As someone born in 1997, I want to know what Prince's popularity was like in 1988.

I know George Michael and Michael Jackson were pretty much dominating everything (4+ number one hits for both artists) and diamond albums

But Prince's Lovesexy was doing pretty terrible in America (#11 and just a few weeks too) and two of its singles completely flopped. I always hear this as the year people claim "Prince had become irrelevant", "He was disappearing", etc. But how? Alphabet Street and I Could Never...Man were big pop hits in 1988 and there was controversy about his nudity on the LS cover (bad press = press).

So what exactly was Prince's popularity like in 1988, and how could he be considered "irrelevant" when he had 2 hits and was fresh off SOTT (which had massive singles). He obviously wasn't a Top 3 artist or something (outsold by Bobby B, GM, MJ, etc) but why do people act like this is the year he completely fell off or something but not the year, say, Madonna fell off (she had 0 hits in 1988)

It must have been pretty sad back then to see him fall so behind George and Jackson

Prince's popularity was still massive in 1988. What you've got to remember is that Michael had just released "Bad", and it had been an entire five years since "Thriller" was released. So of course, MJ was gonna be on top because people waited to see how he could outdo Thriller.

Prince on the other hand, had released 5 albums in that time frame (PR, ATWIAD, Parade, SOTT, Lovesexy), so he was always present, always banging out hits.

Have you not watched the Lovesexy tour? Easily the most extravagant tour he had done at that point.

There were some mistakes made, for example the SOTT Tour should have gone through the USA, which would of course helped his profile.

CharismaDove said:

Militant said:

Prince's popularity was still massive in 1988. What you've got to remember is that Michael had just released "Bad", and it had been an entire five years since "Thriller" was released. So of course, MJ was gonna be on top because people waited to see how he could outdo Thriller.

Prince on the other hand, had released 5 albums in that time frame (PR, ATWIAD, Parade, SOTT, Lovesexy), so he was always present, always banging out hits.

Have you not watched the Lovesexy tour? Easily the most extravagant tour he had done at that point.

There were some mistakes made, for example the SOTT Tour should have gone through the USA, which would of course helped his profile.

Excellent point, I didn't even realize that. Releasing PR, ATWIAD, Parade, SOTT, and Love in 5 years kept him so 'around' that when Lovesexy pretty much bombed it seemed somewhat like "the beginning of the end". It seems to a boredom thing when it came to Prince; since he had been around consistently since 1983, there wasn't much to obsess over (unlike MJ who was finally back).

Another thing that I think contributed to his popularity declining around that time was his image..the lace, sequins, ruffles, pants and Romantic Image was huge in 1984 but all the polkadots and LS style was "gay" in the US by 1988 with the rise of gangsta rap / R&B and Prince was looked at as a queer and weird.

The Lovesexy Tour was massive and imo his best tour, but reading about how it didn't sell out in America is interesting... America seemed to either be getting bored of Prince or just not as interested. And yeah if SOTT had come to the USA when Prince was really hot commercially, it would have helped his profile

SuperSoulFighter said:

Sorry that I cannot answer your question about the US, but Lovesexy was a big hype in Europe. Prince was at the top of his powers over here. People were amazed at what this guy could do. He just delivered a devastating album and tour with Sign O' the Times. How do you top that? And then he goes and tops it! First he kept everybody fascinated by not releasing The Black Album (of course, everybody got the bootleg) and then, within only a few months, he releases an album so good that nobody even talks about the cover. Naked? So what? Listen to the MUSIC! It was Beatlemania all over again. Folks couldn't shut up about it. It may not have been the best selling album of the year, but no one, absolutely no one, not George Michael Jackson, not U2, kept people fascinated the way Prince did. Even people who were into classical or jazz noticed him. He is the modern day Mozart! He talks about Jesus! It's a funny thing how Europe, which is not so Christian any more, was more positive about Lovesexy than the ultra-Christian US. I was 17 and stopped going to church around that time. Maybe Lovesexy was just what I needed. The Gospel according to Prince. [Edited 7/15/14 14:15pm]

This is why I love the UK Prince wasn't ever really "weird" imo, but he had a great sense of style and individuality that Europe picked up. I saw a video where one of the British concertgoers was marvelling about how Prince talks about "God is alive" and how no one does that. It's nice to see Europeans embraced him and called him a genius pop star when America was letting him go. You could also tell he liked his UK fame because he spent so much time touring there over America like he wanted to capitalize on it. Despite being a huge mystery and prodigy his UK single sales weren't very high. He had only one top 10 hit per year 1986 - 1991

SuperSoulFighter said:

Oh and then I haven't even talked about the Paard van Troje gig! He just did an overwhelming 2 hours show of non stop action at the Feijenoord Stadium and then what does he do? He goes to a small club to jam another 2 hours! Who IS this guy?!his discipled asked. Live recordings were even played on the radio and helped to build his reputation as an amazing artist as much as his albums did. Not even 26 years of boring albums can make folks like me forget this feeling, which explains why the grumpy old men are still here.

his live performances cement him as different than others of his generation. Those, the eighties and even nineties work, outtakes, etc... make up for 2002 - present

In the US he's looked at as more of a pop star and in the UK more of a legend (although the US is mucuh warmer to him post-Musicology)

Diamonds and Pearls was a dream come true.

2 top 5 hits and an additional 2 top 30s on an excellent album with monster sales

Prince was still a Huge part of Pop Music Culture as well as R&B in the states!!!

I'm not sure why people often compare success with how high your charting on Billboards Top 200.

Prince had just come off of a successful double album "Sign o' Times" and the concert film had sold well, not to mention the controversy surrounding the cover art for "Lovesexy" caused a stir in the media and though it wasn't the best press, it still got notice that a new album by Prince was released in 1988 and that was "Lovesexy". I remember "Alphabet Street" being huge on radio and MTV (BET & VH1).

Mtv's Kurt Loder even raved about the "LOVESEXY" tour and how successful it was worldwide, the anticipation was extremely high in the states and he won, once he made it to America!!!

People loved the Hit's driven show, which featured New Material by Prince and the Lovesexy Band.

Though the singles "Glam Slam" and "Wish U Heaven" weren't huge staples, "WUH" was a fan favorite indeed!!!

Then 1989 and PRINCE was back on top in the USA (yet again)... The Batman soundtrack sold 1 million copies during its first week and had a massive hit on radio and video networks... the track was called "Batdance"; other tracks "Partyman" and "Scandalous" were fan favs and did well on R&B stations... So PRINCE was still relevant and thriving musically whether the fans liked it or not...

He was on a different path and though 'Graffiti Bridge' tanked, the soundtrack did well and so did 1991's Diamonds and Pearls sold well, with a few hit singles!!!

George Michael and MJ were doing well in 1988, but PRINCE wasn't forgotten!!!

As for MADONNA she hadn't "FELL OFF" either... she didn't release an album in 1988, she had just wrapped up a successful "WHO'S THAT GIRL" world tour, the movie didn't do well in 1987, but she had a master plan to release a SOLID album of hits and that worked in 1989 with "LIKE A PRAYER", which featured some production and guitar playing by PRINCE!

Hmmmmm...

He was well-known in 1988 but he wasn't what I'd call "big". Of course you have to remember that after the incredible success of "Purple Rain", there was nowhere to go but down. A lot of people still were fans, and millions more were of a "Oh, I remember that Purple Rain movie" mindset. IIRC, Prince hadn't had a hit single or video since "Raspberry Beret" in 1985.

There is not, never has been, and never will be any entertainer that can be the biggest star in the world for much more than two or three years. Especially in this download-a-minute world.

Attention spans are shorter now than they were 25 years ago.

I remember the time well, and although Lovesexy was not big on sales Prince was still a big star. When 2 r in Love was played heavily on R&B. The Alpahabet Street video was played heavily on MTV, and Scarlet Pussy was played a lot on radio in my area. And the news of the scrapped Black Album and that it had leaked was big.

So sales wise he didn't stay on top but Prince always manages to keep his name in the news somehow.

I was really young at the time and really didn't like it lol. Now it's one of my faves.

RodeoSchro said:

Hmmmmm...

He was well-known in 1988 but he wasn't what I'd call "big". Of course you have to remember that after the incredible success of "Purple Rain", there was nowhere to go but down. A lot of people still were fans, and millions more were of a "Oh, I remember that Purple Rain movie" mindset. IIRC, Prince hadn't had a hit single or video since "Raspberry Beret" in 1985.

There is not, never has been, and never will be any entertainer that can be the biggest star in the world for much more than two or three years. Especially in this download-a-minute world.

Attention spans are shorter now than they were 25 years ago.

"Prince hadn't had a hit single or video since "Raspberry Beret" in 1985."??

What about Kiss, U Got The Look, Sign 'o' The Times and ICNTTPOYM?

[Edited 7/15/14 19:56pm]

Can I just say...as someone who has been an orger since, I dunno, about 1999, this thread is kinda refreshing. It's not a moan about his hair or whether he is gay or about Plectrum Electrum or his ex-wives or which 90s album was the worst or anything else silly.

It's a genuine query about Prince and his career during an era that is quite beloved by many Prince fans. And from someone born way after that era. Well done and thank you, CharismaDove.

[Edited 7/15/14 20:02pm]

1988 was a tough year for Prince.This was the year when his popularity had taken a nosedive.In the past,our local R&B station supported all of his singles but this time around,I noticed that they only supported "Alphabet St".They ignored the two follow-up singles Even MTV seemed uninterested: the "Glam Slam" and "I Wish U Heaven" videos were never put into heavy rotation.That's when I knew that things had changed.He had also gotten alot of negative feedback for the nude album cover.And then,when the Lovesexy tour finally made its way to the US,there were reports that some shows didn't even sellout.It was sad to see.In 1988,the media and general public seemed more focused on Michael Jackson and George Michael ('Bad' and 'Faith' were HUGE albums around that time).I was really pissed because I think Lovesexy (the album and the amazing tour) both deserved a wide audience.I was like "people are crazy for not supporting this!"

Militant said:

There were some mistakes made, for example the SOTT Tour should have gone through the USA, which would of course helped his profile.

I agree.SOTT (the album) was well-received in the States and three of its singles reached the Top 10.A US tour in the fall of 1987 would have been hugely successful.

.

[Edited 7/24/14 2:18am]

^^Oakland?? I saw the November 11,1988 Lovesexy show at the Oakland Coliseum! Best concert I've ever seen!!

After PURPLE RAIN, Prince and The Revolution had another #1 Album in ATWIAD with Hit singles "Rasberry Beret" and "Pop Life" + Under the Cherry Moon/Parade's #1 Single "KISS", he also wrote hits for others including the Bangles in 1986 which took the #2 position under his own "KISS".

In 1987, Prince's album "Sign O' Times" was a critically acclaimed Double Album release with the Hits: "U got the Look", "Sign O'Times", "I could never take the place of ur man" and the R&B smashes "If I were ur girlfriend" and "Adore".

When "Lovesexy" was released, Prince still remained a Household name, he was known for all those Hit records and "Alphabet Street" was a sure fire HIT!!!!

Prince delivered the goods with BATMAN the soundtrack the following year in 1989, didn't fair well with Graffiti Bridge the movie, but made up for it with The Soundtrack.

Tevin Campbell's "Round and Round" - written and produced with backing vocals by Prince, plus "Thieves in the tempo" was in the Top 10 and heavily played on Top 40 radio.

The next few years 1991 - Diamonds and Pearls and 1992 album also Sold Well!!! both albums had hits!!! from Cream to 7 and recieved alot of positive press/reviews and much MTV airplay as they did on radio. The Diamonds and Pearls tour was only in Europe, but Prince and the NPG kicked ass in the states with SOLD OUT shows of the ACT 1 Tour!!!

So PRINCE still had a successful tenure well into the 90's.

by any chance,was that KSOL you're referring to?

SoulSplash said:

the single "Alphabet Street" came out. I don't remember hearing it once on the radio, and when I requested it to be played, the DJ told me, "Prince ain't IN anymore. Sorry."

I can tell you exactly what Prince's popularity was like in 1988 in my world at a huge university. That was my freshman year in college, back when MTV was still cool.

Prince just went too strange and non-pop for the top 40 type audience in the States. His mixes of sounds didn't sound good compared to other singles on the radio. His videos didn't seem as cool as others that were popular.

I remember hanging with a group of people in a dorm, and listening to a bit of SOTT on cassette, and folks saying there were only two good songs on the album (SOTT and Housequake). They felt that Janet Jackson's Control album was much more catchy and a better album of single worthy hits. they also felt Control was a lot better than Bad.

I remember Alphabet St coming on at a department store, and hearing one guy say, this doesn't sound really good. And his friend was like, "only the yeah, yeah, yeah's sound good"

I remember someone hearing "Glam Slam" and saying it sounded really "gay" and they really liked the Prince song "Girls & Boys", which was much better even though they couldn't name it (I told them the name after they described it).

I also remember an R&B college radio DJ getting an advance copy of Lovesexy and putting it on the turntable in the dorm room (me and one friend were already fanatics who were into whatever Prince did, but this was not so with the general public). The DJ frowned at the beat of Eye No, and said something like... "Oh no... why did he have to use that old beat?" (truthfully it had a very retro sound with it's party synth bass that was not unlike the synth bass on the song Thriller from 1983).

I remember a frat guy thought Hot Thing was mildly cool and amusing, but nowhere near as cool as anything by INX or U2 at the time. And certainly not as fun as the later singles by 2 Live Crew or Tone Loc.

SOTT the movie made a quick run at the movies, didn't do any business, and then I saw it (twice) at the university movie theater. And it wasn't a packed audience. Of course I loved it.

I even remember when we first got a cassette bootleg of Black Album, and when we were all in love with it and listening to it, "Rockhard" was on. Another friend walked in and said "Wow, this really isn't very good, is it?".

So his sound, look, and vibe just didn't click with Amercian pop culture. In fact, I think the only two songs that people really actively tuned into were SOTT, and U Got the Look in the spring and summer of '87.

Nothing off Lovesexy caused won much love, even though WB tried to push Alphabet St.

The video to Alphabet St was a turn off to most people too.

People wanted more of "Pump up the Volume" or "Need You Tonight" or even "Push It".

They also weren't into "I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man" with it's minimal almost no bass midrange loud snare mix.

Prince was just working on a wavelength that was not in sync with pop culture in the states.

It's amazing how opposite it was overseas....

and while the above was what is was like with regular people... the magazines and MTV news were still quite in awe of Prince (as was me and my few co-fanatics).

Lovesexy album reviews were mixed to very good. In Rollingstone end of the year issue Prince's Lovesexy made most artists pick for top 10 albums of the year.

In the USA Prince just wasn't the cool and in synch with the scene(I'm ok with that.) Perhaps the picky general public got tired of his image and ever changing sound. The general public generally can't keep up with his changing sound. They are used to bands who sound the same on all their albums (Motley Crue).

I think the real not so popular year would have to be 1990s' Graffiti Bridge year.

CharismaDove said:

So what exactly was Prince's popularity like in 1988, and how could he be considered "irrelevant" when he had 2 hits and was fresh off SOTT (which had massive singles). He obviously wasn't a Top 3 artist or something (outsold by Bobby B, GM, MJ, etc) but why do people act like this is the year he completely fell off or something but not the year, say, Madonna fell off (she had 0 hits in 1988)

Madonna didn't release any new music in 1988 that was a quiet year for her.She was working on Like A Prayer,which came out in March 1989.

The US may have started giving up on him, but in New Zealand, it was the opposite. Lovesexy was his first album to hit #1 here and Alphabet street hit #1 on the singles chart. It was his highest placings ever and he was everywhere. As much as I love the whole Lovesexy concept, I was pretty immune to it in 1988, caught up in the hysteria over Bad and a new singer called Terence Trent D'Arby who was riding high with his debut album and the hits Wishing Well and Sign your name. Both made my 12 year old life that year.

.

Needless to say it was the beginning of a Prince infatuation here, thanks to an enthusiatic DJ and author of a popular music magazine here. Batdance hit #1 too and the album, even Graffiti Bridge did well here, in fact Prince had big hits right up until the end of 1992, by that time I was a fan. Before 1988, the highest Prince had reached was #4 with When Doves Cry and #2 with Kiss for one week. Lovesexy reached a wide audience here.

.

I mean even "Glam Slam" and "I wish u heaven" were top 30 hits here and thats why neither single is that rare here.

I was 18 then and Prince's popularity was declining in the US ever since ATWIAD. He got some props for SOTTs and the Black Album. He should have toured the US with SOTTs cause that album had some serious legs. But it all got cut short when he released Lovesexy with that nude cover...people thought he lost his mind and the songs on it were just not what people wanted to hear on the radio. I personally thought, creatively, Prince was still growing, but it just wasn't in sync with the record buying public.

[Edited 7/16/14 7:11am]

who carers about his poularity then....his show was the best on earth