NEW YORK. The first thing you hear is a familiar voice over the screams of thousands of fans.
Hello Syracuse and the whole world. My name is Prince and I have come to play with you.
Soon Purple One appears, he walks up the stage – in an animal print jumpsuit and a white ruffled dress, with a guitar on his back – and “Let’s Go Crazy” begins. “Dear beloved, we are gathered here today…” he says.
This is the incendiary start to a high-energy upstate New York concert from over thirty years ago, remastered and re-released on video and audio, capturing Prince & The Revolution at its peak.
“It was as amazing as I can remember,” says Lisa Coleman, a member of Revolution, who sang and played keyboards that night. Drummer Bobby Zee adds, “The next generation needs to see this because that’s the point.”
A March 30, 1985 concert at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York included the songs “Delirious”, “1999”, “Little Red Corvette”, “Take Me Home”, “Let’s Pretent We’re Married”, “Computer Blue ”, “When doves cry”, “I would die 4 U” and others.
It closes with the sensual knockout song “Purple Rain” where the Prince in a shimmering raincoat performs a solo that lasts several minutes and showcases an incredibly talented guitarist.
“You can tell that he knows what he is doing there – he lights up the world. He always played like there was no tomorrow. But it’s especially touching,” says Bobby Z.
The Prince and the Revolution: Live will be released on June 3 on various formats, including digital streaming platforms, a 3-LP vinyl version, a 2-CD version, and a Blu-ray of the concert film.
There is also a limited edition box set including three color LPs, two CDs, a Blu-ray video, a 44-page book with never-before-seen photos from the Purple Rain tour, and new liner notes written by all five members of the band. The revolution.
“I was so proud of him and the band that we put together and everything else at that moment, and the fact that she lives and that this wonderful project is coming out is something special,” says Bobby Zee, a friend of Prince since then. how they met in 1976. “This group cooks like a freight train.”
Prince fans have one more reason to rejoice this summer: The world premiere of Prince: The Immersive Experience will take place on June 9 in Chicago. It offers visitors the opportunity to explore his wardrobe, musical influences and hits.
The Syracuse show came at the end of a 100-plus show tour, by which time Prince and the band had become a lean and sleek machine, combined with the wild success of Purple Rain.
“I feel like it was a gem in a really great necklace,” says Wendy Melvoin, Revolution guitarist and singer. “The only difference was that it was broadcast all over the world. And there was a little more pressure on us to improve our game.”
During the performance, Prince changes costumes several times, jumps through the scaffolding on the set, strips down to nothing but pants and necklaces, writes meaningfully in the bathtub, and drives the crowd crazy with phrases like, “Do you want me?”
The concert was an early pay-per-view event and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long-Range Music Video. The concert was later recorded on VHS, but the sound and picture quality was poor.
“I am very excited that the next generation of Prince fans will see what this is all about. He wasn’t, you know, an ordinary guy. He was a seriously talented, incredible dancer, singer, bandleader, showman, composer, musician. It was a one in a billion man,” says Bobby Z.
Melvoin says diehard Prince fans may have seen bootleg versions already, but hopes the new album and film can inspire other artists.
“I think the people I would like to see are people who want to learn how to put on really cool shows,” she says. “Other artists need to see this.”
Melvoin and Coleman say they recently watched a two-hour concert and said to themselves “wow!” periodically.
“We sat next to each other and watched a version of it on the big screen, and we both forgot parts of it, and it was really something to watch,” says Melvoin. “I think one of the things I said to Lisa was, ‘God, we were really good!’
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