STACK #190 Aug 2020

MUSIC FEATURE

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those pennies, ‘cause a “Super Deluxe Edition” reissue of Sign “O” the Times – which promises a whopping 63 previously unreleased tracks plus footage of Prince’s benefit performance at Paisley Park (including an onstage collab with Miles Davis!) – is scheduled for release next month. Need a teaser? Witness 4 The Prosecution (Version 1) , a preview track/ previously unreleased Prince song, is out now and further proves what we already knew: most artists could only dream about composing a song even half as dazzling as one of his princely offcuts. BC

pitched cries, sitting solo at the piano, there was not a dry eye in the house. Every cell of Prince – and all of the details of his surrounding existence – were theatrical. Don’t hate me, but I was fortunate enough to sight Prince in the flesh and not on a stage, back in 2012. While queuing outside Melbourne’s Hi-Fi Bar – hoping to gain admittance to the afterparty for the final show on Prince’s Welcome 2 Australia tour – police suddenly appeared on the street in front of the venue as a black luxury vehicle pulled up to the curb. We all screamed and held smartphones high in the air, hoping to capture a glimpse of someone we couldn’t quite make out yet. Both of the vehicle’s rear doors opened, slowly, and a couple of elegantly dressed ladies exited – one from each side. Providing options, the mystery females opened matching red umbrellas in unison and hovered beside the car’s rear doors. Prince exited via the driver-side. Cue deafening squeals. Our gazes were fixed on the red umbrella of choice, under which we saw Prince moving swiftly around the front of the car toward the Hi-Fi entrance, hunched over and holding his jacket together across his chest to guard against the cold. Prince suddenly punctuated his mission with a rhythmic jump, as if scaling an imaginary, low fence – like the famous Jerome Robbins travelling sequence/ Cool choreography from West Side Story . A showbiz entrance. Prince never did anything ordinary. But even though The Purple One’s reign was tragically cut short more than four years ago, his legacy lives on. Start saving

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PRINCE-PENNED CROWN JEWELS FOR FEMALE ARTISTS • Prince sent Manic Monday to The Bangles for their consideration after catching one of their early live shows in LA. The song was a massive hit. • Sheena Easton’s Sugar Walls was penned by Prince (under his Alexander Nevermind nom de plume) and oo-er lyrics such as “Come spend the night inside my sugar walls” landed this song on the Parents Music Resource Center’s ‘Filthy Fifteen’ list (which Prince’s Darling Nikki topped, obvs). • I Feel For You first appeared on Prince’s self-titled album (1979) before Chaka Khan’s glow-up dropped in 1984, hitting #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Chaka’s version includes a Stevie Wonder harmonica riff and a serenading-rap intro courtesy of 2004’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame after reinterpreting his song How Come You Don’t Call Me for her seven-times Platinum debut album Songs In A Minor (2001). • We all remember the confronting video featuring Sinead O’Connor staring down the barrel of the camera, crying (hell, even Miley Cyrus ripped it off!) and her version of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U was star-making. Melle Mel (of The Message fame). • Alicia Keys inducted Prince into

Prince performing in Paris in 1987

held around Australia a couple of months prior to his death will be forever grateful to The Ticket Gods for granting their successful purchases. This scribe was in the audience for the 6pm show of night one in Melbourne, during which Prince publicly grieved the passing of ex-girlfriend/protégé Vanity (Denise Matthews); the news of her passing had reached him shortly before showtime. Punters certainly experienced something special as a self-described “distraught” Prince poured out his feelings of loss via song. As he closed out his Purple Rain encore with those (agonisingly real) high-

Below: Stills from the Sign ‘O’ theTimes concert film

22 AUGUST 2020

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