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Thread started 11/23/05 10:54am

mariahj

Camille

Who is Camille? Whoever it is sounds a lot like Prince, and I might sound stupid asking the question but I really don't know all the little facts about Prince's career.
Why didn't Prince just sing the parts Camille sang, like "If I Was Your Girlfriend."
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Reply #1 posted 11/23/05 10:55am

BorisFishpaw

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Camille is Prince.
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Reply #2 posted 11/23/05 10:58am

mariahj

I kind of thought that but wasn't for sure. Why didn't he just say it was him singing, why'd he say it's Camille? I don't get it
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Reply #3 posted 11/23/05 11:11am

BorisFishpaw

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Camille was originally a side project. It was a collection of songs all recorded
with the vocals sped up. Prince was going to release it under the name 'Camille'
without any mention of 'Prince'. The original 'Camille' album had the following
tracklist...

Rebirth Of The Flesh
Housequake
Strange Relationship
Feel U Up
Shockadelica
Good Love
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Rockhard In A Funky Place

Prince abandoned the idea of releasing 'Camille' as a seperate album quite quickly
and instead expanded the album into a sprawling 3 disc set called 'Crystal Ball'
before cutting it down to a double album, and releasing it as 'Sign O The Times'.
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Reply #4 posted 11/23/05 11:57am

JediMaster

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Many speculate, and Prince has all-but confirmed, that the Camille character was inspired by Herculine Barbin, a 19th century hermaphrodite who sometimes went by the name "Camille".

In the Lovesexy tour program, the character of Camille became Prince's darker side, seduced by "Spooky Electric" (the Devil) into making the "evil" Black Album. During the shows on this tour, Prince would perform "Bob George" as Camille, with him "dying" at the end of the song.
jedi

Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones. (Ecclesiastes 7:9)
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Reply #5 posted 11/23/05 12:01pm

BorisFishpaw

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JediMaster said:

Many speculate, and Prince has all-but confirmed, that the Camille character was inspired by Herculine Barbin, a 19th century hermaphrodite who sometimes went by the name "Camille".

In the Lovesexy tour program, the character of Camille became Prince's darker side, seduced by "Spooky Electric" (the Devil) into making the "evil" Black Album. During the shows on this tour, Prince would perform "Bob George" as Camille, with him "dying" at the end of the song.


Very true. I think this is an important point... that 'Camille' is not just
Prince with his voice sped up. He was a specific 'character' that grew around
that particular period, and songs with Prince's vocals slowed down rather than
sped up have also been attributed to the 'Camille' alter-ego. So there are
songs with the vocals sped up that are not camille songs (like Erotic City
and Come On).
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Reply #6 posted 11/23/05 12:08pm

renfield

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BorisFishpaw said:

JediMaster said:

Many speculate, and Prince has all-but confirmed, that the Camille character was inspired by Herculine Barbin, a 19th century hermaphrodite who sometimes went by the name "Camille".

In the Lovesexy tour program, the character of Camille became Prince's darker side, seduced by "Spooky Electric" (the Devil) into making the "evil" Black Album. During the shows on this tour, Prince would perform "Bob George" as Camille, with him "dying" at the end of the song.


Very true. I think this is an important point... that 'Camille' is not just
Prince with his voice sped up. He was a specific 'character' that grew around
that particular period, and songs with Prince's vocals slowed down rather than
sped up have also been attributed to the 'Camille' alter-ego. So there are
songs with the vocals sped up that are not camille songs (like Erotic City
and Come On).


Yes, Camille was more than a vocal gimmick, to my mind at least. There's a certain loose thematic unity to all the Camille tracks. Prince was definitely writing and performing in character; giving voice to one of the many sides of his personality. As he said in the prince segues..."Like a veil I can hide behind...it talks at, around, through." Prince literally gave voice to each element of his conflicted personality.
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Reply #7 posted 11/23/05 12:51pm

JediMaster

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To me, Camille represented Prince's struggle with duality. Light and dark, black and white, male and female. Camille is conflict, pure and simple. Sometimes Camille is referred to as a male, other times as female. Camille seems to have a good heart, yet frequently gives into his/her lusts. Ultimately, (s)he is undone by his/her sin
jedi

Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended, for the taking of offense is what rests in the bosom of the stupid ones. (Ecclesiastes 7:9)
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Reply #8 posted 11/23/05 12:56pm

weepingwall

camille was gonzo's pet chicken..who in reality was his lover..muppets..
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Reply #9 posted 11/23/05 2:12pm

langebleu

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moderator

This Forum's FAQ - see section 5.2

http://www.prince.org/msg/7/145050

.
ALT+PLS+RTN: Pure as a pane of ice. It's a gift.
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Reply #10 posted 11/23/05 3:21pm

Zelaira

CAMILLE is MY LOVER And I WANT HIm TO COME OUT AND PLAY WITh ME..... biggrin
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