There's a very very simple answer to this. There were no truly commercial cool single off of this album, and no videos that people thought were cool. I mean in the U.S.

I clrearly remember the lukewarm reaction by people to the single "Alphabet St"... they would rather have been hearing "Pump up the Volume" "Push It" or INX.

Lovesexy was just not commercial enough in any way for America.

Hit in Europe and UK though!

Amkatnip said:

IIt wasn't any easier for a hetero teenage guy asking for it either. I got a "neat" look from the cashier.

Ha! Same here, when I walked in and saw that cover I think I bought something by Slayer just to get my man card back to 50%.

Siiiigh...

Again, you didn't live it. Big is relative. I was at the record store the day it was released to buy it, laughing at the cover with my friends who worked there. Alphabet St was played on Mtv to the point that I wanted to throw shit a the screen when it came on. They even played that long ass Glam Slam video (far more than it deserved, imo).

Back then, to the best of my recollection, it actually received more attention than SOTT did upon its release. SOTT has become a classic over time, but it wasn't viewed as that from day one. And other than 'U Got The Look' the singles were largely ignored by anyone other than his hard core fans.

Then, Batman and all its silliness came quickly on the heals of Lovesexy.

All of that was in a three year span. If you include 1999, Purple Rain, ATWIAD and Parade it was a seven year period. If you include Graffiti Bridge (I'd rather not), Diamonds & Pearls and the Symbol album that's only a TEN YEAR period. If you were a Prince fan, he was never anything other than HUGE during that decade.

Amkatnip said:

I remember clearly...for a hint; scroll back to the top of this page. The "naked guy" cover was a little much for 1988. I remember picking up a copy at the record store in Minneapolis and they had it hidden behind the counter. I had to ask for it. It was NOT on the floor.

It wasn't any easier for a hetero teenage guy asking for it either. I got a "neat" look from the cashier.

Ah...the things we do as as Prince fans.

Haha..I feel you! I can imagine you feeling like that! I mean "Lovesexy" is one my favorite albums from Prince. I can imagine having the same "Neat Look" and it would be so weird. LOL. As you said; the things we do as Prince fans. I mean, the guy was naked on the cover! Sure I saw the deeper revelation and took it as symbolic of being rebirth. I always look at the cover as the "Rebirth Of The Flesh" cover...lol. Nevertheless that is an amazing story, to know it was behind the counter! WOW! Haha

MyJobIz2beCute said:

TylerHippie said:

-So, I have been staring at this pic for a while and I can't to notice what he is wearing,

-around his neck that is, what is that?

-He is holding it with his hand and close to his heart.

-Is it the OR is it a cross?

[Edited 8/24/11 17:35pm]

It's a cross much like the ones he wore during SOTT...lol

EyeJester7 said:

Amkatnip said:

I remember clearly...for a hint; scroll back to the top of this page. The "naked guy" cover was a little much for 1988. I remember picking up a copy at the record store in Minneapolis and they had it hidden behind the counter. I had to ask for it. It was NOT on the floor.

It wasn't any easier for a hetero teenage guy asking for it either. I got a "neat" look from the cashier.

Ah...the things we do as as Prince fans.

Haha..I feel you! I can imagine you feeling like that! I mean "Lovesexy" is one my favorite albums from Prince. I can imagine having the same "Neat Look" and it would be so weird. LOL. As you said; the things we do as Prince fans. I mean, the guy was naked on the cover! Sure I saw the deeper revelation and took it as symbolic of being rebirth. I always look at the cover as the "Rebirth Of The Flesh" cover...lol. Nevertheless that is an amazing story, to know it was behind the counter! WOW! Haha

I was completely nonplussed by the naked Prince on the cover. I've never thought this cover was any worse than the back of 'Prince' or the front of 'Dirty Mind'. But the symbolism of him sitting inside a "flower" and the penis head shaped stamen pointing at him STILL makes me go, "Really, Prince? Really?"

StonedImmaculate said:

I agree with a lot of what has been said.

Forgive me if I missed it, but I dont think anyone mentioned the rise of hip hop.

I think that had a lot to do with the "fall" of soul music.

That is SO true and important! We can't ignore that! Hip-Hop emerged to the biggest thing in the late 80's through 90's and still now; pretty much! People thought it would fade away like Disco. But there was a greater artistic virtue within Hip-Hop. Prince thought he was "Dead On It" and what is funny is that much of his 90's material and even his late 80's material contained HEAVY Hip-Hop influences..lol

I know for a fact it was because of the cover. This album was a like a one-up to Around the World in a Day, where the casual fans jumped ship and the hardcore were put to the test, this time not only musically but graphically and stylistically. I had more than one friend who were casual fans of 199 and PR, etc. that flat out refused to buy it because of the cover. They didn't want that shit laying on thier car seat. Not saying it's right, but it's true.

Even the tour was drenched in homosexual innuendo, effeminate outfits, sly nods to bisexuality and topped off with religous overtones that hardly anyone wants in their rock n roll. Combine all those potentially off putting elements, and then make the CD one long track when people were just getting used to seamlessly skipping around songs, and you strip out a lot of potential followers who just can't be bothered.

Never mind the fact that the music was really challenging and not at all radio friendly at a time when "It Takes Two", "Rumours" and "Striaght Up" were dominating the charts. Hip hop (RUN-DMC, Public Enemy, The Beastie Boys) was really beginning to take hold and supplant the gender bending style of new wave (Adam Ant, Culture Club, Human League, even Bowie) and not many people wanted an orchestal, multi-layered concept album from a guy posing naked on a flower with pancake make up, no matter how well he shreds a guitar.

It was...................at my house.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Much of what is being said here I agree..I don't feel the need to add anything to what has already been said!

ALL I CAN SAY IS LOVESEXY IS THE 1, TILL MY DAY IS DONE! Hundalasiliah!!!

Hip Hop and Metal were taking the world by storm. Two separate worlds that never embraced each other - the black and white that is. Yes there were very few exceptions. But you have to understand that is was a much more racist time. I know this. I hung in both black and white communities.

Prince was too black for the white audience and too white for the black audience. I know. I know. George Clinton said it already. And he said it best.

And then you had the album cover. Which totally fucked him! I remember when I rode my bike to the record store and they had it behind the counter.

People just couldn't comprehend the artistry it that cover.

A great album indeed!!

There's no counters to put music behind anymore. In 2011, you can put someone full frontal on a cover and people would just go 'whatever'.

By that time, Prince was worldwide anyway. If the US wasn't giving him much love on the radio, he was getting it in other countries. Maybe it wasn't just the cover, but some of the fans just moving on to listen to other things in the late 80s.

EyeJester7 said:

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Much of what is being said here I agree..I don't feel the need to add anything to what has already been said!

ALL I CAN SAY IS LOVESEXY IS THE 1, TILL MY DAY IS DONE! Hundalasiliah!!!

what in the hell is "Hundalasiliah'? even then, it still doesn't make any more sense than what i always thought he said: "Hot Lucidia!!" lmao

dalsh327 said:

There's no counters to put music behind anymore. In 2011, you can put someone full frontal on a cover and people would just go 'whatever'.

By that time, Prince was worldwide anyway. If the US wasn't giving him much love on the radio, he was getting it in other countries. Maybe it wasn't just the cover, but some of the fans just moving on to listen to other things in the late 80s.

There was a ton of sexually provacative, even nude, album covers in the 70s. But Lovesexy was released in the 80s during the height of the Reagan/PMRC years when art, at least as it was viewed by the general public, had become more conservative.

First off - It was big in the UK and Europe. Like casual fans of a certain age know and remember it, it was a hit here.

There's so many variables to whether something is a hit or not - Prince shoots himself in the foot all the time and Lovesexy is like a textbook case. The cover for starters, I mean we all know this is not going to fly in the US - it is why he does this kind of thing - to cause a stir, and sometimes it shocks in a good way (sales, promo) and sometimes it shocks in a bad way (PRINCE IS GAY!!!! OH NO!!!!) - this was the latter. Female nudity works wonders Male? Not so much.

A big thing is the singles were all wrong, wrong, wrong except Alphabet St. Glam Slam as followup was an even bigger fuck up than IIWYGF or Mountains, I mean really it was such a stupid choice for single #2, and I love the song, don't get me wrong.

Cerebus said:

dalsh327 said:

There's no counters to put music behind anymore. In 2011, you can put someone full frontal on a cover and people would just go 'whatever'.

By that time, Prince was worldwide anyway. If the US wasn't giving him much love on the radio, he was getting it in other countries. Maybe it wasn't just the cover, but some of the fans just moving on to listen to other things in the late 80s.

There was a ton of sexually provacative, even nude, album covers in the 70s. But Lovesexy was released in the 80s during the height of the Reagan/PMRC years when art, at least as it was viewed by the general public, had become more conservative.

Right here...

NouveauDance said:

A big thing is the singles were all wrong, wrong, wrong except Alphabet St. Glam Slam as a followup was an even bigger fuck up than IIWYGF or Mountains, I mean really it was such a stupid choice for single #2, and I love the song, don't get me wrong.

I agree! What was Prince thinking? This song works as an album track but there was no way that pop radio was gonna embrace it.The melody is dull and it's a very uneventful track.A much better choice would have been the dynamic title track,which is fun,fast and relentless.Prince had originally chosen it as the second single (even had some remixes made for it) but alas,he changed his mind.

Cerebus said:

EyeJester7 said:

Haha..I feel you! I can imagine you feeling like that! I mean "Lovesexy" is one my favorite albums from Prince. I can imagine having the same "Neat Look" and it would be so weird. LOL. As you said; the things we do as Prince fans. I mean, the guy was naked on the cover! Sure I saw the deeper revelation and took it as symbolic of being rebirth. I always look at the cover as the "Rebirth Of The Flesh" cover...lol. Nevertheless that is an amazing story, to know it was behind the counter! WOW! Haha

I was completely nonplussed by the naked Prince on the cover. I've never thought this cover was any worse than the back of 'Prince' or the front of 'Dirty Mind'. But the symbolism of him sitting inside a "flower" and the penis head shaped stamen pointing at him STILL makes me go, "Really, Prince? Really?"

O M Z! I did not even catch the flower that looks like a penis stamen! WOW! I just checked it out and wow it is so clear! Hahaha..That is so crazy..lol

I know right? REALLY PRINCE???? LOL. I think 'Dirty Mind' was even more shocking for me. LOL. It's like panties, and that is just crazy! Haha, his second album 'Prince' was again crazy...lol. AHH! PRINCE! Haha

oceancrayon said:

EyeJester7 said:

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Much of what is being said here I agree..I don't feel the need to add anything to what has already been said!

ALL I CAN SAY IS LOVESEXY IS THE 1, TILL MY DAY IS DONE! Hundalasiliah!!!

what in the hell is "Hundalasiliah'? even then, it still doesn't make any more sense than what i always thought he said: "Hot Lucidia!!" lmao

Hahaha..I always thought it was his creative way of saying "Hallelujah"..I think he made up "Hundalasiliah" so that "Hallelujah" did not take him too preachy or churchy...lol I don't know. It does feel like he is saying "Hot Lucidia" haha

For 1988 this album was way too ahead of it's time. The general audiences was not as sophisticated as they needed to be to fully grasp it's concept and intentions. For goodness gracious they could not even tolerate or understand the cover let alone it's musical contents. That is why today even as fans this is such a pivotal album for us and in his career.

SoulAlive said:

NouveauDance said:

A big thing is the singles were all wrong, wrong, wrong except Alphabet St. Glam Slam as a followup was an even bigger fuck up than IIWYGF or Mountains, I mean really it was such a stupid choice for single #2, and I love the song, don't get me wrong.

I agree! What was Prince thinking? This song works as an album track but there was no way that pop radio was gonna embrace it.The melody is dull and it's a very uneventful track.A much better choice would have been the dynamic title track,which is fun,fast and relentless.Prince had originally chosen it as the second single (even had some remixes made for it) but alas,he changed his mind.

IIRC, it was meant to be the lead single even.

PippiL said:

Because it wasn't a very mainstream album and the cover scared off a lot of homophobes.

Honey that cover scared off a lot of HOMOS.

The album is a favorite of mine, and seeing that concert live at Madison Square Garden is a night I will never forget.

I had a poster of the cover on my wall at the time...

not long after I found an article on my pillow that my mum had ripped out of a magazine. The article? What to do if your son is gay.

I think that sums it up really...

not to mention the grief I used to get at school... i think at that point in time, in a mining village in yorkshire, prince fan = gay boy.

frazetta said:

Amkatnip said:

IIt wasn't any easier for a hetero teenage guy asking for it either. I got a "neat" look from the cashier.

Ha! Same here, when I walked in and saw that cover I think I bought something by Slayer just to get my man card back to 50%.

oceancrayon said:

EyeJester7 said:

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!

Much of what is being said here I agree..I don't feel the need to add anything to what has already been said!

ALL I CAN SAY IS LOVESEXY IS THE 1, TILL MY DAY IS DONE! Hundalasiliah!!!

what in the hell is "Hundalasiliah'? even then, it still doesn't make any more sense than what i always thought he said: "Hot Lucidia!!" lmao

Hot Lucidia is funny, and very Princey!!! As a Spanish guy, I like to think he says "Andalucía".

RicoN said:

I had a poster of the cover on my wall at the time...

not long after I found an article on my pillow that my mum had ripped out of a magazine. The article? What to do if your son is gay.

I think that sums it up really...

not to mention the grief I used to get at school... i think at that point in time, in a mining village in yorkshire, prince fan = gay boy.

I can relate, I had the Controversy shower poster on the back of my door and on the facing wall, the lovesexy tour book cover poster - the one with the cop hat and a face like a clown.

Oh lawd!

cop hat and yellow eye shadow?! That was up there too!

The "gay" thing continued. I remember in 1991, I was 14 and a huge Prince fan, and the majority of the people in my school were ACDC-Guns n' Roses fans. For them Prince, Prince's music, and of course myself, were gays.

But to each his own. Were will they be now? Sad, bellow-mediocre people indeed.

TheDigitalGardener said:

1) As mentioned above, the fact that the album was released (on cd) as one continuous track did not help the album.

2) The cover art caused some problems in the USA, several US retail and distribution outlets refused to display the album on the shelf and instead kept it behind the counter. Apparently WB requested new artwork but Prince refused, saying that the cover art was integral to the concept of the album content.

3) Before the album was released, Prince also wanted there to be no videos made. He stated that not doing videos would set him apart from other artists and also create a mystery around the album. Of course he did change his mind which must have pleased WB.

4) A tour of the USA was already planned, but Prince decided to postpone the dates and take the tour to Europe first.

5) The US tour lost money due to poor ticket sales, the losses were later recouped when Prince took Lovesexy to Japan.

Lovesexy did do well outwith the USA, it went top of the charts in a few countries, but ony reached number 11(?) in the US.

Seriously, doesn't Prince rock!!

RicoN said:

I had a poster of the cover on my wall at the time...

not long after I found an article on my pillow that my mum had ripped out of a magazine. The article? What to do if your son is gay.

Ooh, poor mum... Obviously you have survived this episode anyhow. It is so common that people mistakenly combine androgyny to homosexuality.