I was just out of school in my bedroom switchin stations to keep listenin for
the new release they kept talkin about.When I heard it, it was already in the
middle of the song and I thought,"hmm,what the hell is this?" and then they said it's Prince and I was like,"what is that crap,wheres the synth,what is When Doves Cry"" etc. I was very shocked at the turn his music went to. I was
expectin Purple Rain to be the single and it was to sound like 1999 part 2.
[Edited 6/13/06 10:09am]

I lived in Grand Forks, ND.

I don't remember the FIRST, first time, but I do remember the first time I listened to it on my BRAND NEW "Walkman".

I thought a bug was buzzing around by my ears until I realized it was the song.

Nothinbutjoy said:

...the first time I ever heard it, I had just gotten my first walkman (or cheap knock-off)!!! I was in my backyard listening to a local station and I heard this really cool song I thought was called "When Adults Cry"...

Don't really remember, but it must have been when I was little (5 or 6) watching Purple Rain on Vh1~

Love it~

In my daddy's car.

while seeing the purple rain movie in the 90s since i was too young when the single was actually released

I was at home. In my living room. I was a kid living with my mother, step-father and little sister.

I was on vacation with my family in florida to the worlds fair, and the video cameo on MTV somewhere between Magic by the Cars, Panama by Van Halen, and Round and Round by Ratt.

In Minneapolis, MN – my hometown. I was listening to the radio in my bedroom. I was 11 years old at the time. The DJ (the station was WLOL) said, “coming up next: Prince & The Revolution” – and I got very excited. Upon hearing “Delirious” and proclaiming adoration for it (it was my ‘first’ Prince song), my neighbor let me copy her “1999” cassette and it was love at first listen. As soon as “When Doves Cry” began – I knew it would be a classic. And though I didn’t fully understand the lyric “Animals strike curious poses” – I gathered it meant something dirty. Oh how I love Prince!!!!! Thanks for making me conjure this memory!

fresh outta Hi-school

I was at home listening to a syndicated radio show called Radio Scope hosted Lee Bailey. They played it before it was officially released. Radio Scope had all the inside scope on Purple Rain and Prince period.
[Edited 6/13/06 7:45am]

I was 13 and I think it was late July '84 down in Puerto Rico when my cousin and and neighbor had returned from her long vacation in New York. Our houses were so close that we could almost see through each other's bedroom windows and even listen to each other's music. She brought 2 7"-singles from her trip: "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper and you guessed it, "When Doves Cry". She used to play them both what seemed like 20 times a day.

I thought it was one of the wierdest songs I had ever heard and didn't like it that much. Then she lent the singles to me and that's the 1st time I ever saw Prince, and I said to myself: "This guy looks so cool with his purple clothes and sunglasses!" At the time, Michael Jackson was my favorite artist.

It wasn't 'til "Let's Go Crazy" that I was blown away forever. I have been following and collecting every single album ever since...

mom's car. We were going to the grocery store and the radio (Majic 102 FM) announced that they would be playing the new Prince song next. I was curious, cause I was just starting to really like Prince since they'd been playing 17 Days like crazy. I told her I wanted to hear it so she let me stay in the car while she got groceries (hey, I was 12 and you could safely do that back then). WDC came on and I lost my damn mind...

Nothinbutjoy said:

Yeah that "yaaa " buzzing thing he does with his voice through some vocoder at the beginning.....is awesome.

But back then it was too weird to me

i don't remember. "let's go crazy" was the song from that album that i went nuts over, and i heard that in the movie commercial. i totally don't remember when i first heard "when doves cry", but i remember buying the single at the mall as if it were only yesterday...the album hadn't even come out yet.

jn2 said:

"Its you I really wanna drive"

ufoclub said:

Magic was a cool Cars song. They played the shit outta that in summer of 84. Mutt Lange rules.

But the video for WDC with the door opening at the beginning. I kept trying to figure out how all of that fuigured into the movie. And the small clips pf film shown that was just him riding his cycle, standing by the water etc was awwesome to me as just seeing him move and not be in some pic-pose was great.

jillybean said:

A 7 year old corrected me by singing that portion correctly. I was like "oh is that what he is saying?"

We then ascertained that it was akin to like when two animals (dogs mainly) do the do and how their positions are curious at that time

PurpleCharm said:

Radioscope!!! I remember them playin commericals for that all the time stating how you could buy the best of Radioscope that included the low down on PR, and Chaka Kahns "infamous" vulgar laden interview. I was always mad that I missed it. It was played on KUTE radio out here (102.3).

DiamondGirl said:

i always thought it meant like when a cat smells something weird in the carpet and makes that funky face with its mouth open and its ears back - i mean, the animals are smelling the heat between me and u, after all.

Tora said:

Same here. The single with that badazz picture of him just starin with the shades, ..and ..and..THE ASCOT! or scarf! lmao! Good lord that was such a picture. Image Cool for days. I always thought that was from the movie, him in fornt of curtains. I wish they had a huge poster of that.

Universaluv said:

but they never played 17 Days out in my area, not at all! Calps to you for hearing it fully friom beginning to end for your first time. I got caught in the middle.

Anx said:

all's i remember is that i was still a kid (about 8 or 9 years old) and watching the jukebox network on my dad's crappy little television set, and the video for "wdc" came on. i thought the little "mirror" effect towards the end of the video was the coolest damned thing.

I don't remember the first time, but the first memorable time was around 95ish. I was in HS and a friend let me borrow The Hitts/B-sides, that's when I became a fan.....late bloomer.

In mom's car on the way to buy groceries. I was like Ummm, is this really Prince? A week later the song and video were in heavy rotation and almost peed in my pants everytime I saw or heard it.

Universaluv said:

dude, i thought you were biting my old post. That is almost exactly how i heard when doves cry. I wasn't 12 though i was more like 14. THAT IS INSANE!!!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

that video SOOOO reminds me of summer of 84, still being kind of a kid, and staying up all night watching friday night videos hoping they play the long version with the mirror stuff...good times.

Heard at 5 years old in 1993 when my mom was playing the "Purple Rain" album on blast in the kitchen while cookin' some chicken.

At the time, I didn't even know it was Prince.

I can't remember where I was when I first heard it but I'm sure i struck a curious pose.