I'm very new to this site, tho i've been lurking for a while. One thing that strikes me is that a lot of you guys seem to be long-time Prince fans.
I was born in '78 and was never really aware of Prince music whilst growing up.
I remember hearing Cream and Peach as a teenager and thought they were okay..... then I heard tmbgitw and loved it!!!! I then brought Hits 1 and 2 and played them non stop, before getting most of the other albums!
I finally got to see him in London (tho only twice) during 21 nights. Amazing!

I KNEW in 1989. The Batman soundtrack... I was blown away by Electric Chair and the sheer funkyness of Partyman and Batdance. I always kinda liked him since purple rain, but 1989 made it official. He's been the man ever since in my opinion.

i knew when i saw him naked on the cover of lovesexy

When "When Doves Cry" came out in 1984. I liked the song a lot and I wanted to have the Purple Rain album and see Purple Rain in the theaters. Problem was, I was 5 and Mom didn't go for that but I still liked him then as I do now. When I saw PR and heard the PR album 4 years later, I knew I was always going to be a Prince fan.

when I found out Prince plays musical instruments and Michael doesn't.

I liked the music, but wasn't so much a fan until I saw his ass in the transparent lacy pants in the Prince & The Revolution video and then it was over.

A couple of years ago, I had that video on and told my (adult) son to come see something. I paused it, said this is the 5 seconds that changed our little world... To say the least, he thinks I'm
[Edited 2/21/09 13:19pm]

When I heard the b side of the Purple Rain 12", God vocal and instrumental, that was IT for me, sublime!

When I heard P control and I actually listened to a artist that wasn't Hip Hop I knew I was a fan. The Gold Experience was my 1st Prince album but FAN album was Emancipation. I've been a fan since 1996

When my weekly car CD mix was full of Prince songs and nothing else.

When I got My Songs Muted by his Camp!!!

When I saw him on Solid Gold doing Little Red Corvette. And the song was on the radio alot. I ran to Alexanders and bought the double album for 6.99 on sale.

In college, when I went from saying "I respect him as a musician" to "I can't wait till his next album comes out!" Probably right after "Sign 'O' the Times". I also remember being crushed because I couldn't see the Lovesexy tour. Yeah, around then...

When i endured days of taunts from my narrow minded primary school peers in primary 7. Even at that tender age i was being labelled with names such as "sausage smuggler" and "shirt lifter". At that point i knew i was a fan.

When I first saw the video for 1999 in 1982.
Then the Little Red Corvette came out single came out and I bought it and I have been hooked on Prince music ever since.

It has been 26 wonderful years.

florescent said:

When Prince was doing the school dance curcuit.

Prince'Sarah

florescent said:

Another '78 here! Yeah, high school wasn't very Prince aware, that's why I loved TMBGITW: people were singing a Prince song in school!

To answer your Q: my brother was a Prince fan since '84, so I didn't really have a choice. I remember dancing to Around the world in a day, but I became Prince-conscious since '91.

The Purple rain concert back in 84' to see him is to always wanna see him!

I've always been aware of Prince and his music through the 80's but it wasn't until the Diamonds and Pearls album came out and that was the turning point for me. I've been a huge fan ever since.

Yeah, Diamonds & Pearls did it for me as well. Then I discovered the other albums.

After i saw purple rain

I was born in 1977. When I was young, I'd say around the age of 7, my mother would clean the house while I played in the living room waiting for her to complete her chores.
But, every Saturday before cleaning, mom would put on her Prince record. One of those big ole records on the record player. I remember that as I listened I could not stay still. Loved jumpng and dancing around the living room while listening to Prince music. One of her fav's was Little Red Corvette. Anyway, He was the first music I asked for. And as I got older she began buying me my own Prince music. When I rached my teenage years and started purchasing my own music I made sure to purchase any Prince music I could find (going back to the Prince album) and have loved him ever since.
So, really...I feel like I have been a fan for all my life. At the early age of 7 I was loving his music. It was strange....I remember thinking that it was the best sound to ever enter my ears. And that has never changed. It speaks to my heart, soul, and mind....and his music always has different ways of touching my life.

1993...second year of Secondary school. My mate I had lent me Diamonds & Pearls, and I loved "Thunder". So I asked if I could borrow some more of his Prince stuff and he only had The Hits collection so I grabbed that. I can still remember the night I sat with the headphones on listening to it on my dads huge stack system. I was a fan right from the off; I was completely blown away!
[Edited 2/22/09 8:24am]

TGE did it for me. When I was a kid I liked When Doves Cry but I wasn't allowed to watch mtv back then(I was raised pretty religiously, not so much anymore) One day when I was on a school bus ride home, this song came on(7) & I asked my friend who it was & when he told me I was like oh. Then I was in the mall one day & I saw TGE album cover & it was over from there.

Love ...thy will be done

Right after my alien abduction.

When I Heard Sexy Dancer,Then When I Heard Head On Dirty Mind,And Then Came Controversy,I Was Hooked,1,2, The Evolution Will Be Colorized O+>

unity225 said:

That's what did it for me too. Since then, I've been a complete purple paisley funk lovin freak!

well i'd have to say darling nikki and baby i'm a star was when i got hooked. been listening since very young as my dad always have him on from 1980 onwards but once i heard those tracks i had to get more and have been on a prince fix daily since

Hearing Let's go Crazy on my Sony Walkman.

Only really knew the big hits up until then ( Little Red, 1999, Doves...)

The Puprle Rain cassette didn't leave the walkman for 6 months.....
[Edited 2/22/09 13:36pm]

when a girl at school lent me Controversy tape ( ha ha walkmans and tapes ) and i heard do me baby.....!!!!

here iam some 15 years later with two prince related tatoos and a happiness of music in my mind.....