 |
| Continental tour by Prince and the Revolution | |
| Location | North America |
|---|---|
| Associated album | Purple Rain |
| Start date | November 4, 1984 |
| End date | April 7, 1985 |
| Legs | 2 |
| No. of shows | 98 (99 scheduled) |
| Prince and the Revolution concert chronology | |
The Purple Rain Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince and the Revolution following up on the success of his sixth studio album Purple Rain and his 1984 film Purple Rain . According to Spin , the tour sold over 1.7 million tickets.
The tour marked the live debut of the band now named the Revolution as Wendy Melvoin made her appearance as the new guitarist in Prince's band, taking over for the departed Dez Dickerson, completing the iconic line-up of the band.
In addition to Prince and the Revolution, they were joined on tour by Apollonia 6, and Sheila E. and her band. Despite gaining fame from their appearance in the film and releasing a third album, The Time were not invited to tour, as by 1985 the group had been depleted, with many of its remaining key members quitting to embark on personal careers.
The Purple Rain Tour was the first Prince tour to open with brand new material. In this case, it was with the album opener, "Let's Go Crazy". A triple dose from the 1999 album followed: "Delirious", "1999" and "Little Red Corvette". An instrumental interlude of "Yankee Doodle" usually introduced another 1999 song, "Free". The B-side "God" was often played, followed by a usual sequence of "Computer Blue", "Darling Nikki", "The Beautiful Ones" and "When Doves Cry" (featuring a mirror setup onstage to mimic the video of the song). As encores, the remaining Purple Rain songs closed the concert, "I Would Die 4 U", "Baby I'm a Star" and "Purple Rain". The three songs were extended, often taking 30 minutes to perform. "Take Me with U" was often worked in, completing all the album tracks. Other songs sometimes included were "Father's Song", "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?", the new "Temptation", "Let's Pretend We're Married", "Irresistible Bitch" and "Do Me, Baby". On rare occasions, "International Lover", and some tracks from Dirty Mind (1980) and Prince (1979) would pop up. Later in the tour, an instrumental of "Under the Cherry Moon" was sometimes played. The B-side "Irresistible Bitch" was segued into the unreleased "Possessed" at the show in Syracuse.
Setlist of November 11, 1984, at the Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Michigan, United States [1]
Encore 1
Encore 2
Setlist of November 22, 1984, at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States [2]
Encore 1
Encore 2
Setlist of December 2, 1984, at the Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [3]
Encore 1
Encore 2
Setlist of February 23, 1985, at The Forum, Inglewood, California, United States [4]
Encore 1
Encore 2
Notes
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 4, 1984 | Detroit | United States | Joe Louis Arena | 129,730 / 129,730 | $1,967,572 |
| November 5, 1984 | |||||
| November 7, 1984 | |||||
| November 8, 1984 | |||||
| November 9, 1984 | |||||
| November 11, 1984 | |||||
| November 12, 1984 | |||||
| November 14, 1984 | Greensboro | Greensboro Coliseum | 44,029 / 52,629 | $667,773 | |
| November 15, 1984 | |||||
| November 16, 1984 | |||||
| November 18, 1984 | Landover | Capital Centre | 133,182 / 133,182 [lower-alpha 1] | $2,019,927 [lower-alpha 1] | |
| November 19, 1984 | |||||
| November 20, 1984 | |||||
| November 22, 1984 | Philadelphia | The Spectrum | 55,917 / 55,917 | $848,075 | |
| November 23, 1984 | |||||
| November 24, 1984 | |||||
| November 26, 1984 | Landover | Capital Centre | [lower-alpha 1] | [lower-alpha 1] | |
| November 28, 1984 | |||||
| November 29, 1984 | |||||
| November 30, 1984 | |||||
| December 2, 1984 | Toronto | Canada | Maple Leaf Gardens | 35,000 / 35,000 | $628,950 |
| December 3, 1984 | |||||
| December 5, 1984 | Richfield | United States | Richfield Coliseum | 36,400 / 36,400 | $546,000 |
| December 6, 1984 | |||||
| December 9, 1984 | Rosemont | Rosemont Horizon | 90,687 / 90,687 | $1,375,419 | |
| December 10, 1984 | |||||
| December 11, 1984 | |||||
| December 13, 1984 | |||||
| December 14, 1984 | |||||
| December 15, 1984 | Lexington | Rupp Arena | 22,347 / 22,347 | $368,725 | |
| December 17, 1984 | Buffalo | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | 30,021 / 32,328 | $525,368 | |
| December 18, 1984 | |||||
| December 20, 1984 | St. Louis | St. Louis Arena | 40,000 / 40,000 | $700,000 | |
| December 21, 1984 | |||||
| December 23, 1984 | Saint Paul | St. Paul Civic Center | 87,580 / 87,580 | $1,532,650 | |
| December 24, 1984 | |||||
| December 26, 1984 | |||||
| December 27, 1984 | |||||
| December 28, 1984 | |||||
| December 30, 1984 | Dallas | Reunion Arena | 53,274 / 54,828 [lower-alpha 2] | $879,021 [lower-alpha 2] | |
| December 31, 1984 |
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 1, 1985 | Dallas | United States | Reunion Arena | [lower-alpha 2] | [lower-alpha 2] |
| January 3, 1985 | Atlanta | The Omni | 87,500 / 90,000 | $1,531,250 | |
| January 4, 1985 | |||||
| January 6, 1985 | |||||
| January 7, 1985 | |||||
| January 8, 1985 | |||||
| January 11, 1985 | Houston | The Summit | 102,564 / 102,564 | $1,708,690 | |
| January 12, 1985 | |||||
| January 13, 1985 | |||||
| January 14, 1985 | |||||
| January 16, 1985 | |||||
| January 17, 1985 | |||||
| January 19, 1985 | Birmingham | BJCC Coliseum | 35,400 / 35,400 [lower-alpha 3] | $619,500 [lower-alpha 3] | |
| January 21, 1985 | Cincinnati | Riverfront Coliseum | 44,100 / 44,100 | $771,750 | |
| January 22, 1985 | |||||
| January 23, 1985 | |||||
| January 25, 1985 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | 33,600 / 33,600 [lower-alpha 4] | $588,000 [lower-alpha 4] | |
| January 26, 1985 | |||||
| January 29, 1985 | Austin | Frank Erwin Center | 32,224 / 32,224 | $531,696 | |
| January 30, 1985 | |||||
| February 1, 1985 | New Orleans | Louisiana Superdome | 60,000 / 60,000 | $1,050,000 | |
| February 3, 1985 | Birmingham | BJCC Coliseum | [lower-alpha 3] | [lower-alpha 3] | |
| February 4, 1985 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | [lower-alpha 4] | [lower-alpha 4] | |
| February 14, 1985 | Tacoma | Tacoma Dome | 48,900 / 48,900 | $806,850 | |
| February 15, 1985 | |||||
| February 18, 1985 | Inglewood | The Forum | 96,000 / 96,000 | $1,680,000 | |
| February 19, 1985 | |||||
| February 20, 1985 | |||||
| February 22, 1985 | |||||
| February 23, 1985 | |||||
| February 24, 1985 | |||||
| February 27, 1985 | Daly City | Cow Palace | 78,498 / 78,498 | $1,373,715 | |
| February 28, 1985 | |||||
| March 1, 1985 | |||||
| March 3, 1985 | |||||
| March 4, 1985 | |||||
| March 5, 1985 | |||||
| March 7, 1985 | Las Cruces | Pan American Center | 26,100 / 26,100 | $456,750 | |
| March 8, 1985 | |||||
| March 10, 1985 | Long Beach | Long Beach Arena | 40,722 / 40,722 | $712,635 | |
| March 11, 1985 | |||||
| March 12, 1985 | |||||
| March 17, 1985 | Uniondale | Nassau Coliseum | 100,200 / 100,200 | $1,753,500 | |
| March 18, 1985 | |||||
| March 20, 1985 | |||||
| March 22, 1985 | |||||
| March 23, 1985 | |||||
| March 24, 1985 | |||||
| March 26, 1985 | Hartford | Hartford Civic Center | — | — | |
| March 27, 1985 | Worcester | Worcester Centrum | 24,146 / 24,146 | $422,555 | |
| March 28, 1985 | |||||
| March 30, 1985 | Syracuse | Carrier Dome | 39,875 / 39,875 | $697,812 | |
| April 1, 1985 | Indianapolis | Market Square Arena | 16,089 / 16,089 | $281,558 | |
| April 3, 1985 | Tallahassee | Tallahassee–Leon County Civic Center | 12,541 / 12,541 | $232,009 | |
| April 4, 1985 | Lakeland | Lakeland Civic Center | 18,752 / 18,752 | $356,288 | |
| April 5, 1985 | |||||
| April 7, 1985 | Miami | Purple Bowl Stadium | 53,085 / 61,500 | $982,073 |
During this tour, Prince added saxophonists Eric Leeds and Eddie Minnifield to certain parts of the show and often they would join the Revolution on stage for the extended jams of "I Would Die 4 U" and "Baby I'm a Star". A minor conflict arose within the band, as Prince began giving Leeds lengthy solos during other songs, in particular Wendy was upset that her opening guitar solo on the show closing "Purple Rain" was given to Leeds. [7]
Tour photographer was Nancy Bundt.
Purple Rain is a 1984 American romantic rock musical drama film scored by and starring Prince in his acting debut. Developed to showcase his talents, it contains several concert sequences, featuring Prince and his band The Revolution. The film is directed by Albert Magnoli, who later became Prince's manager, from a screenplay by Magnoli and William Blinn. The cast also features Apollonia Kotero, Morris Day, Olga Karlatos and Clarence Williams III.
Purple Rain is the sixth studio album by the American singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Prince. It was released on June 25, 1984, by Warner Bros. Records as the soundtrack album to the 1984 film of the same name. Purple Rain was musically denser than Prince's previous albums, emphasizing full band performances, and multiple layers of guitars, keyboards, electronic synthesizer effects, drum machines, and other instruments.
Musicology Live 2004ever was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince to promote his Musicology album. The tour began on March 27, 2004 in Reno, Nevada and concluded on September 11 in San Jose, California. It was a commercial success earning $87.4 million from 77 shows in 52 cities across the United States and selling more than 1.4 million tickets. Prince said one of the goals of the tour was "to bring back music and live musicianship."
Apollonia 6 was an American female singing trio founded by Prince.
"Purple Medley" is a medley of songs by American musician Prince from 1995. There is no album accompanying the single. The track is a mix of many hits and well-known songs from Prince's career. Some of the pieces of music are samples, while others are re-recorded for the mix. Some of the additional instrumentation is credited to The New Power Generation. The "Purple Medley" consists of snippets from the songs: "Batdance", "When Doves Cry", "Kiss", "Erotic City", "Darling Nikki", "1999", "Baby I'm a Star", "Diamonds and Pearls", "Purple Rain" and "Let's Go Crazy" and fades for the edit. The full version continues with "Sexy Dancer", "Let's Work", "Irresistible Bitch", "I Wanna Be Your Lover", "Alphabet St.", "Thieves in the Temple", the bassline to The Time's "777-9311", Sheila E.'s "A Love Bizarre", "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "Raspberry Beret", "Little Red Corvette", "Cream" and "Peach".
"Darling Nikki" is a song produced, arranged, composed, and performed by American musician Prince, originally released on his sixth studio album Purple Rain (1984). Though the song was not released as a single, it gained wide notoriety after Tipper Gore pointed out its sexual lyrics—in particular an explicit reference to female masturbation—and was partly responsible for the creation of the infamous Parental Advisory sticker. The song tells the story of a "sex fiend" named Nikki who seduces the singer.
"Computer Blue" is a song by Prince and The Revolution. Released on June 25, 1984, it is the fourth track on Prince's sixth album, Purple Rain, which also served as the soundtrack to the film of the same name. In the film, the song represents Prince's character's angst at the budding relationship between the characters played by Morris Day and Apollonia, the latter of whom he desires, and he performs it in front of the two during The Revolution's set at a nightclub with the aim of upsetting them. The song was composed by Prince with credit to his father, John L. Nelson, for the guitar solo based on a piano instrumental written by Nelson and Prince. He titled the instrumental piece "Father's Song" and recorded it on piano for the film, though onscreen it was portrayed as being played by Prince's character's father, played by Clarence Williams III. On the box-set Purple Rain Deluxe (2017), a different and longer recording of "Father's Song" was included.
Rave Un2 the Year 2000 is a 1999 Prince concert film.
The Nude Tour was a greatest-hits concert tour by American recording artist Prince. While his previous tour had drawn critical praise, the high cost of the concert tour production made it a financial disappointment; thus, Prince eliminated much of the excessiveness of the previous tour to be more financially viable. To make the tour as cost effective as possible, Prince decided not to tour in the U.S. this time, and thus he did not return to performing in North America until the Act I Tour in 1993.
Purplish Rain is a compilation of Prince covers released by Spin magazine for readers of its July 2009 issue. The album contains cover versions of songs from Prince's 1984 Purple Rain album, in the same track order as the original, on the occasion of the album's 25th anniversary.
The Parade Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince in support of Prince and The Revolution's eighth studio album Parade and his 1986 film Under the Cherry Moon. The Hit n Run Tour was not a full scale American tour, but a string of concerts that was dubbed "Hit n Run" by Prince's manager. Most of those shows were announced days or hours before the actual concert took place. The Parade Tour marked the first full tour of Europe by Prince. It also saw the expanded Revolution line-up and featured Sheila E. and her band as an opening act for most shows.
The Diamonds and Pearls Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince and the New Power Generation promoting his Diamonds and Pearls album, released the previous year. The tour itinerary were scheduled dates in Asia, Europe, and for the first time, Australia. Like several of his then-recent tours, Prince chose not to tour the United States, the exception being the Lovesexy Tour in 1988. It would be 1993's Act I Tour before Prince did a full tour of the United States.
The Ultimate Live Experience was a European concert tour by Prince that was mostly in the United Kingdom that was through the month of March 1995. This tour was to promote the soon-to-be The Gold Experience that was released in September later that year. Much of the setlist was from Gold Experience and there was also Come and Exodus material. However, he did say that he wouldn't not perform his Prince stuff from 1978 to early 1993. However, he did perform "I Love U in Me" and "7" with some covers.
The Earth Tour: 21 Nights in London was a concert residency at the O2 arena in London by American recording artist Prince that commenced on 1 August 2007 and concluded on 21 September 2007. Tickets for all 21 nights were sold-out.
Prince 20Ten was a concert tour performed by American recording artist Prince in 2010 to promote his 20Ten album. The tour was divided in two legs, the first set of shows were from July 4 to July 25. The tour kicked off in Denmark and took Prince to Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, and Portugal. Larry Graham and Mint Condition were supporting acts. He rehearsed them in Paisley Park Studios. The second leg was from October 15 to November 18. He played these dates with a slightly different band and no supporting acts. This leg of the tour took him to Norway, Denmark, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. He also took the tour to the United Arab Emirates where he performed at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Welcome 2 was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince. Playing over 80 shows, the tour reached North America, Europe, and Australia. Each leg of the tour was branded with the "Welcome 2" title followed by the continent in which the leg was located. The tour marked the singer's first performances in North America in over six years. The show was composed of the singer performing his hits with his band The New Power Generation. Alongside Prince, various musicians performed including Janelle Monáe, Esperanza Spalding, and Cassandra Wilson. The tour placed 39th on Pollstar's "Top 50 Worldwide Tour", earning nearly $20 million.1
Prince and the Revolution: Live is a live concert video by Prince and the Revolution. Released after the Purple Rain Tour was complete, the video is a recording of the March 30, 1985 concert at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The concert was also broadcast live throughout Europe as the final act of the 15th "Rock Night", an all-night show of four concerts staged by West German public broadcaster Westdeutscher Rundfunk as part of its Rockpalast series that was simulcast by the Eurovision network of European TV stations.
The Hit and Run Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince and 3rdeyegirl. The tour consisted of three legs. The first was in the United Kingdom, the second in Europe, and the third in North America.
The Piano & a Microphone Tour was the final concert tour by American recording artist Prince. In a December 2015 interview in anticipation of the tour, he said that "I'm doing it to challenge myself, I won't know what songs I'm going to do when I go on stage. I won't have to, because I won't have a band". It was ultimately Prince's final tour due to his sudden death from a fentanyl overdose on April 21, 2016, one week after the last tour date.
The Jam of the Year World Tour was a concert tour which took place from January 1997 to January 1998 visiting cities all across the United States and Canada. This tour took place in support of Prince's 19th studio album, Emancipation released in November 1996.