Natasha said:

Right!

I've had a rethink. Camille is transgendered to suit the song..besides Camille IS definately a girls name.

BTW a girl Can fill another girl up.Ever hear of a strap on?
[This message was edited Sat Sep 21 4:51:34 PDT 2002 by Thecherryloon]

Directly from the Lovesexy tourbook to end any confusion:

"Time upon a once there was a boy named Camille.
didn't know how to feel.
Sometimes he was lonely, sometimes he was sad
but most times he just took 4 granted all the nice things he had.

Some people said they loved him,
but Camille said, "Contempt! Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall, love is no good unless it's felt by all."

So naive & terrifically in need, Camille started looking for answers.
His paintbrush the questioner, his canvas the arena,
Camille set out 2 silence his critics.
"No longer daring"- his enemies laughed.
"No longer glam, his funk is half-assed...one leg is much shorter than the other one is weak. His strokes are tepid, this colors are meak."

So Camille found a new color.
The color black:
strongest hue of them all.
He painted a picture called Le Grind- hittin' so tall.
And then Cindy C- the vogue fantasy.
Horns & vocals 2 die 4.
Lollipops- in yours!

Stroke after stroke callin' all others a joke.
Superfunkycalifragisexi.

Camille rocked hard in a funky place. Stuck his long funk in competition's face. Tuesday came. Blue Tuesday. His canvas full and lying on the table. Camille mustered all the hate that he was able. Hate 4 the ones who ever doubted his game. Hate 4 the ones who ever doubted his name.

"Tis nobody funkier- let the Black Album fly." Spooky Electric was talking, Camille started 2 cry. Tricked. A fool he had been. In the lowest unmostest. HE had allowed the dark side of him to create something evil. 2 Nigs United 4 West Compton. Camille & his ego. Bob George. Why?

Spooky Electric must die. Die in the hearts of all who want love. Die in the hearts of men who want change. Die in the bodies of women who want babies that will grow up with a New Power Soul. Love Life, Lovesexy- the feeling you get when you fall in love, not with a girl or a boy but with the heavens above. Lovesexy- endorphin. Camille figured out what 2 feel. Glam Slam Escape- the Sexuality Real.

Tonight we make love with only words. Girls first. This feeling's so good in every single way. God is alive! Let Him touch U and He will quench every thirst. Let Him touch U and an aura of peace will adorn U. God is Alive! Let Him touch U and your own Lovesexy will be born. Let Him touch U, let Him touch U and Heaven is yours. Welcome 2 the New Power Generation."

I know I probably made a ton of grammar and spelling mistakes but I'm late and don't feel like proofreading. So that pretty much sums it up. Camille's a boy. And even though they mention Black Album titles here, the only songs credited to Camille in album liner notes are the 10 I listed above. So stop speculating!

It was a cool development in his style and sound. Very mysterious.

Thecherryloon said:

Ever heard of the French composer Saint-Saens? His first name is Camille.. and he was a man!

Thanx for reproducing that! It's great, I've never read this b4..

Thanks Tron for correcting me.i have that tour book too.I'd forgotten about that.I was reading Dave Hill's 'Prince a pop life' the other night and 'girl' stuck in my head for some reason.He refers to Camille as a girl in that!

I spent all those years being wrong.(i liked it while it lasted)

Oh Well (still don't get the lyric in Shockadelica though!)

Camille is singing to a girl named Shockadelica.

TRON said:

D'oh! of course!

So,I was right about Prince with the Camille album how about some kudos and let me tell ya something I never read this before I just realized it. But really like I said alot of sexual music came from Camille. So Prince it's time to resurrect Camille from the Underground. As Morissey says OUIJA board.

Natasha said:[quote]So,I was right about Prince with the Camille album how about some kudos and let me tell ya something I never read this before I just realized it. But really like I said alot of sexual music came from Camille. So Prince it's time to resurrect Camille from the Underground. As Morissey says OUIJA board.[/qu

The very first song ever recorded by "CAmille" was "love or money", the Parade album b-side (this was a question at the Prince jeopardy contest at Lake Ann on the last day of the celebration, which I answered correctly)

You're welcome y'all. I just didn't want everyone pulling their hair out over something that there are clear answers to. Stay tuned for more...

Directly from the 'Days of Wild' book from Uptown.

October 27, 1986
Prince embarks on Camille, an album of tracks featuring his voice speeded-up. He was beginning to think of the high voice as a character in its own right, an alter ego named Camille. Prince has hinted that the name was inspired by Herculine Barbin, a famous 19th century hermaphrodite who was nicknamed Camille. He was raised as a female but lived as a male in his 20s.

Prince wanted to prepare an album of songs featuring his high voice and release it under the Camille pseudonym to see what the public would make of it. To put his ideas into practice, he completed four new tracks over a 10-day period, all featuring his lead vocal speeded-up: "Rebirth of the Flesh", "Rockhard In A Funky Place", "Good Love", and "If I Was Your Girlfriend". He also recorded a new version of "Feel U Up" originally cut in 1981, and added the previously taped "Housequake" and "Shockadelica". The Lisa Coleman/Wendy Melvoin version of "Strange Relationship" was reworked somewhat; Prince had Eric Leeds record a baritone saxophone part, only to discard it in the final mix. Eric and Matt Blistan added horns to several of the other songs as well.
[This message was edited Sat Sep 21 20:16:51 PDT 2002 by TRON]

part 2

November 5, 1986

The Camille album is sequenced. Side one included: "Rebirth of the Flesh", "Housequake", "Strange Relationship", "Feel U Up". Side two: "Shockadelica", "Good Love", "If I Was Your Girlfriend", "Rockhard In A Funky Place". The record was given a Warner Bros. catelogue number and a projected January 1987 release date. A test pressing was also made of a possible single, containing "Shockadelica" coupled with "Housequake". Instead of pursuing the Camille project, however, Prince decided to expand on the record by incorporating other tracks recorded earlier in the year.

Camille lacked a unified lyrical or musical theme, aside from the fact that all the songs showcased Prince's speeded-up voice. Still, the Camille character seems to have been a vehicle for Prince to explore man's inner conflicts and the struggle between good and evil. He was conceiving a film project based around the Camille character and one idea was that he was going to portray himself and Camille; only at the end of the film would it become apparent that they weren't two separate individuals, instead being two sides of a split-personality character. Camille appears to be similar to the Gemini persona Prince invented for the "Batdance" and "Partyman" videos from the Batman album in 1989: a dual-personality character split between Batman and the Joker, between good and evil.

No less than seven of the eight Camille LP tracks have since seen official release, showing that Prince was very pleased with the material. Three of the songs ended up on Sign O' The Times: "Housequake", "Strange Relationship", and "If I Was Your Girlfriend". "Rockhard In A Funky Place" was included on the Black Album, while "Good Love" was released in March 1988 on the soundtrack album to the film Bright Lights, Big City
and again on the Crystal Ball three-CD set in 1988. Two of the Camille tracks became b-sides, "Shockadelica" and "Feel U Up" (of "IIWYG" in 1987 and "Partyman" in 1989, respectively). Consequently "Rebirth of the Flesh" is the only Camille track that remains unreleased. Slightly altered, the introductory lyrics, "Kick drum pound on the two and four, all the party people get on the floor," turned up in "Escape" (the B-side of "Glam Slam" in 1988) and as the opening words of the Lovesexy show. The melody of the chorus of "Walk Don't Walk" on Diamonds and Pearls also borrows from "Rebirth of the Flesh", so it is unlikely that it will ever be released.
[This message was edited Sat Sep 21 20:48:37 PDT 2002 by TRON]
[This message was edited Sat Sep 21 20:48:58 PDT 2002 by TRON]

CalhounSq said:

Natasha said:

SO you completely missed the whole thing w/ the hammer, huh?



TRON: THANK YOU for printing all this up! I can't wait to read it so I can understand better, it's interesting...

Since Camille is the dark alter-ego... it's very strange that "he" would sing such a positive song such as " If I Was Your Girlfriend "...

TRON said:

WOW! Thanks so much for this...I've never got to see the lovesexy show...

IfIWasYourGirlfriend,Erotic City,FeeluUp are me faves.

So really now Prince should take the Camille stance against critics now! He should release the comments from the Lovesexy album to tell people who are against his new sound and direction where he is coming from once more lest they forget.

Feel U Up!

Thecherryloon said:

4 what it's worth I always felt CAMILLE was the combination of Boy AND Girl within Prince's mind... so I think U were only half wrong... or half right

johnny said:

Thanks Johnny man.

Rock Hard In a Funky Place!!!

:"I Dont really wanna be your man, I only wanna feel u up"

or at least both genders supposedly a man turned in2 a girl or sum shit

Shockadelica is the best. "You be layin' on my guitar, nasty bitch, get up!"

Shockadelica is a response to Jesse Johnson for not using the song by P. for his album. Prince showed him how to funk, and the song is about Troy Beyer. The cute lightskin honey with the fat ass>

paisleypark4 said:

This is sort of a tripple play on words,

First he is implying what your saying; Is this a man or woman?

second you can read "I don't really want to be a man" as not even wanting to have sex, just feel her up

Third, and most important to the Camille character is that he doesn't want to do anything "manly"; like have a relationship marriage etc
This song comes directly after strange relationship an the Camille album, and needs to be there thematicly

Again...


C A M I L L E !




Some intewesting details about Camille...
• Through a fellow designer I have what appears to be the original logo design for the album. It's style is similar to the Graffiti Bridge type letters WHICH designed by the same person, Margo Chase that did Lovesexy and Sign "O" The Times letters/typeface/logotype.

• Camille was the original character for Graffiti Bridge Prince was going to play, initial Madanna in lead female role script version. That script I believe was developed around 1987 or 1988 (Uptown Magazine).

• Notice that the Linn drums tuning was also sped up in many of the songs. The snare was very high and tight. The clap was gated and fierce. There were sound effects all over. Horns. Orchestral blasts. Cool stuff.