Right now, for me, its the one from Atlanta 85, but whats yours?

The first time it was ever played live. First Ave., 1983.

Yeah, I agree with grease. The first and original performance of Purple Rain, 1st Ave '83. But I also like the guitar solo in Syracuse.

The one where I'm standing in the crowd watching it happen.

squirrelgrease said:

yep...classic

solo in syracuse - AMAZING

August 1986 in Yokohama, the last Parade tour show

live from musicology in la concert 2004 staples centar

Atlanta 1993. Simply astounding.

Dortmond 88

the way the audience sings the "Whoo hoo hoohoo" part and it rings throughout the entire arena is especially electrifying.

if i was prince i woulda definetly been feeling that. its very emotional

1985 AMA's, even if his coat was so big it was practically dragging on the floor and the mic was set a wee bit too high for him. The vocals in that performance just slay me. And I love the bit where he kicks over the mic stand so it's out of the way for his guitar solo.

Good stuff.

Nvncible1 said:

I'd say prince did feel that. Just look at the footage. Looks like he feels sorry to end the song and get on to 1999.

Nothinbutjoy said:

Same here.

Rinluv said:

That's from the live movie, right? Yes, indeedy!!!

Tame said:

Have to agree with the one where you are there... I was there on 21 nights tour when he opened with it. I was immediately in the mood for a great night. Even though it might not be the best, I still think of it as the best.

It's sad but this is one of my favourite Prince subjects, mainly because the answer can be different depending on your mood.

I can't see why you like the Atlanta 85 version. It's nothing special and the Syracuse version beats it with a rounder sound on the Hohner Prinz for the bluesy solo. Both these versions are just a bit too loose and he's not perfected all the licks that make the live versions from 87 onwards so good.

I too love the Dortmund 88 version but the Nagoya 89 Lovesexy version is great too. He stretches it out and gets the old woo hoo thing goin' on.

Tokyo 90 is really focused with a perfect solo and a slightly different guitar sound (maybe coz it's the weird guitar with the chunk missing).

London 92 is a belter too. You get all the verses (and singing with Rosie G) and a great solo with yet another slightly different guitar sound (effects pedals to the max!!).

punkofthemonth said:

Spine Tinglingly good. Something so magical about this performance. The problem with purple rain is that there are 3 integral parts to it - the song portion, the guitar solo, and the woo-hoo-hoo-hoo part. I cant think of many performances that get all three right. Through the years the guitar solos have got better, but the delivery of the song is too nuianced.

I've got a brilliant recording of a Nude tour London performance which has a killer guitar part - and the excellent Live 4 Love breakdown - but its not the complete song which is the problem for all of the Lovesexy / Nude tour performances.


There are few performances that beat the magic of the First Avenue 83 performance. Its legendary - if not simply for the extra verse!

Solo, on the piano, in Cleveland in March, 2002 for the One Night Alone show.

I always have been fond of the 1985 Prince and The Revolution Live VHS version

The Nude Tour In Tokyo. The best EVER of Purple Rain!

my favorite live versions are from 1994-feb 1996 absolutely perfect versions

and my next favorite versions will b the concerts where it WON'T b done

Rinluv said:

Ditto.

That's a hard one, I'll say Tokyo.

The one which I enjoyed the most (although it may not be his best?) was when he opened the first night in the o2 with Purple Rain. It was so unexpected - no one believed he would open with this song. It's almost as if he was getting it out of the way so he could get on with the show.

Anyway I thought it was awesome and it is so memorable because it heralded the start of 7 shows & aftershows that I would be privileged to see!

Landover, Maryland - The Capital Center back in the day

Purple Finale- Miami. Second would have to be Musicology from L.A. and last but not least the album version.

Nothinbutjoy said:

2002 . One Night Alone - Oakland, CA



Tokyo 1990 was a good one too

The shortest one... such a cliche, such a monotonous droning noise...

Syracuse CarrierDome from the LIVE VHS.

* First Ave.83

* Dortmund 88

* Hamburg Aftershow 88

* First song, first night at the O2 - I was there