Made me want to see the movie, still love batdance and the video, the batman movies is another subject.

When you first saw the movie and heard the dialog, didn't you sit there and go, "That part was on "Batdance"! ?

Adisa said:

I did, since I had the album before seeing the movie. "Oh I love purple!"

I was late for school!!!

I was waiting, with my finger on the cassette-recorder button, for the local morning show to finally play the song as promised!

I just found that tape today as I was weeding through boxes of old crap, hence this response to the thread.

As for the song:
this first glimse was the radio edit. I was a bit confused about the whole tempo-changing, non-traditional-vocal-delivering, allowd-to-say-"fuck"-on-the-radio CHAOS.
Then the album came out and that in-your-face guitar solo in the second part actually brought the song together (for me).
After about 3 months, I got an offer in the mail for another version of the song claiming that it was a 9 minute DJ-only 12" pressing. I never ordered it, but I still wonder to this day if it really was a genuine remix straight out of Paisley Park!
(and how the hell did those people get my address in the first place???)

Actually can't remember..but I did watch the movie this weekend.

khemseraph said:

I've always said, the only thing that comes close is Queen's work on the Flash Gordon soundtrack, the 'Flash' song including dialogue from the movie just like Batdance.

skywalker said:

See, I disagree, and I don't necessarily see that as a bad thing.

I don't think the Batman soundtrack encapsulates the Batman mythos so much as it does the Prince mythos.

In Vicki Waiting, you have Prince singing about Bruce making a joke, which doesn't really match with his character. In Electric Chair's lyrics, Prince almost makes it seem at one point like The Joker has a conscience (which couldn't be any less true of the character).

This is what I like about the Batman soundtrack. At first glance, it's just about the themes and characters in the film, but it's really more of a personal Prince album once you listen to it closely.

I do agree that the aspect of there being such multiple sides in the Batman universe is probably what fascinated him so much, since that's what Prince is really all about.

About Batdance though, I think some people really take for granted what a ballsy move it was for a song like this to be released as a single. It's such a bizarre song, with all the movie quotes and the different directions the song takes.
[Edited 1/24/07 8:31am]

PurpleKnight said:

And I'm still upset that there weren't any singles from Batman on the Hits 1 & 2 compilations, especially "Batdance" since it was #1!! Absurd!!

Adisa said:

That pissed me off too, but I remember there being some sort of dispute over getting the rights to include any Batman songs.

Washing my car one Sunday listening to the charts on radio 1 ... and thought it was a amazing song..like nothing I had heard before..but then again thats Prince for you. A lot of his songs are like that for me

PurpleKnight said:

I know. "Scandalous" was a huge R & B hit. Can't remember how "Partyman" fared, but that video was also a lot of fun. People used to ask me if he was making fun of MJ by having "Bubbles" in that Batman shirt,and then getting a phoney banana.

I must have been around 5 or 6 years old, I remember seeing it on tv while my uncle was watching it and he was trying to tell me LOOK ITS PRINCE cause he knew When Doves Cry was one of my favourite songs, and I was like 'he's batman?? noooo that aint him' *shrug*

I still love it
like it just came out

Came home from work in June 1989 from my city summer job. I heard the song was being premiered a few days before the actual single release on a Cleveland radio station.

I called the DJ asking to hear the song, "Doing The Bat Dance" and I was corrected it was just called "Batdance." About 15-20 minutes later the joint was played and I was pretty amazed.

The Summer of The Bat was a groovy one.

It was a hot summer and I was listening to it on my laptop when I was sitting out the window. 't was in 2004.

Cloreen said:

Wasn't it a special daily evening program called "The Big (Blank - Fill in the word) Show" ???

I remember there was some British or Aussie dude introducing "Batdance" on MTV. He said "Holy Boxer Batman!" or something like that before MTV debuted the video, which is still an all-time favorite of mine.

I was into Batman, sort of still am, and I am still into Prince. So, the summer of 1989 was a very cool one.

PurpleKnight said:

He kind of made that same point, tho, when he said he "was able to take the Batman vs. Joker mythos and mix it into his own Prince thing"--naturally his own thing takes precedence!

But either way, that's something I can't remember another artist doing. That it fits so well is amazing. Who do you think was aware of it first? Burton, or Prince? Maybe Nicholson; it was his idea to use Prince music, I think--he originally rehearsed the scenes with 1999, I believe.

Thibaut said:

Newbie!

Well,what did you think about the song?

I heard it when they premiered it for the first time on the radio. I loved it. After years of artsy/fartsy stuff since "Around The World In A Day", when I heard "Batdance", I said...."Hot damn, the Old Prince is back!". Unfortunately, the Old Prince left again.

I heard it in May of 1989, just after my junior year in High School. I loved it, especially the Vicky Vale part; in fact, Sir Mix A Lot sampled it on "Beepers" I even had the cassette single. This song was my #1 hit of 1989, even over Janet's Miss You Much. I was disappointed it wasn't on The Hits/The B-Sides, but I guess it didn't really fit.

computerblue72 said:

miss you much is a cool track but doesn't it remind you of I would die 4 u and soft & wet's lovechild?

I first heard it on a Walkman and I thought it was brilliant.Our local R&B radio station premiered it and it got a great response.I couldn't wait for the album.