tie U down
And make U play by the rules
Girl, I guess I finally realized
That keepin' U close 2 me
It would keep me alive
Girl (Girl)
Why'd U go away ?
What can I say 2 make U stay ?
Now, now girl (Girl)
I was a fool
Don't know what 2 do
Still in love with U
Don't know what I'm gonna do
No no no, no no no, no no no
Girl (Girl)
(What can I say 2 make U stay ?)
What can I say, baby, 2 make U stay ? (Girl)
I don't know what 2 do, no I don't
Still in love, still in love, still in love (Girl)
No no, baby, baby (Girl)
Oh no, no, no
Oh baby
Down on my knees, baby, please, honey baby please (Girl)
Oh baby, please
Still in love with U
Still in love with U
Called U up 2 say
Baby, I still love U
Still in love
I'm still in love
??-04-1981 : Right On !
By Cynthia Horner
When Prince started out there three years ago, he was a very shy, withdrawn and uncommunicative, but very appealing 18-year-old
who was brought from Minnesota’s capital, Minneapolis, to Hollywood. Right On !, the first magazine to ever publish a story on
him, got a lot of one-sentence answers from him like :
Q : Have you finished school ?
A : Um hm.
Q : What else are you interested in besides music ?
A : Women
Q : What kinds ?
A : All kinds.
Q : What kinds of clothes do you like to wear ?
A : I hate clothes.
Q : What else do you hate ?
A : Politics.
Q : What foods do you like to eat ?
A : Mashed yeast.
Q : Has anyone ever told you that you look like one of the Sylvers ?
A : What can I do to change it ?
Q : What do you like best abut the music business so far ?
A : Meeting people.
Q : What have you disliked the most ?
A : The late hours.
Q : How do you feel about becoming a sex symbol ?
A : I don’t know.
By the second album he had changed somewhat. His afro vanished
along with some of his reticence. He still didn’t talk a lot but what he
said was intriguing and shocking. When we published an exclusive
two-part interview with him in connection with the hit, I Wanna Be
Your Lover, he was the talk of town for months. Then he did his first
concert. His fans saw him wearing extremely brief shorts, boots, and
a necklace. It was obvious from the look of the band that he was
heading in a new direction but we weren’t sure which way. By the
time his third album was released (entitled Dirty Mind), the truth
was coming to light. Prince did hate clothes. In fact, they say he isn’t
wearing any underneath a raincoat he wore for his innersleeve
photo. Other photos of him depict him wearing a blazer, scarf, and
jockey shorts. The album revealed him fully as the musical genius
that Right On ! had tagged him years ago. The explosive LP takes his
distinctive musical approach to new heights. His soft falsetto voice
still sounds the same but the material deals with very provocative, at
times shocking themes which have prevented it from being fully
played on the radio. To salvage record sales, Prince is finally giving
in to the hundreds of journalists who have been waiting to interview
him for years to no avail. Although he did say he prefers to talk with
these reporters over the phone, at least he is giving his fans a chance
to find out more about him. He told LA Times music critic Dennis
Hunt, “I’m supposed to be a mysterious person but I’m not. When
people couldn’t talk to me or find out much about me, they started making things up.” He describes his quiet nature as his manner
of getting to know others better. “I’m really shy when I meet people for the first time but I like to listen. I think other people are far
more interesting than I am.” We’re glad that Prince is finally coming out of the closet to talk so that his fans can get a better look at
this musical genius. And just remember, you heard all about him here first ! P.S. Thank you Prince for mentioning me on your
album credits.
28 to 30-04-1981 : Sunset Sound – The Time mixing sessions
After Hi-School (2) * - Prev. Home Studio 04-81 – The Time
Get It Up (2) * - Prev. Home Studio 04-81 – The Time
Girl (2) * - Prev. Home Studio 04-81 – The Time
Oh Baby (3) * - Prev. Home Studio 04-81 – The Time
The Stick (2) * - Prev. Home Studio 04-81 – The Time
May 81
??-05-1981 : Rock & Soul
Prince : Mom's Favorite Freak - Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Out !
By Ed Ochs
Who is this charismatic, elfin performer who confronts audiences, inspires laughter, good feeling and dancing in the aisle ? - and
who used to answer the question with, "Who am I ? I'm just my mother's favorite freak." But if it's true that clothes make the man,
then what can be made of a talented singer/songwriter/musician/producer who calls himself Prince and wears onstage what could
be either the Emperor's new clothes or the Empress' old undies ?
(a) That Mr.Prince is a screaming queen ?
(b) That he is no man at all, but a woman with a peachfuzz moustache ?
(c) That he has forsaken clothes onstage because he does not wish to be judged by what he wears ?
(d) All of the above ?
If you selected answer (c) you are correct. Prince doesn't wish to be judged by what he wears, which by the way isn't very much. One
look inside his wardrobe locker tells the tale. Let's see : one pair purple tights; black thigh-high tights; one pair black leather briefs;
one pair leopard skin bikini briefs. This Prince could catch a cold and die ! By way of partial explanation, the 20-year-old
Minneapolis-born and bred wonderboy would probably like us to peep into his Dirty Mind, not just coincidentally the title of his
third Warner Bros. album and second single release. And although the words to many of his funk-disco may not be dirty on the
dance floor, don't expect to hear it on the radio. Prince has been sentenced to twenty years at hard rock somewhere in the
underground of total orgasm, lesbianism, incest, sodomy, anarchy, revolution-and more than a dash of tender love and care, just to
confuse things more. Using sex to sell records predates Elvis Presley, who twitched, quivered, and shook himself to fame and
beyond. But you'd have to go back to Little Richard and, later, Jimi Hendrix, to find a Black rocker whose sheer outrageousness
could mesmerize both Black and White, male and female, the way Prince does. With softer sounds filling the Black music
mainstream, the electronic roar of Prince's '80s-style loin-shaking punk-funk has made him a champion of the people. While other
Black artist thrive on bleaching funk for the middle of the road, Prince is getting raunchier. Musically, it might be easier to simply
dismiss him as a sicko, if it weren't for the fact that he also happens to be a multidimensional artist who has welded well-crafted
R&B songs to hard-edged rock - the Motown falsetto of Smokey, Kendricks and the young Jacksons to heavy new-wave rhythms.
The result, a sophisticated, uptown sound both strikingly original and stunningly perverse, is dirtier than Donna Summer,
raunchier than Sly Stone. Along with the Bus Boys, Prince stands in the vanguard of a wave of Black rock and roll that has not yet
arrived. The leaping legend of Prince starts in the refrigerator of America, Minnesota, where the population is only one percent
Black and Hispanic, and rock is plowed under the field or crushed into gravel. Prince's father was the leader of a jazz group, the
Prince Rogers Band (so Prince is really Prince II). When he was 5, Prince got a chance to see his father in action. The sights and
sounds of his father’s music filled him with excitement, the effects of which still reverberate through Prince's music, whatever
direction it may take. Prince wanted to bask in the same musical glow, perform the same musical miracles, and when his father
went out of town again, he sat at his father’s piano and taught himself to play by ear the themes from Batman and Man from
U.N.C.L.E.. It wasn't too much longer before he began entering talent contest, playing for people, and writing songs he spun from
his childhood fantasies. Sexual awareness dawned early and rudely. Doctor Freud would have had a field day. For Prince, though, it
marked the beginning of a odyssey that would take him down the trail of loneliness, poverty, and awakening. Rock and Soul spoke
to Prince recently in Buffalo, N.Y., where he was about to embark on his second extensive national tour within a year. In early 1980,
he'd upstaged the act he opened for - Rick James. This time Prince was the headliner. "My mom used to leave trashy pornography
around, and I used to sneak them out of her room when I was eight years old. Then I got sick of those and started writing my
own. I didn't write risque lyrics, I didn't know the two went together; people’s feelings and music." Prince's preference for sexy
lyrics never wavered. Even when he began to play (top 40) for money, he'd sneak in one or two of his own songs whenever he got
the chance . Once he was old enough, Prince moved in with his friend and bass
player Andre Cymone, whose father played in Prince's band. "When I was
sixteen," said Prince, his shyness dissolving as he warmed to the subject, "I lived
in Andre's basement. It was a turning point for me. I wrote a ton of songs, my
brain was free of everything, I didn't have anything to worry about. That's
when I realized music could express what you were feeling, and it started
showing up in my songs. One night Andre's mother said , “Prince, is that girl
still down there ?" I got nervous but said 'Yes.' She said, ' Okay, just lock the
door when she leaves.' After that, I knew things weren't forbidden anymore."
By the time Prince was 17, he already had five years as a professional musician
under his belt, played in groups and written some solid songs. He then went to
New York City and, with studio time exchanged for arranging chores, recorded
demos of Soft and Wet (on For You), Aces, and Machine, all with sexual lyrics.
Prince received offers from one record and one publishing company, but none to
produce his own music. A management dispute followed, and Prince was forced
to return home, but not without new enthusiasm. "I went back to Minneapolis
and back to Andre's basement." he said candidly. "I could deal with the
centipedes and poverty better because I knew I could make it. I'd proven it to
myself and that's what really mattered." When Prince signed with Warner
Bros., the headlines of strait-laced Minnesota newspapers were rife with rumors
of a vulgarian given a six-figure contract to fill the airwaves with raw, sweaty
sex. And when his first album was followed by a second, Prince, and a hit single,
I Wanna Be Your Lover, the scalphunters were not disappointed. "Sex is always
the most interesting thing to write about," he says. "It's the one subject people
can't talk about without losing their cool. Have you ever noticed people can
talk about Iran, they can talk about JFK being shot, but as soon as you bring
up their sex life they start stuttering. My family, my father and my mother, life
and death are far more personal to me than sex.” Printed lyrics are not
included in Dirty Mind, Prince's breakthrough rock and roll LP. Even though
you need a headset to hear the lyrics, the music still kicks up a storm of rhythm
and kink. The album cover is stickered with the warning : "Album contains
language which may be unsuitable for some listeners." The sticker does not
however obstruct the cover photo of Prince in the royal bikini. Obviously, Prince's kingdom has come. Prince's five-piece band is
tight and crisp, and, as a result an undercurrent of energy gets audiences to their feet. Pretty soon he has everybody singing the
chorus to Head without any help from the band. The Prince's sparkling green eyes dart and dash as he writhes and moans in
ecstasy. All of a sudden clothes start coming off, the audience goes berserk. Is this any way for a real Prince to behave ?
28-05-1981 : Trip to London (Steve Strange Bday Party)
Prince left for a short European tour. With Steve Fargnoli, they spent two days in London, where Prince attended Steve Strange’s
birthday party at the Embassy. Prince was interested in this fashion and musical movement called the New Romantics, including
Steve Strange and his band, Visage as spearheading. With Rusty Egars (drummer of the pop band Rich Kids), Strange began to
organize parties in London nightclubs in 1978. Promoting "white dance music", including Roxy Music, David Bowie, Kraftwerck and
Giorgio Moroder, they drew nightclubbers artists of different races, dressed in their 31. The concept was borrowed from a lifestyle
of youth in some English cities and the children of the Blitz (from a nightclub called Blitz) began to attract the attention of the press.
Prince's interest in this wave will become more important two years later, when he gave a new style for Purple Rain.
29-05-1981 : Interviews (Amsterdam)
Several radio interviews were held in Amsterdam, before the concert at Paradiso. However, Prince canceled all planned interviews
except a few ones for the press from his own hotel room. He spoke to the Dutch Oor and Hitkrant (never published) as well as the
British Sounds. A radio interview for Ferry Maat’s Soul Show was discussed for the next day, but Prince turned it down.
Three interviews were conducted before the concert : With Roberto Palombit (Oor), published July 1st, 1981, with Mick Boskamp
(for Hitkrant, never published) and with reporter Tony Mitchell. (published on
June 6th 1981 in Sounds). These three are not the circulating interview.
Amsterdam Paradiso
* Advert. Start : 10:30PM / Attendance : 890 / 900 / Tick. Price : f10
Do It All Night / Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad ? / Gotta Broken Heart Again
When You Were Mine / Gotta Stop (Messin’ About) / Sexy Dancer / Sister
I Wanna Be Your Lover / Head / Still Waiting / Partyup
Dirty Mind / Uptown / Jack U Off
Prince's first ever concert in Europe was attended by
890 people. The audience consists almost entirely of
journalists and owners of record companies. A Dutch
group called Streelight was the opening act. Played as
an encore, the newly written ”Jack U Off” was introduced
into the set during the European concerts. To do the
song, Prince used a note stand with a lyric sheet. Dutch
band Streetlight played the Paradiso earlier the same
night, but it shouldn't really be regarded a support act
since it was in the upstairs secondary auditorium. The stage was extended from
the in house Paradiso stage and Prince, Dez and Andre in fact played on an added
stage built in front of the existing stage area, which served as a second tier riser for
keyboards and drums.
Sounds writer Tony Mitchell couldn’t help but be impressed by what he saw, ”Even
from my sceptic’s viewpoint, I had to concede that the stage show was capable of
evoking Jimi Hendrix’s kind of excitement, though not necessarily by the same
means. Camp touches like tiger skin-covered guitars and amps were offset by
slick choreography, and contrary to expectations, the eroticism was powerfully
heterosexual despite the falsetto vocals and ballet dancer's flashing gear.”
Amsterdam afterparty
After the concert, Prince went into Amsterdam with Steve Fargnoli and a Dutch WEA representative and his girlfriend. They visited
a bar, where before long Fargnoli was behind the bar serving drinks and Prince made a pass on the WEA representative’s girlfriend
by pouring icecream on her arm and licking it off. Fargnoli had to stop the WEA guy from beating Prince up.
GOTTA STOP UK Single Release
V1 : Gotta Stop (Messin’ About) (2:56) / I Wanna Be Your Lover (5:47) / Head (4:40)
V2 : Gotta Stop (Messin’ About) (2:56) / Uptown (5:30) / Head (4:40)
The second British single was the non-album track "Gotta Stop (Messin’ About)” / "Uptown,"
released in June. The single was actually reissued a few weeks later with "Uptown" replaced by ”I
Wanna Be Your Lover" as the B-side (both releases had he same catalogue number). "Gotta Stop
(Messin’ About)" was a left-over from the Dirty Mind sessions. The song, a rigorous condemnation
of a footloose girl, with its tinny keyboard and stop-start beat, however, isn’t particularly striking.
Despite extensive advertising and Prince‘s visit, the singles had no impact on the charts.
30-05-1981 : Het Rotterdam Dagblad interview
Upon leaving The Netherlands to fly to London from Amsterdam’s Schipol Airport, Prince is
interviewed by a reporter from Het Rotterdam Dagblad (the interview was published around the
time of the release of Controversy).
One more interview was conducted in Holland the next morning on Amsterdam Schiphol airport
by Louis Du Moulin (published in 'Het Vrije Volk', November 21st 1981).
Jun 81
01-06-1981 : Stray Cats @ London
??-06-1981 : Interviews (London)
In London more interviews took place, amongst others with Steve Sutherland (Melody Maker, June 6th 1981). But I believe this is
also not the one that ended up on the picture disc. My records don't show who conducted this interview. However since Prince
mentions : "I've only been to Amsterdam & here" it can be established this was in London.
♫ Interview
(0:44)
Snippets : the picture disk interview...
Intv : (re: being perceived as gay) How long did it take you to prove to all those people that you were what you were ?
Prince : Hmm, I don't think they understand yet... I think if they look @ me long enough, they'll get the picture.
Intv : You've been described as outrageous but how do you see yourself ?
Prince : Hmm, I've never had to answer that question. I don't think I really look. I don't, um... One thing I try not to do is analyze
myself, I just do something that feels right whether it's music or physical or whatever. I don't plan things. I don't take time to
think about things, I just do it. Sometimes I reflect afterward, sometimes I don't. I'm always looking for new outlets & new highs I
guess. ... One time I saw a video tape of one of our concerts & um, I didn't believe that was really me so I don't watch them so
much anymore.
Intv : Did that (your parents' jazz background) affect you at all, did it affect your upbringing ? You left home @ an early age too,
right ?
Prince : It didn't affect me in any way I don't think. My father left when I was 7 & he was the only one that was really musical. My
mother sang for him but... she wasn't that good, she only lasted a month with him & he got somebody else. When he left that's
when I picked up the piano b/c he didn't allow anyone to play it when he lived there. I don't think it affected me too much. If
anything my mother disliked the fact that I played b/c I was a lot like him & that's what broke them apart, & that's eventually
what broke me & my mother apart too. I left home when I was 12, after she remarried. And that's when I started my own band.
Intv : Did she perhaps imagine that you'd end up playing in some sleazy jazz bar downtown ?
Prince : Mmm-hmm, just like my father.
Prince : I think anybody that breaks out of the norm is gonna get attacked anyway. I get attacked for the clothes I wear, so,
anything different they're gonna go after you. I guess maybe to some degree I must crave that deep down.
Prince (re: sexual lyrics) : I've always written real explicit & I've always said what was on my mind. Sex was always most
interesting to me b/c it dealt more w/ human life than anything. The reproductive process & the whole idea of it. The fact that
people lose their cool behind it is enough to write about to me. When I was young I used to read my mother's dirty books that she
had hidden in her bedroom, that was after my father left. I always rambled through her things. And when I got sick of reading
those, when I was done with them I would write my own. So I think it sort of carried on in the rest of my writing.
Intv : Do you draw anything (similarities) toward him (Jimi Hendrix) ?
Prince : (laughs) Uh-uh, he's dead isn't he ?
Intv : But I mean he was the first Black guy to not play funk or soul music... although he played it in his music... and to do what he
wanted, you know ?
Prince : A lot has to with society, I mean there are a lot of Black musicians who play other types of music but the doors aren't open
in every field like they are in R&B music. I think once society changes you'll probably find a lot of great musicians. Music is
basically pretty boring now as far as... the scene here is much better. I don't know of any great bands (here) but the spirit overall
is a lot stronger than it is in the States. It's relatively dead there. I think once society comes out of its bag the musicians will too.
Prince : When I'm not playing music I don't listen to it. I don't like to do things in excess... The place I live in is... well, if you're a
music lover, you'd die there. All it is is country & western music.
Intv : Are you able to live the life that you want in Minnesota ?
Prince : I'll do that anywhere. It's important that one does that. That's what all our music is about - it's important that one does
what he wants to do & thinks what he wants to think.
Intv : So you've tasted poverty as well ?
Prince : Oh yea (laughs), I've definitely tasted that.
Intv : So you could say poverty taught you a few things, taught you to
choose your way of life ?
Prince : It taught me that I was gonna have to work. I think if people
would have taken care of me when I was young, I think I would have
just been a writer & just wrote all the time... go to college & stuff like
that. For what, I don't know but I would have done something like
that. But b/c I was poor it made me realize I was gonna have to work
so that's what made me get into music b/c it was about the best thing
I could do.
Intv : Do you see this (music) as a job ?
Prince : Interviews, I do... (laugh)
Intv : Would you like to live in Europe ?
Prince : I like Europe a great deal. I've only been to Amsterdam &
here, I like the spirit that's here. I wish there were some things I could
bring back with me, you know? Some of that spirit.
Prince (on making music) : I don't know how much longer I'm gonna
do it. Maybe 2 or 3 more albums & I'll be done, maybe not even that
many. I just wanna do something else sometime. I don't look to
accomplish any one thing.
Intv : What do you see yourself doing ?
Prince : Just something different, I don't know... Movies interest me, a
lot of other things interest me, writing books & things like that. I think
I'm into epic drama so, something that concerns that... maybe. But
that's how I feel today, who knows how I'll feel 6 months from now.
Intv : You've never been in a film ?
Prince : No. God, no. (laughs)
Intv : You would like to be in a film ?
Prince : I dunno. I think I'd, um... that's not exactly what I'd want to
be doing after I get done with this. I just said that's one of the things
that interests me. I like going to movies, um, or maybe I'd like to be a
grip on the set of one or something. I don't know about movies so
much.
02-06-1981 : London Lyceum
* Advert. Start : 7:30PM / Tick. Price : £3
(Opening Act : BIM)
Prince would go on to have a long relationship with
Europe – he’s unusual among American artists in that
he generally alternates between US and European
tours rather than embarking on massive world tours –
and everyone who attended his first London show at
the Lyceum talks about it with the same reverence that
punks feel for The Sex Pistols at the 100 Club. Among
the audience were Barney Hoskyns, Green Gartside,
Geoff Travis, Lenny Henry and the late Paula Yates.
Chris Poole, who would later handle Prince’s PR, went
with Yates and remembers : ‘Paula had seen the ads –
well, everyone had seen the ads in Billboard, the
jockstrap and the raincoat – and she insisted on
going andinsisted on going upstairs so she could see the jockstrap, because she couldn’t
see it downstairs, to see how well-filled it was.’
Pete Sargeant remembered his first impressions of the concert in Controversy, ”There’s no playing safe with one sound, style or
time signature here. How can a relatively new act have such range and confidence ?” Sounds writer Betty Page was also attracted,
”BIM [opening act] tried to whip up a reaction. Prince didn’t even have to try. He brought a new meaning to the word ballroom..
everyone had a ball, some might have felt one... but great balls of fire, it was electric ! From the moment the dirty-macked and
minded frontline of Prince, guitarist Dez and bass ace Andre twirled around to face the crowd, the whole set-up just oozed star
impact.”
I knew of Prince because my friend Mick had given me Prince, the album. I was working in my first job at the Radio Times and
went to the Lyceum show with two friends from work, Sue and Ruby. I remember it being virtually empty as there hadn’t been
much publicity. It was the Dirty Mind band of Andre Cymone on bass, Lisa Coleman and Matt Fink on keyboards, Bobby Z on
drums and Dez Dickerson on guitar. The keyboardists were disguised (Matt Fink had some kind of radiation suit on) and the
frontline wore underwear and trenchcoats. Quite mad. It was a spectacular show, with Prince’s guitar playing outstanding, and they
went down a storm with the few hundred people there (mostly music-biz types, I think). I was right at the front (well, the whole
audience were, actually) and close enough to catch Prince’s plectrum. I have a memory of Prince being bad-tempered, not with the
audience, but at the empty hall. He stomped off at the end throwing his pick rather petulantly… and cancelled the rest of the tour. I
recently read the brilliant Ian Penman on this gig. He hated it. Really, really hated it. See for yourself in this cut-down excerpt (I
know I shouldn’t but it is pretty long :
NME (excerpt) (UK)
By Ian Penman
“For a wolverine habituee of the sharper clubs and bars of our capital such as myself, this tawdry ‘gig’ was something like a step into
the horrors of Hieronymous Bosch from the accustomed gilt-edged decadent sumptuousness of Klimt ! The dry ice and fright lights
– whose calculated effect is undermined and rendered pretty pathetic by way of the Lyceum’s half-emptiness – turn out to be a good
index of the Prince live repertoire’s ancient grasp of sub-cultural subtlety : the plot doesn’t thicken, it keeps its consistency. Heavy,
stodgy, overdone, tasteless, lacking in spice or space – you get the picture ? ‘Outfront’, Prince prances in unison with his two guitar
cohorts – they walk it like they talk it, as the saying goes, every song split down the middle or battered to bed with the tedious
exaggeration of third-rate Heavy Metal. Someone remarked to me the next day that oh, you know what these young chaps are like
with their Hendrix fixations. Hendrix ? It never began to shimmer with a hint of the historical avant-shapelessness or spirited
slipstreams or sexual harangues of a Hendrix ! This was calculated – Madison Square Garden here we come ! – coldly
choreographed strut rut muzak, in which context Prince’s thigh flashes and camp come-hither persona is stretched pretty thin. My
two fellow funkateers and I unanimously elected to wander away from the endlessly guitar wrenching spectacle after about half an
hour – we didn’t really even ‘walk out’; it was more of an embarrassed shuffle.”
03-06-1981 : ♫ h Paris, Le Palace
(0:59)
* Advert. Start : 22:30PM / Start : 2:30AM / Attendance : ? / 1.000 / Duration : 1:10 / Tick Price : FF50
(A : City Lights Paris – 10/10 * V : Le Palais, Paris 81 - 9/10)
Do It All Night / Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad ? / Gotta Broken Heart Again
Jack U Off / When You Were Mine / Gotta Stop Messin’ About / Sexy Dancer
Sister / I Wanna Be Your Lover / Head / Still Waiting / Partyup / Dirty Mind / Uptown
With very little advance promotion, Prince’s first Paris
concert was attended by a small elite of night clubbers. The
band ’s equipment had been delayed on its way from
London and Prince didn’t take the stage until 2:30 am, three
hours overdue. Rock & Folk’s Philippe Manoeuvre, one of
the few French journalists present, was surprised by the
hard-hitting rock and outrageousness of Prince and his
band, ”It was evident from the first chord that Prince's music
was even harder and heavier than the Plasmatics. By the
second song, he had already stripped down to black bikini
briefs, and he was masturbating the neck of his Telecaster
guitar.”
V : Previously released by Global Funkschool on their New
York / Paris 81 DVD release, this GSH/Team FDA release is in
far better quality, and appears to be sourced from a much
higher generation tape. All circulating copies of this show
originate from the same source recording, so they all suffer
the exact same picture drop-outs. The picture quality is
noticeably improved on this particular release with much
more colour depth and definition, and the picture
interference which plagued the Global Funkschool release is
minimal on here. It's worth mentioning the far superior
sound quality too - it has been boosted, and sounds fresh
and new. The footage is not without its problems, and there
are some picture glitches especially during the opening 'Do It
All Night', however these fade away, and the rest of the
footage is very high quality in comparison to others. Part of
the show (presumably 'Head') between 'Sister' & 'Still
Waiting' is missing, as is the intro to 'Uptown' - however as mentioned before ALL widely circulating versions of
this footage have this omission. I personally prefer this show over the New York concert - not only is it more
complete, and the song choices are different, but the performance itself is vastly better with Prince's dance moves,
preening and strutting being a joy to watch from start to finish. This is vintage Prince at his total best, and
amazing viewing. The menu's are superb (as one would expect from a GSH release) and follow the theme of the
Dirty Mind vinyl inserts. Overall this is a superior release to the Global Funkschool one in every single way - better
menu's, better quality picture and better quality sound.
After the show, a few journalists approached an unwilling Prince about doing interviews. On asking him about his childhood, Best's
Gerard Bar David received the answer, ”I didn’t have any childhood !”
Purple Règne (Olivier Cachin) (excerpt) (FR)
Gérard Bar-David raconte ce curieux moment : “Déjà, il faut remonter à comment
j’apprendsd l’existence de Prince : un mec black qui faisait du rock et qui était l’oiseau rare
que je recherchais depuis Nile Rodgers, le fondateur de Chic que j’ai rencontré au studio
Power Station. J’avais ce fantasme de trouver des blacks qui faisaient autre chose que de la
soul ou du funk et qui mélangeaient des Noirs et des Blancs. Je croyais que ça allait être les
Bus Boys, un groupe inconnu qui faisait un genre de rock’n’roll, mais ils étaient un peu
trop fifties à mon goût. Et puis un jour, en 1981, j’étais à Los Angeles pour un reportage et
sur la radio de la voiture que je venais de louer, j’entends I Wanna Be Your Lover. Je me
suis immédiatement arrêté pour mieux écouter cette chanson tellement je trouvais ça
génial. J’ai attend que le DJ dise qui c’était, et j’ai note que le mec en question s’appelait
Prince. En rentrant à Paris, j’ai tanné Christian Lebrun, le rédacteur en chef de Best, pour
chroniquer le disque. Il m’a dit : “C’est encore une de tes blackeries.” Mais ce mec faisait
un truc que je n’avais jamais entendu, ça changeait de tout ce qui s’était fait jusqu’à
present. Donc le soir du concert au Palace, le 3 juin 1981, j’y suis allé parce que je
connaissais sa musique et que j’étais à l’affût de sa venue. La maison de disques m’avait
invite, m’ayant organize une interview avec lui après le show. Pour la petite histoire, j’étais
le seul à interviewer Prince ce jour-là parce que j’étais le seul à m’y intéresser ! Tous les
autres journalists n’en avaient rien à batter, d’ailleurs il n’y avait absolument personne au
concert. Ce qui m’a choqué, c’est que j’y ai croisé un producteur que j’adore et qui a un flair
légendaire pour les nouveautés, puisqu’il a quand même produit les premiers albums
d’Alice Cooper et des Sparks en plus de ses propres disques, c’est Todd Rundgren. Et j’ai vu
Todd partir au bout de dix minutes ! Il n’a pas compris le concept du mec en bas résille,
slibard, talons aiguilles et maquillage outrancier. Pourtant il avait vu passer les New York Dolls, il les avait meme produits. Ca m’a
semblé incongru qu’il se barre, surtooout que c’était la seule célébrité ou VIP present ce soir-là. Ils avaient fermé l’étage, il n’y avait
que 150, 200 personnes en bas, grand maximum. Que des invites. Prince a dû monter sur scène
vers 21 heures, et il était prévu que je dine avec lui après. C’était un choc visual et culturel de
voir tous ces mecs habillés de manière insensée. Parce qu’il n’y avait pas que lui, tous les
musiciens étaient habillés de façon excentrique, avec Dr Fink en blouse blanche de chirurgien.
On avait vu Funkadelic/Parliament qui allait assez loin dans l’escentricité costumière, mais là, il
y avait la provoc’ sexuelle en plus. Il n’avait pas tant de morceaux que ça à faire et ça n’a pas
duré très longtemps. Il n’avait sorti que trios albums, c’était juste avant Controversy. Et puis il
n’était pas vraiment porté par le public ! Donc le concert s’achève. L’attachée de presse qui
s’occupait de moi me file un backstage et m’explique que Prince m’attend au Privilège, le
restaurant du Palace. J’arrive au Privilège, je trouve le restaurant entièrement vide, avec toutes
les tables dressées. On m’installe à une table, je suis tout seul. J’ai dû attendre un quart d’heure,
et j’ai vu Prince arriver. On a échangé deux trois mots, ils nous ont amené des salades, on a
rééchangé deux trois mots, il a goûté sa salade et il est parti. J’ai fini le repas seul dans le
Privilège vide. Je n’avais pas vu Purple Rain puisqu’il ne l’avait pas encore fait, donc je lui ai
posé des questions sur son entourage familial, et notamment sur son père. Je lui ai demandé s’il
avait été traumatisé dans son enfance, et je pense que ça ne lui a pas plu. C’est pour ça qu’il est
parti. Il a dû répondre à une demi-douzaine de questions avant de disjoncter. De toute façon, il
n’aimait pas les interviews, la preuve c’est qu’après celle-là il a arrêté d’en donner pendant dix
ou quinze ans. Et je n’avais pas le droit d’enregistrer, juste de prendre des notes. Je n’ai pas le
son audio de Prince. Il était déjà dans ce trip, même avant d’avoir du succès. Les deux choses
qui m’ont le plus marquées, c’est que pour la première fois de ma vie, j’interviewais un artiste plus petit que moi, et qu’il avait une
toute petite voix fluette, à la Michael Jackson. “
The Dirty Mind album and tour established Prince as an "underground" hit and a cult figure, which, in the long run, proved much
more important than selling a lot of copies and getting Top 10 hits. Dirty Mind was an incredibly important album in Prince's
career; it marked his artistic coming of age and was his major step from being a disco/soul talent, and the confines of the black
music market, to what he is today, a highly original artist with a loyal following, not restricted to one type of music or market. Even
though Dirty Mind didn’t sell nearly as well as the Prince album or in the quantities that Warner Bros might have expected, the
album and tour created the audience Prince had hoped for. He was shrewd enough to realize that he needed to cultivate a following
that behaved like a loyal rock audience if he was to earn the creative freedom he sought ”I wanted to go beyond the audience that
would just come to your shows only when you had a hit record,” said Prince. ”I wanted to develop a following that would see me
as me and not just the guy with a Top 10 record.” Dirty Mind was a brave move in 1980, when disco was declared dead and black
music was being segregated into its own charts. By mixing rock, soul and funk, Prince was deliberately confusing. But who knows
where Prince would have been today if his third album had turned out as Warner Bros had originally hoped ?
??-??-1981 : SUE ANN CARWELL – LET ME LET YOU ROCK ME Single Release
Make It Through The Storm (3:11)
Let Me Let You Rock Me was a second single released by Sue Ann'. It was released in the USA. Its b-sides contains the track
Make It Through The Storm for which Prince wrote the music while the lyrics were written by Chris Moon. Prince recorded three
versions of it, one with Sue Anne Carwell singing it, but all these were left unreleased. The version released on this single contains
Prince's music in a new arrangement played by unidentified session musicians. It was produced by James Walsh. Prince's input for
writing the music of the b-side was uncredited. The song is solely credited to Chris Moon. The single did not chart
06-06-1981 : Black Echoes
St Paul (Dez Dickerson’s Wedding)
Prince attends the wedding of Dez and Becki Dickerson at the Lutheran Church of
the Redeemer in St. Paul. Prince was accompanied by Susan Moonsie. The other
band members were delayed in Europe and didn’t arrive until later that day. Since
the whole band was present, someone suggested they would play a couple of songs,
which they proceeded to do on the equipment belonging to the wedding party band.
- Andre Cymone
When he returns from Europe, André plays one last time a couple of songs with
Prince's band at Dez Dickerson's wedding. After leaving Prince's camp, André
signed a deal with Columbia and developed his own sound, a mix of funk, new
wave, hard rock and pop through two albums : Livin' in the New Wave (1982) /
Survivin' in the 80's (1983). André also wrote and produced four songs for Evelyn
“Champagne” King's 1983 album Face to Face (including the Top 30 R&B single
“Teenager”). In 1983, he assembled his own all-female band, "The Girls": Sheila
Rankin, Germain Brooks, and Doris Rhodes. The band had a sexy image, R-rated
lyrics, and sounded Minneapolis-style. André succeeded in getting them a deal with
Columbia in 1983; he wrote or co-wrote all of the material, including the single "Don't
Waste My Time.", and produced the band's debut: "Girl Talk" (1984). The album
didn't sell well and the Girls were dropped by Columbia just before splitting up in
1985.
Three weekly music papers in the UK, New Musical Express, Melody Maker and
Sounds, publish interviews with Prince. It was quite obvious that Prince didn’t like
being interviewed. Responses to questions about his childhood and musical influences were very guarded, and he wasn’t overly
expansive about his writing, though he claimed that all his lyrics were drawn from personal experiences. l-Ie was more talkative
about the music business and the way he had gained complete control of his career. He also talked about other areas that he wanted
to explore: poetry and painting (he never mentioned fihns). He also said that he got bored very quickly and doubted that he would
last much longer in the music business.
NME (UK)
Strutting with the new Soul Monarch
By Chris Salewicz
For someone whose chosen stage attire consists of black posing briefs and legwarmers under a long raincoat, and who gets so visibly
excited by simulating oral sex with his guitar that he could do with apermanently-running cold shower at the side of the stage,
Prince is a remarkably private and undemonstrative person once he’s out of the spotlight. It hardly seems believable that this
diminutive, doe-eyed 21 year-old from Minnesota who shuffles silently ahead of his manager to thecar waiting outside the venue, or
sits quitely in a corner of his dressing room, expression impenetrable behind mirrored shades while his band indulgein the usual
backstage chat and tomfoolery, is the same Prnce whose first two albums, “For You” and “Prince” have both gone platinum in the
States while his current, “Dirty Mind” is also heading that way wit hover half amillion sales already notched up despite total lack of
airplay. What kind of man is he, whose lyrics deal openly with just about every sexual taboo subject you can think of, whose stage
show is a vehicle for flashiness and eroticism, ad yet who would probably rather run a mile than talk to a journalist or pose for an
impromptu photo-session “because it’s like robbery.” Well, this enigmatic prodigy did lift the veil slightly – but only slightly – for
the Soundsprobe team of Mitchell and Turbett who were dispatched to Amsterdam last week to catch his first ever European
appearance at the Paradiso club. I’d already met him briefly at Steve
Strange’s Embassy birthday party; I shook his hand, which fell limply from
mine, and he stood gazing into the middle distance while manager Steve
Fargnoli did the talking. It was almost as if he was embarrassed that people
should be hailing him as the natural successor to everyone from Jimi
Hendrix downwards. Even from my sceptic’s viewpoint, I had to concede
that the stage show was capable of evoking Jimi Hendrix’s kind of
excitement, though not necessarily by the same means. Camp touches like
tiger skin-covered guitars and amps were offset by slick choreography, and
contrary to expectations, the eroticism was powerfully heterosexual despite
the falsetto vocals and ballet dancer's flashing gear. I did ask him what
drove him to chosse his particulary mode of dress. His answer ? “It’s hard
to dance with a lot of stuff on your legs.” And that was the end of that.
Dirty Mind is not an album you'll be having on the radio, and even though a
glimpse of the live show could drop a much needed mine in the placid
waters of Old Grey Whistle Test, you won’t see Prince on TV either. It
doesn't bother me. Since the album was released I've learned to live with
it. I only write from experience. I don't plan to shock people. I write about
things I guess people are afraid to talk about. Like incest, for example, “I
was only 16” goes the first verse of “Sister”, “but I guess tha’s no excuse. My
sister was 32, lovely and – loose.” And in case you don’t get the
implication, “incest,” declares Prince “is everything it’s said to be.” What
makes “Dirty Mind” special, however, is that the lyrics and delivery are
completely devoid of the nudge-nudge lavatorial prurience that passes for
humour on Judge Dread records. Not only is Prince deadly earnest on a
lyrical level but the music stands up (!) for itself too – and I’ll have you lnow
it was the latter, and not the former, that turned me on to the guy. His
previous two albums, pretty well conventional disco records, he now
regards as “forgotten adopted children”, although about half of the material
on “Prince” still features in his live act. “Dirty Mind” – written, recorded
and produced almost totally by the man himself – may have started life as a
bunch of demos but it has ended up as one of the most original dance
records in a long time. The demoing style has endowed the songs with a kind of hip minimalism that could prbably never have been
acieved if Prince had set out to create it with a bi production budget, and the basic ideas are a unique blend of classic soul, modern
funk, white rock’n’roll and probably ahundred other minor influences. So how did that come about ?
I think l matured in a sense. I reached puberty, I got new management, I got a new guitar which brought life into the sound of the
album - most of the songs were written on guitar. The second album was written mostly on the piano.
But was it a conscious effort to move away from disco influences ?
No, nothing's conscious. I don't sit down and plan anything. I was too young really, I was in diapers, I didn't hear much. All I
heard was my dad pounding away on his piano downstairs. He was a jazz band leader and my mother was a singer. I had an
executive producer when I did the first two albums but the last one I did all on my own; it's more me. I wasn't thinking, I was just
singing and playing... so I guess I sort of found myself. I think all artists should produce themselves, I really do. I mean I don't
know how someone else can be in the same frame of mind - unless they eat and sleep with the person. He delivers these answers in
an almost inaudible and monotone that makes you wonder if he was seriously mistreated as a kid. He seems at times to have the
resigned air of someone who has given up bucking with the system and
survives just by doing what he’s told. He admits he doesn’t know what he’s
doing playing in Europe at this particular time. “I don’t ask too many
questions,” he explains. “I just play whenever I get the chance.” His black
funk / white rock crossover style inteests me so I ask him where it
originates. That bit of the conversation goes like this : “It might be where I
come from – I’m surrounded by it… Country and Western.” I’m not very
familiar with Minnesota. “That’s good.”
You still live there, so you haven't found the attraction of New York or Los
Angeles irresistible ?
There are too many plastic bags in L.A. Sometimes when I'm in a certain
mental state I can get into New York, but I'm not always like that. It’s hard
to be passionate in that city.
Do you have any immediate recording plans ? “No” But you’ll be making
another album soon ? “Well if I keep going to the red light district I’ll come
out with something.” Will people expect it to be more excessive than Dirty
Mind ? “I think so. I think they’ll expect it.” But will they get it ?
Aha - that's hard to say. Depends what frame of mind I'm in. I haven't met
anyone for a long time so, er, I find it hard to write when I don't have
anything to write about. I've been pretty much alone and I haven't gone anywhere cos we haven't played. Now that I'm out on the
road and I’ve met you and other people... I get ideas. I don't just wanna sit in the house alone and makeup these nasty vulgar
songs and put’em out - I'd rather wait until I have something to write about.
Something else that emerges is the likely involvement of the whole band in the next album, whenever it might be recorded. On
stage, Prince is backed by a mixed bag of rockers and funkateers – red-headed, black-leathered Dez on guitar, soul-brother Andre
on bass, suit’n’tie job Bobby Z on drums, plus two keyboard players – surgeon-masked and gowned Doctor Fink and Fedora’n’fagwaving Lisa Coleman. To date, credits for them on the albums have been restricted to a couple of guest spots and the odd coauthorship; they’ve been purely a touring band who all do their own thang as individuals but, according to Dez, are “just waiting by
the front door with a suitcase” for the call to arms. But why have previous albums been solo efforts ? Seems for Prince it’s a
question of shared emotions : When I'm recording I could have orgasm on my mind and my bassplayer could have pickles on his.
It makes it a little rough when you listen back to a track and it's not played with the same intensity.
But the hypothetical ideal of a band of six Princes doesn't appeal ?
No, we'd probably argue. We'd all want the same girlfriends. But the band are all learning more about one another’s
personalities and everything, and in time hopefully we'll be thinking as one or two or three rather than six different individuals.
Seeing how well six individuals worked together at the Paradiso when they were supposedly rusty from inaction, I at least got the
impression they were made for each other. And if recording the next album with a band will be one milestone in Prince’s career, t
hen the first of his songs to be recorded by another artist is surely one too – and that’s just happened with the imminent release by
Betty Bright of “When You Were Mine”, the most accessible and least lyrically contentious track on Dirty Mind. What does Prince
think of this ?
I like it a lot. It was really kind of thrilling to hear someone else do one of my songs for the first time. But he doesn’t envisage
making a career of writing for other people. In fact, he says, dropping a mini bomb shell without so much as a change of expression,
"I'm not going to do this for much longer. " He says this like a man who‘s got some incurable disease, but I opt for the safe question
and ask what he’s going to do next then. "Something else.” Like what ? ”l’d rather not say." Mmm. The plot thickens. Something
else artistic ? "It's hard to say. Just something else. I just know myself. I know I won’t stay in things too long. I like to keep
moving.” The inference seems to be that he‘ll get tired of what he‘s doing now just like he got tired of playing Top 40 matenal in
high school bands, which he did from the ages of 13 to 17. "It got pretty sickening," he explains, "because I had to dissect these
songs and teach each part to each person, so when the artist got a hit again I knew exactly what was gonna go down in the music
and it was just a turn off. It was sickening more so to have everyone walk out when you went in to an original, then come back in
when you got to Top Ten stuff.” So why do it in the first place ? “I was broke. Primarily I did it for money. I owed people money, I
wanted to pay them back, so l did it. And once I'd paid‘em back, I did it for fun. Now I don't know why l do it. Sometimes l don't
like to do anything musical at all. I don't like to listen to it and l don't like to play it." And what does he do when he doesn't want to
be involved in music ? "Unprintable." Answers like this have a kind of finality about them that defy you to probe deeper. It might be
bullshit of course but Prince, a man of few words at the best of times, doesn't give the impression he’d waste any of them on
builshitting. So he remains, either naturally or by design, an enigmatic, charismatic character. A real Jekyll and Hyde case, with a
private life that‘s publically exposed only through those very explicit Iyrics on stage a totally salacious extrovert and off stage
practically a recluse. But whatever mysteries Iie beneath the fixed off-stage expression, Prince the performer has the kind of musical
talent, feel and showmanship that casts a giant shadow over the efforts of blue-eyed funksters everywhere.
Sounds (UK)
POSIN’ TILL CLOSIN’
Prince visited Amsterdam, London and Paris in late May to early June 1981 for a short promotional trip. In England, all three
weekly music papers interviewed Prince. Although it was quite obvious to the British journalists that Prince wasn’t too fond of being
interviewed, they managed to get some interesting answers. This interview by Tony Mitchell, one of the first British critics to
discover Prince, was published in Sounds, June 6th 1981.
FROM OVER – MISSING SCAN ----------were recording it in the studios. Basically, what I do is just go in and play.
“It’s easy for me to work in the studios, because I have no worries or doubts about what the other musician’s going to play
because that other musician is almost always me ! All the other musicians on the record are me. Disco music was filled with
breaks that a studio musician would just play and fill up when his moment came. But I don’t do that at all – I just play along with
the other guy.”
Prince’s voice, which liess in a region occupied by Michael Jackson and Smokey Robinson, also has its curious edge. Too much that
of a beautiful young boy, it is like the silky near-castrato of a chirboy beneath whose starched, spotless surplice is a body crawling
with crabs. Maybe that’s what Prince is about – the twin sides of human nature.
“Sin and salvation,” says the man who
dedicates to God “Dirty Mind”, a record that
promises “incest is everything it’s meant to
be.” But Prince has a lot more going for him
than the majority of his compatriot
comtemporaries who have experienced any
measure of significant success.
“All the groups in America seem to do just
exactly the same as each other – which is to
get on the radio, try to be witty, say the most
sickening things they can think of and gross
out the interviewer. They think that’s going to
make them big and cool.” “They’re a little too
concerned,” says the man who claims he’s
given away most of the cash he’s made to
friends and acquaintances in need, “with
keeping up the payment on the Rolls Royce
when really they should be busying
themselves with doing something that’s true
to their own selves. Obviously the new wave
thing has brought back a lot of that greater
reality. There are so many of those groups
that there is just no way many of them can
make it in those vast commercial terms. So
they have no choice but to write what’s inside
of them. I think it’s all getting better,
actually.”
Such a subdued, low-key character offstage
that one feels it certainly must be his alter ego
that takes over in performance, Prince all the same remains always a natural communicator. He waxes warm and cold, though –
just like his two-edged music. But it’s his prerogative; he’s very much his own man, working on his terms in a similar manner to that
insisted on by other of black America’s genuine musical artists like Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder. He dislikes being considered a
prodigy : “I don’t even know what the word really means,” he shrugs. “I’m just a person.”
Prince also bristles uncomfortably at PR descriptions of his fluency with 27 seperate instruments. “That came about because that
was the exact number of instruments I played on the first album. But actually there are a lot of instruments which if you can play
you can also play another six related ones.”
The black and white front cover shot on Dirty Mind is an exact representation of the persona Prince presents onstage – the army
surplus flasher’s mac (which he is wearing in the Holiday Inn at this very moment : “It’s the only coat I’ve got”), the dark jockstraplike underpants. The photograph has been cropped at pubis level, missing out the bare thighs and leg warmers that complete
Prince’s androgynous stage-wear. This image, though, is far from the soft-focus colour job of the horseman astride his winged white
steed that graced the rear of “Prince”. Pretty dodgy stuff – enough to make a strong man weep. It was his need to extend the
autonomy he’d already gained in production and arrangement terms that led to Prince breaking with his Minneapolis-based
management following the release of “Prince”, and signing a deal with the former managers of Little Feat.
“I think I’ve always been the same. But when you’re in the hands of other people they can package it in a way that is more
...uhhh... acceptable. All along I’ve had the same sort of ideas that came out on this record. It’s just that my former management
had other thoughts about it all.” His voice curls downwards. “The songs on Dirty Mind were originally just some demo tapes that I
recorded and took to LA to play to my new management. Even they weren’t too happy with them. We also had long talks about
what I felt was me getting closer to my real image, and at first they thought that I’d gone off the deep end and had lost my mind.
Warners basically thought the same, I think. But once I told them that this was the way it was, then they knew they had no choice
and they’d have to try it, because they weren’t going to get another record out of me otherwise. I know that I’m a lot happier than
I was. Because I’m getting away with what I want to do. With the other two albums I feel I was being forced to suppress part of
myself – though also I was younger.”
This grabbing of greater control of his own destiny was probably inevitable, considering the production and arrangement autonomy
Prince already had.
“I just turned down all the producers that Warners suggested to me for the first album.
Even when they finally agreed to let me produce myself they insisted I had to work
with what they said was an Executive Producer, who was really just an engineer. And
that caused a whole lot of other problems, because he was versed in short-cuts and I
didn’t want to make any – though (laughs) that was why it took five months to make.
The recording’s become a little easier these days. I used to be a perfectionist – too much
of one. Those ragged edges tend to be a bit truer.”
Prince is the third youngest in a family of four brothers and four sisters. They are not all
of the same blood : “There was a lot of illegitimacy – different fathers, different
mothers.” Prince’s father, who obviously christened him as he did because he knew he’d
need to learn how to fight, was an Italian-Philipino leader of a mid-west pro jazz band.
He left his son’s black mother when the boy was seven. “That’s when I first started
playing music,” he says. “He left the piano behind when he left us behind. I wasn’t
allowed to touch it when he still lived with us.” His background, he says, was
“essentially middle-class, though our financial position took a big down swing when he
went.” Around the age of nine, Prince started spending much of his out-of-school hours
in his mother’s bedroom, poring over her substantial porn collection. “She had a lotta
interesting stuff. Certainly that affected my attitude towards my sexuatily.” His
mother’s choice of replacement for his father also affected him. At the age of 12 Prince
moved out of the family home and into that of one of his sister. “It’s very difficult having
a step-father – basic resentment all the way around. Nobody belongs to anybody.”
During this time, up until when he graduated from high school at 17, Prince played in a succession of high school bands, notably one
called Champagne. “It was all Top 40 stuff. The audiences didn’t want to know the songs I was writing for the group. They’d just
cover their faces... largely because of the lyrics. I remember I had this song called Machine that was about this girl that reminded
me of a machine. It was very explicit about her, urrhhh... parts. People seemed to find it very hard to take. There was quite a lot of
Sly Stone stuff we used to do. I really liked it when he’d have a hit, because it would give us an excuse to play them.”
It was also this spell of living with his sister that was to inspire the “incest is all it’s meant to be” line. “I write everything from
experience. Dirty Mind was written totally from experience...” So he’s experienced incest ? “How come you ask twice ?” (chuckles)
Oh well, one often hears it’s far more common than is popularity imagined... For someone who is sold heavily as a primal black
artist, Prince visually is hardly black at all. “Though they say that even if you’ve just got one drop of black blood in you it makes
you entirely black. But in fact I don’t necessarily look on myself as a member of the black race – more a member of the human
race...” The perspective on the apparently obsessive sexuality of Dirty Mind is shifted by the ----- MISSING SCAN
Melody Maker (UK)
SOME DAY YOUR PRINCE WILL COME
Steve Sutherland talked “dirty with royalty” in Melody Maker, June 6th 1981.
The quiet little man with bovine, brown eyes and a whisper of a ’tache stares absent-mindedly out of the hotel window across
London's rain-swept rooftops.
Actually, I think it's much more embarrassing talking about these things than doing them I mean, I find it a lot easier to sing
swearwords than to say them and when I first had a girl, I found it really hard to tell my mother but, Lord knows, I didn't feel
embarrassed while I was doing it to her.
He calls upon his past, almost endowing it with some spiritual as he struggles to explain his motives behind his music.
I saw an analyst once because I was wondering why I was so sexual-minded and why I wanted to go against the grain so much
because it got me into a lotta trouble a lotta times. He asked me to talk about my childhood y'know, "when you first experienced
this and first experienced that ?" I realized that, when I was young, I used to read my mother's dirty novels and I was more taken
with them than anything - it was a lot better than comic books. It was a revelation recording this last album. I realized that I
could write just what was on my mind and things that I'd encountered and I didn't have to hide anything. The lyric on the new
album is straight from the heart whereas the other albums were more feelings, more dreams and fantasies and they stuck to the
more basic formulas that I'd learned through playing top 40 material in old bands. That's probably why they were so big but
that’s really upsetting for me because you say to yourself, "Well, do I just wanna be real big or do I wanna do something I'll be
proud of and really enjoy playing ?” "I Wanna Be Your Lover," was a big hit off the second album, but it was hard for me to play
that song after awhile. I'll never get sick of playing the stuff from the Dirty Mind album because I'll always remember what state
of mind I was enduring the time it was recorded.
The frankness of Dirty Mind was bound to keep it of the radio, but the subsequent notoriety ensured the sales and anyway,
according to Prince :
The sales weren't important. There were points, I must admit, on the first two albums where I was writing to get a hit but that
was too easy. I don't like to do things that's easy - it's more of a challenge for me to write exactly what happens, exactly what I
feel at that particular time. If I think a certain thought and I put it down on paper exactly like I hear it in my head, that's a
challenge to me as a writer.
More than my songs have to do with sex, they have to do with one human's love for another which goes deeper than anything
political that anybody could possibly write about. The need for love, the need for sexuality, basic freedom, equality... I'm afraid
these things don't necessarily come out I think my problem is that my attitude's so sexual that it overshadows anything else. I
might not be mature enough as a writer to bring it all out yet. I'm gonna stop this soon. I don't expect to make many more records
for the simple reason that I wanna see my life change. I wanna be there when it changes, I don't wanna just be doing what's
expected of me. I just wanna live... until it's time to die...