The 1999 Tour was a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

by American recording artist

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

in support of his fifth studio album, ''

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

''. It was, up till then, his longest tour of the United States. In addition to Prince and his band, his latest all-girl group, Vanity 6, made their first live act tour along with the returning The Time.

History

This tour saw the debut of Vanity 6 as a live act to go along with The Time as opening act. Even with the release of The Time's second album, '' What Time Is It?'', tension between Prince and The Time escalated as the band was forced to play as Vanity 6's band during their 40-minute set with only a small increase in pay. They were further slighted by having to play behind a curtain, while the sultry

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of wh ...

performed out front on stage. Eventually, the heat between the bands and the fact that Prince was getting increasingly insecure at The Time's nightly great performances, led to Prince dropping them from the tour completely. This marked the end of guitarist

Dez Dickerson Desmond D'andrea Dickerson (born August 7, 1955) is an American guitarist and singer who was a member of Prince's band, the Revolution. Life and career Dickerson was born in 1955 as Desmond D'andrea Dickerson, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A v ...

's tenure as a member of Prince's band. In the prior year, Dez became a born-again Christian and found himself conflicted playing music that contained Prince's racy lyrics. He was further upset when prior to 1982's Homecoming Tour stop in Minneapolis, he expressed his desire to omit "Head" from that night's set, that often ended with Prince simulating masturbating with his guitar. Dez gathered support from the rest of the members in the band to show a united front requesting they would not play the song in front of Dez's family, but when Prince was confronted and called for a vote, all but Dez sided with Prince, angering Dez. With Dez's impending departure, Prince had already found a replacement in Lisa Coleman's childhood friend

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

, who had already been participating in soundchecks with the band and would even stand in for Dez when he was not available. By the last leg of the tour, Wendy was officially the

backup In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event. The verb form, referring to the process of doing so, is "back up", ...

guitarist. Initially, Prince had planned on playing at London's Dominion Theatre but opted out at the last minute, in order to continue gaining status across the United States. The typical 1999 Tour setlist started with the "Don't worry..." intro from "

" before an instrumental buildup to "

Controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

", which segued into "

Let's Work "Let's Work" was the second single from the 1981 album '' Controversy'', by Prince. The song originates from a dance called "the Rock" that local kids were doing at the time in Minneapolis. Prince responded quickly with a track called "Let's Rock ...

". " Do Me, Baby" was another staple from the ''Controversy'' album. Although some occasional older material was played, the remainder of the concert focused on new material. A keyboard interlude by Lisa introduced the new "

How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore? "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" is a song by Prince. It is a ballad of romantic longing with some gospel elements. On his original recording of the song, which was released as the non-album B-side to his 1982 single "1999", Prince performs mo ...

". An extended "Lady Cab Driver" was a highlight and the slow jam " International Lover" were always played, as well as "

Little Red Corvette "Little Red Corvette" is a song by American recording artist Prince. The song combines a Linn LM-1 beat and slow synth buildup with a rock chorus, over which Prince, using several automobile metaphors, recalls a one-night stand with a beautiful ...

" and "1999" (which often closed the show). "D.M.S.R." was usually worked in, sometimes as an encore. Occasionally some older material included "

Head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals ...

", "

Uptown Uptown may refer to: Neighborhoods or regions in several cities United States * Uptown, entertainment district east of Downtown and Midtown Albuquerque, New Mexico * Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina * Uptown, area surrounding the University of Ci ...

" and " Dirty Mind". "

Still Waiting Still Waiting may refer to: * "Still Waiting" (Prince song) * "Still Waiting" (Sum 41 song) * "Still Waiting", a Tom Chaplin song from '' The Wave'' * "Still Waiting" (Uncanny X-Men song) * '' Still Waiting...'', a 2009 sequel to the film ''Wait ...

" sometimes segued into "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?". Between acts, songs from

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her st ...

's ''

Court and Spark ''Court and Spark'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell. Released in January 1974, it infuses the folk rock style of her previous albums with jazz elements. It was an immediate commercial and critical success— ...

'' were played.

Set list

Setlist of November 30 – December 3, 1982, at the Masonic Temple Auditorium,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

# "

" (Includes "

" 'don't worry...' intro) # "

" # "

" # " Do Me, Baby" # "

" # "

" # Keyboard Interlude by Lisa Coleman # "

" # "Automatic" # "International Lover" # "

" # "D.M.S.R." Setlist of March 8, 1983, at the

Norfolk Scope Norfolk Scope is a multi-function complex in Norfolk, Virginia, comprising an 11,000-person arena, a 2,500-person theater known as Chrysler Hall, a exhibition hall and a 600-car parking garage. The arena was designed by Italian architect/engin ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia B ...

# "

" (Includes "

" 'don't worry...' intro) # "

" # " Do Me, Baby" # "D.M.S.R." # Keyboard Interlude by Lisa Coleman # "With You" (Instrumental) # "

" # "

" # "Lady Cab Driver" (New version with additional lyrics) # "

" # " Dirty Mind" # "International Lover" # "

The Band

* Director, Guitar, Piano, Tambourine, & Vocals:

* Guitar:

* Keyboards: Matt Fink * Bass:

Brown Mark Mark Brown (born March 8, 1962), better known by the stage name Brown Mark, also styled Brownmark and BrownMark, is an American musician, bassist and record producer. Life and career Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, Brown's early ...

* Keyboards: Lisa Coleman * Drums: Bobby Z * Background vocalist:

Jill Jones Jill Jones (born July 11, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress, who performed as a backing vocalist for Teena Marie and Prince in the 1980s. Overview Jones was born in Lebanon, Ohio on July 11, 1962. Her mother, a fashion model ...

History

Set list

The Band

Tour dates

Notes

References