Yeah, even the Punks and New Wavers back then were pretty hip to Prince. I don't know about now, but during the Dirty Mind-1999 era, I could definitely see them getting into him.

Well, I do have some friends who are Goths/Punks who happen to love Prince, so I guess even today his music is appealing to them.

New Wavers love Prince!

i can imagine the punk/new wave contingent back then diggin 'im, but i betcha there were those who thought he was bordering on "mcpunk" status. even with his disheveled appearance back then he still was too clean to be truly punk.

as for "uptown", if he really sang of a typical uptown mpls scenario, the girl who talked to 'im woulda been some crustee punker grrl askin 'im for a dollar so she could get sumfin to eat at micky d's or someplace 'round there.

When I was in university in the late eighties, everyone (including myself) was into the alterna-rock scene - Smiths, Replacements and the like. For us the Minneapolis sound meant Husker Du and Soul Asylum. Prince was one the few "mainstream" artists widely admired among that lot. He was probably the only black artist one would ever hear at an indie-rock club.
[Edited 11/23/04 10:10am]

when i was in college in the late '80s, a lot of my punk/new wave/alternagroovy friends were big on prince - particularly "dirty mind" and "controversy" - i got the impression around that time that those two albums were big among the "rocky horror" fans.

a few years back i briefly met a goth girl who almost looked like a vampire
someone mentioned ..something about prince
she said she adored him

i didnt get it, i still dont... how a goth would think little colourful prince was adorable

but i was too scared to ask

I don't remember any of the punks being into Prince back then but of course I am from the South in one of the redneck states and there weren't too many punks around. Prince was mainly known by black people down here and these hicks down here would have hated Prince if they had heard of him. They hated punks also.

Prince was a New Waver. The Adam Ant pirate shirt. New wave came from Glam rock(David Bowie Ziggy Stardust/Aladdin Sane/Thin White Duke) the look and style and synthesizers and Punk rock(Iggy Pop) .Blondie and The Clash mixing Punk with raggae.