My favorite Prince band of ALL time. I was lucky enough to see them on the Parade tour in Colorado and Prince has never had a band like them again. I remember people even dressing up like Dr.Fink or Wendy and Lisa. They really were stars along side of Prince back then. Anyone want to share their concert stories or anything Revolution? And what is your favorite Prince and the Revolution song, released or otherwise?! Or just anything REVOLUTION!

Fave Revolution song? Gee, another hard one, there were so many.....but right now the one that comes to mind is the instrumental of "God" (Love theme from Purple Rain) What an AWESOME work of art this is! The way it all came together, bobby's drums, Fink and Lisa's keys, Wendy's guitar, Brown's base, and Prince's solos....just overwhelmingly beautiful, that song. Btw, its NOT unreleased (except here in the US; it was a bside in Europe)

The Revolution band is in the music history books. There will be no other band like them. THE TIME goes down in music history, just like Shelia E. .....What will ever remain in music history forever is the one and only Prince.
The creative force behind these acts! Prince was no doubt the best musician of all the acts, but he was the most creative and imaginative artist of all. He could be street, classical, funky, rock, colorful,spiritual,lustful,jazzy,comical,weird,different,foul,sick, and most of all adventurous! Prince had great musicians around all the time. Yet he is the main creator of the music. He doesn't need others to make good music, he just needs new sounds to cover new ground. No doubt 1999 and Purple Rain are the best of his phases, yet I understand alot of the music was just from him, not someone else. Just look at the Rainbow Children cd, Prince wrote and produced it not the Revolution,NPG,The Time,Shelia E.,Madhouse,Mazarati,Jill Jones,Sheena Easton,Jam and Luis,Vanity 6,Appolonia 6,or Carmen Electra. Remember, Prince produced and imagined all the musical direction of these artist.

"Yet he is the main creator of the music. He doesn't need others to make good music, he just needs new sounds to cover new ground."

I disagree with the he is the main creator of the music comment. Even his idol Joni Mitchell said of Prince, "Prince is more of a hybrid than innovator." Sure he has the last word on what goes on the album. But Prince's sound from 84 to 86 was HEAVILY influenced by Wendy and Lisa. I can't imagine Prince sending a song to anyone in previous bands to finish like he did with them.That's why his music from that period sounds so different from anything he's ever done. And no doubt Prince is a genius, but he also knows a good thing when he sees it. Sure the Revolution may be ancient history, but a lot of the topics here are.

I agree w/Everlasting. The Revolution was more than just a backing or studio band, more than employees. They were brothers and sisters to Prince. He TRUSTED them with his music. And you could hear the results of that close trust clearly. There was something magical about their chemistry together. It just clicked, y'know?

I agree...Wendy and Lisa had a very stong influence on Prince's music from 84-87 at least and they were more than just backing musicians....I can understand why Wenday and Lisa are so pissed with Prince when he fired them all.

Maybe one day they will make an album together again.

The bottom line is that Prince's quality of work after 1988 went downhill drastically. You know what I mean...remember the days of a 10 song Prince album with 2 tracks that were so-so and the rest SLAMMIN? After Lovesexy, things went downhill. Albums had maybe 2 or 3 SLAMS and 8 or 9 so-so's.

My point is, after Wendy and Lisa left, Prince was NEVER the same.

He has had a few bright spots throughout the years, but I'm sorry, he went downhill.

The Rainbow Children was the first step up in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong, I have purchased every album, went to the Act I shows in Frisco and LA, Love4oneanother (twice), Jam of the Year (3 times), 2 HitnRun 2001's, Celebration from San Diego to Dallas to Minneapolis, joined the NPGMC...I have truly supported and stand up high, defending the man against all comers.

When they ask me...What happened to Prince? He used to be so cool.

I say...

Wendy and Lisa left.

Anotherloveholenyohead and 17 days

Simply put... I miss the Revolution. Unfortunately I never got 2 see them in concert. Basically I was 2 young and by the time I became a full fledged fan is when he came out with Sign 'O' the Times.
Personally I identify with the songs written with the Revolution including the S.O.T.T. tracks which were mostly written while with them. I can really relate 2 what was written back then. It was like Prince and myself were going down the same road in life. U can imagine how excited and awe struck I was when BrownMark, Matt and Bobby Z came up on stage at the Northrop show. 2 bad Lisa & Wendy weren't there. Prince and the Revolution 2 me were an entity.

The Revolution was one of the bands he took time with, just like the Lovesexy band. Somehow that reflects on the music.
Every other NPG 'act' has people flowing through like session musicians. I have the feeling that with The Revolution, Prince was on a discovery; hence the five different style of albums that came from this era (I count 1999 to Sign).
After that Prince locked himself up in Paisley Park and in my opinion inbreeded his music. Instead of being a forerunner he ran after the music. Baddest thing the inclusion of those bad rappers.
Indeed VioletBlue is right; with The Revolution split the real discovery left with them.
But instead of concentrating on what could have been; I just kept on buying the albums, kept on visiting the liveshows. Most of the liveshows were worth it. That's where you got to see the true mastership. I remember Tivoli Utrecht; The Question Of U guitarsolo. Uhm uhm uhm.
When will he play Shy on the piano?

Ahh... perfection. Wendy, Lisa & Dr. Fink. Simply Majik & u can't 4get some Bobby Z

I won't get into the "W+L=Good Prince Music" debate, but I will weigh in on the circumstances surrounding their departure.

Everyone who acts like Prince dismissed W+L completely out of the blue -- and was so wrong to do it -- needs to think about two things before passing judgement:

1) W+L had already made it known that they were unhappy. They had even WALKED AWAY from the band just a few months earlier. According to Per Nilsen, Bobby Z caught up with them at the Minneapolis airport and convinced them to come back and Alan Leeds negotiated their return to the band. Prince seems to prize loyalty above all else (which is why a mediocre drummer can play with him for years) so I'm sure he was hurt by the fact that the girls had taken steps to "abandon" him. His closeness to them was likely shaken by this incident.

2) Probably most importantly, Prince and Susannah's relationship had flamed out in the month's preceeding the band's own demise. According to all reports, Prince and Susannah loved each other in a deeply passionate, yet highly volatile manner. Susan Rogers says the break up shook Prince to his very foundation. Still, in the midst of this utterly painful episode, Prince had to go to work every day and look at Susannah's twin sister...and wonder what the two of them might be saying about him behind the scenes. Or wonder if Wendy was giving Susannah daily reports on Prince's activities or if she secretly blamed him for wounding her sister? And even if she wasn't doing any of these things, could Prince really turn to Wendy, his closest confidante, and feel safe any longer when her TWIN was the other side of this triangle? I'm sure he felt lonely and maybe even a little bitter that he had lost his primary support system. So the break up with Susannah was probably a huge wedge in Prince and W+L's friendship.

Mind you, I'm not arguing for Prince's absolution in this matter. Because of his emotional quirks, he makes many unfair demands and decisions. But I don't believe they materialize from thin air. This situation -- like most of the dubious events in Prince's life -- seems to be firmly rooted in a pot of outside circumstances. And I think it's only fair to try and see the whole picture before assessing blame.

Peace, David

it's all part of the Journey. from my Understanding: Wendy & Lisa wanted 2 leave The Revolution @ 1 point while they were on Tour "Parade" & P asked them 2 stay on 4 that Tour. they did & the rest u know is HiStory.

DMSR (the Book) kinda sums up the Situation...

Although I am very new to this site. I can definitely relate to the feelings in this forum. Strangely enough, it will be marked as one of those "where were U when..." moments in time when you heard the news. "The Revolution has been disbanded."
That sent shockwaves thru me that I can't begin to explain.
As a teenager at the time, it was my point of focus as far as identifying with someone or a group as most teenagers do. And it indeed was not the same listening to Prince without the Revolution. I swore I would never buy another album from "that man" until he got back with them. Big lie that it was, I still continued to get each and every album the day it hit the stores. But I was so thankful that W&L stayed together thru the years as a team. And yes, you can hear the missing music that is gone from his days of making hits. Just listen to any W&L song out there and there it is. They are definitely in a league of their own. I think he tries at some level, to keep playing in some styles that they taught him, and yes, I said it, they taught to him. Why else would he trust them so implicitly with finishing the music he started. But still its not the same.
I, like a few others around would love to hear them play together again, if not just the 3 of them, but I do have my feet firmly held to reality so Im not gonna hold my breath on that one. Just wishful thinking out loud I guess.

The Revolution will b heard...children of the purple underground!! Great band 4 prince, but the LoVeSeXy band was baaad.

I think for most people who were around for the Revolution days, they will always be fondly looked back on. the first time I saw Prince was on the Parade tour with the Revolution in London. 'Ladies & Gentleman please welcome...Prince..and the Revolution' It was a magical moment, and I was tottaly in love with Wendy. I think it is fair to say that they had a bigger hand in the making of his music than any subsequent band, especially on the song-writing side, but hey 'all good things they say never last'. On that note, was anyone at the last show in Japan when they did 'Sometimes it snows...'? I would have loved to see it.

I did see Wendy and Lisa live in London on two different tours around '90 and they were brilliant. On one night, Prince who was also in town was backstage, but they couldn't persuade him to come out and Play MOUNTAINS with them. Shame, but they played it anyway and it was a great live moment.

Best song? Too many to mention, but I do love Irresistable Bitch. The sound of those two staunch feminists singing the lyric is so cool. Best REVOLUTION album would have to be PARADE & live it was just so much FUN!

The next band was also cool, but the arrival of the NPG heralded P's nineties period, which frankly speaking, doesn't compare.

Don't get me wrong I think that the Revoloution was a great band but if you focus on just bands and not just whatever hits they had around each band then I think it's a diffrent story. It's true that with the REVOLUTION he was at a creative peak but the NEW POWER GENERATION on the SIGN OF THE TIMES tour 1987 was equally impressive. Look at the DIAMONDS & PEARLS period that had Michael Bland on Drums and the band he has is right on pointand I've seen this because I have just witnessed the Buffalo show & aftershow. The bands he has had after the REVOLUTION we're very versatile and could switch from funk to jazz to blues to pop all in one bag and I'm not sure if the Revolution could do that and have it sound as good. Don't get me wrong I an a Prince fan and I have loved every band he has had (except Kirk Johnson on drums for the JAM OF THE YEAR TOUR, after having Michael Bland on drums Kirk was no match so that didn't do it for me, but JOHN BLACKWELL has saved the day!!!) but I think many people should give more of a listen to the bands he has had after the REVOLUTION!!!

EverlastingNow said:



I loooooved the whole Parade album...That is truely the best. If I had to pick, eh, 2, I'd say "New Position" & "Do U Lie?"


As far as Prince's bands go, I think he had something special with every band he's had. There's been so many classics with so many different bands of his that its hard to say which was the best.

I will say that Sheila was his best drummer...But thats just opinion Not bad, for a girl!

Where did the dance electirc go?

Did it go to someone else?

So what's the possibility of a reunion this year?

less then zero?

Wow!! I never knew that the break up of one the worlds funkest bands could be so harsh!! Man, it is like a soap opera or something. All I know is that The Revolution is and will always be my favorite band. And I will always dig W&L they are two cool ladies.

The Revolution was the Best Band Prince ever had case closed. That was the best Prince Period in my opinion also,however Prince is Still Wonderful and Hot like Hell Today.

I wish me was able to see Prince with the Revolution live on stage. Whenever, I watch live videos of him and this band perform together I just feel like right there at the concert. I get up and start danceing its a good workout listening to the revolution live with Prince. They were remarkable with playing the instruments and singing with Prince. I liked the Revolution from beginning to end of the group. I wish Prince would do a reunion with them.

I love the stuff Prince did with the Revolution. Wendy & Lisa are my girls!