The Purple Rain 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. ...

and The Revolution following up on the success of his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain'' and his 1984 film '' Purple Rain''. According to ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

'', the tour sold over 1.7 million tickets.

History

The tour marked the live debut of the band now named The Revolution as

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 ...

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

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.

Opening acts

* Apollonia 6 * Sheila E.

Set list

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 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 ...

'' album followed: "

Delirious Delirious may refer to: * A state of delirium Film and television * ''Delirious'' (1991 film), an American comedy directed by Tom Mankiewicz, starring John Candy * ''Delirious'' (2006 film), an American comedy-drama directed by Tom DiCillo, sta ...

", "

" 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 "When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain''. According to the DVD commentary of the film '' Purple Rain'' (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a ...

" (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 ''

(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 # " Let's Go Crazy" # "

" # "

" (includes ''

Reveille "Reveille" ( , ), called in French "Le Réveil" is a bugle call, trumpet call, drum, fife-and-drum or pipes call most often associated with the military; it is chiefly used to wake military personnel at sunrise. The name comes from (or ), the ...

'' interpolation) # " Little Red Corvette" * Yankee Doodle (Instrumental Interlude) #

"Free" #

"Father's Song" #

"God" #

" Computer Blue" #

" Darling Nikki" #

" The Beautiful Ones" (includes 'backwards' " The Dance Electric"/wind chime intro) #

" Encore 1 #

" I Would Die 4 U" #

" Baby I'm a Star" Encore 2 #

" Purple Rain" Setlist of November 22, 1984, at The Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States # " Let's Go Crazy" # "

" # "

" (includes ''

'' interpolation) # " Little Red Corvette" * Yankee Doodle (Instrumental Interlude) #

"Free" #

" Take Me with U" #

" How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" #

"Temptation" #

" Let's Pretend We're Married"/"International Lover" #

"God" #

" Computer Blue" #

" Darling Nikki" #

" The Beautiful Ones" (includes 'backwards' " The Dance Electric"/wind chime intro) #

" Encore 1 #

" I Would Die 4 U" #

" Baby I'm a Star" Encore 2 #

" Purple Rain" Setlist of December 2, 1984, at the Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada # " Let's Go Crazy" # "

" # "

" (includes ''

'' interpolation) # " Little Red Corvette" * Yankee Doodle (Instrumental Interlude) #

"Under the Cherry Moon" (Instrumental) #

"Free" #

" Take Me with U" #

" Dirty Mind" #

" Do Me, Baby" #

" I Wanna Be Your Lover" #

" How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" #

"Temptation" #

" Let's Pretend We're Married"/"International Lover" #

"Father's Song" #

"God" #

" Computer Blue" #

" Darling Nikki" #

" The Beautiful Ones" (includes 'backwards' " The Dance Electric"/wind chime intro) #

" Encore 1 #

" I Would Die 4 U" #

" Baby I'm a Star" Encore 2 #

" Purple Rain" Setlist of February 23, 1985, at The Forum, Inglewood, California, United States # "

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 ...

" # " Let's Go Crazy" # "

" # "

" (Includes ''

'' interpolation) # " Little Red Corvette" # " Take Me with U" (Includes "

" and " In a Spanish Villa (Instrumental)" interpolations) # " When You Were Mine" # " 4 the Tears in Your Eyes" * Yankee Doodle (Instrumental Interlude) #

" A Case of You" #

"Free" #

" Raspberry Beret" #

" Do Me, Baby" (Includes 'purple house' spoken intro) #

"Irresistible Bitch" #

"Temptation" #

" Let's Pretend We're Married" / "International Lover" #

"God" #

" Computer Blue" #

" Darling Nikki" #

" The Beautiful Ones" (Includes 'backwards' " The Dance Electric" / wind chime intro) #

" Encore 1 #

" I Would Die 4 U" #

" Baby I'm a Star" (Includes "We are Young" chant & " Bodyheat" and "Partyup" interpolations) #

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

" Encore 2 #

" Purple Rain" Notes * During performances of " I Would Die 4 U"/" Baby I'm a Star", Prince would often invite Apollonia 6 and Sheila E. to jam with him for a 20-to-30-minute rendition of the songs. * At the Landover, Maryland concert, the performance of " I Would Die 4 U"/" Baby I'm a Star" were recorded and used as a promo video for the song played on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. * The Syracuse, New York concert on March 30, 1985 was recorded and released on VHS later in 1985. * Singers

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originato ...

and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

joined Prince on stage during "Baby I'm a Star" at the February 23, 1985 concert at The Forum in Inglewood, California. * A little-known fact is that Prince performed his Purple Rain Concert a month before its first scheduled date in Detroit in a concert hall called "Bogarts" on Sept. 23, 1984 in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was hinted on the local Urban Contemporary station, WBLZ, but only a few individuals knew that he would actually show up. He played a full set for a crowd of 2,500 as a trial run, and even

Morris Day Morris E. Day (born December 13, 1956) is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead singer of The Time. Music career Morris Day is best known as the lead singer of The Time, a group associated with Prince. Day and Pri ...

and Sheila E. were present.

Tour dates

Personnel

: Lead vocals, guitar, tambourine and keyboards *

: Guitar *

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 ...

: Bass * Matt Fink: Keyboards * Lisa Coleman: Keyboards *

Bobby Z. Robert B. Rivkin (born January 9, 1956), better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, most known as being the original drummer for Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1978 to 1986. Life and ca ...

: Drums 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. Tour photographer was Nancy Bundt.

Notes

References

{{Prince main Prince (musician) concert tours 1984 concert tours 1985 concert tours