"Computer Blue" is a song by

Prince A prince is a Monarch, 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 title, hereditary, in s ...

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 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 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 Clarence Williams III (August 21, 1939 – June 4, 2021) was an American actor. He played the character of Linc Hayes in the police television series ''The Mod Squad'' from 1968 to 1973. He also appeared in films such as '' Purple Rain'', '' 52 ...

. On the box-set ''Purple Rain Deluxe'' (2017), a different and longer recording of "Father's Song" was included. "Computer Blue" was originally recorded at The Warehouse in

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with The Revolution a day after "

Let's Go Crazy "Let's Go Crazy" is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album '' Purple Rain''. It was the opening track on both the album and the film '' Purple Rain''. "Let's Go Crazy" was one of Prince's most popular songs, and was a staple f ...

", and was later overdubbed at

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in August 1983. Prince, along with

Wendy & Lisa Wendy & Lisa (briefly known as Girl Bros.) are a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band the Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasing ...

and sound engineer Susan Rogers, set about doing further work on what would later end up being placed on the album ''Purple Rain'', albeit in a very heavily edited form. The song begins with spoken lyrics by Wendy & Lisa which suggest a

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-type relationship. The song then explodes into an

experimental rock Experimental rock, also called avant-rock, is a subgenre of rock music that pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique or which experiments with the basic elements of the genre. Artists aim to liberate and innovate, with ...

number with screaming, heavy synths, distorted guitars, and lyrics about the relationship between humans and computers. The released version has only one verse; the version that debuted at the First Avenue nightclub had a second verse, as did the song when it was originally recorded, and this original recording (later released as the "Hallway Speech" version) lasts for over 12 minutes.

Outtake

Originally conceived as a 14-minute opus, "Computer Blue" would later be edited down several times for inclusion on '' Purple Rain''. The song was edited from a fully-mastered 7:30 down to its current length when " Take Me with U" was added to the album at the last minute. The full-length version of the song contains extended instrumental solos and additional lyrics. Also present is a repeated synthesizer segment with a sing-a-long chant, which was often played in live versions of the song. The synth part, without the vocals, made it into the film '' Purple Rain'' during a scene in which the Revolution rehearses while waiting for Prince to arrive. The track ends with three full minutes of screeching feedback. A shorter version, 12 minutes in length, was the one edited down to the album's version, and the feedback from this version forms the segue into "

Darling Nikki "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 for ...

" on ''Purple Rain'' itself. Widely regarded by hardcore Prince fans as a masterpiece, the original unedited recording features the infamous "Hallway Speech" (as termed by fans) about emotions likened to different rooms. During the ''Purple Rain'' performance, at the end of the song before "Darling Nikki" begins, the "Righteous 1" speech spoken by Wendy & Lisa cut from the final version of the track is played. A 12:18 edit of the "Hallway Speech" version was officially released on the 2017 deluxe re-release of ''Purple Rain''.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Prince Vault and the album's liner notes.Prince and The Revolution. "Purple Rain" (Album Notes). Warner Bros. Records. 1984. *

– lead vocals, lead guitar, piano *

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 ...

– rhythm guitar, spoken intro, background vocals * Lisa Coleman – keyboards, spoken intro, background vocals * Dr. Matt Fink – keyboards, background vocals *

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 guitar, background vocals *

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, percussion

References in other media

In a " Charlie Murphy's True Hollywood Stories" sketch on ''

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'', "Computer Blue" is referenced as the name of a play drawn up by Prince (

Dave Chappelle David Khari Webber Chappelle ( ; born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. He is best known for his satirical comedy sketch series '' Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006), which he starred in until quitting in the middle of ...

) while playing Murphy in basketball.

References

{{authority control 1984 songs Prince (musician) songs Songs written by Prince (musician) Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) Songs written by Lisa Coleman (musician) Songs written by Wendy Melvoin Songs written for films