... was the single released in the UK in 1999 or 2000?

According to Sleevographia there was a EUR release on vinyl, 2 records with most of the remixes on it. There was also a promo 12" released in GBR.

ernestsewell said:

Thanks v much Ernest - that's a dedicated Prince fan over at Sleeveographia (which I hadn't head of until now!). Odd that out of all the info they provide over there they don't say which year the singles were released in!

Here's what happens when you type the song title into Google.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w..._Ever_Sold

Questions answered.

I think the single was released in the fall 1999, and the video in early 2000. The video was released when the song was absolutely dead on the hitlists, far too late...

That's how I recall it. Not 100% sure though.

thedance said:

Sounds right. It was like waiting forever for a video, and at that point, no one cared about it anyway. The song is horrible, and was a poor choice for a lead single. Prince should have listened to Clive Davis about releasing that song first. It should have been something huge like "So Far So Pleased" or "Baby Knows" with a great video with the guest singer(s). Two fast songs, then a ballad (Man O War), then one more upbeat song again. Hell with Chuck D onboard, a song like "Undisputed" could have been a great song on the radio show. So much potential on that album. So little effort in some ways.

thedance said:

I like this song, especially the remix.

^ Me too, great song TGRES... I don't like So Far So Pleased or Baby Knows...

>> I don't agree with Ernest on this.

thedance said:

If it wasn't for Rave2Joy I wouldn't even be on this website.

Really..... how could that happen,

explain..

thedance said:

That's how I became a fan, at the age of 8, when they were giving the album out in the club/resturant back in the day.

Craig Mack

xlr8r said:

What? The rapper?

NastradumasKid said:

Yeah. Thats what the remix etc reminds me of, Flavor In Your Ear

xlr8r said:

Well, Q-tip is in it.

thedance said:

Love this song...listen to it @ least 3-4 times a week while in the car

"The Greatest Romance that's ever been sold," is a beautiful song. And I love the video. Anyone that doesn't like this song must be a cranky punk rocker that only gets thrilled by jumping off a stage into a beer flooded floor.

I used to think that Prince admited with that song his love story was never true ...

zucris said:

I think it's more about the dissolution of his marriage.

beatsneedrhymes said:

To answer the original question, "The Greatest Romance Ever Sold" was released as a single in the UK in February 2000.

ernestsewell said:

I bought the 12" promo recently in a secondhand record shop for £5 I also have the the cd with 4 mixes and the US cd with 8 mixes. It's a brilliant song, one of my favorites.

TGRES is a great song but not a single

Thibaut said:

I thought it was an incredible conceptual view on love and the challenges of relationships... love this song... the song's exploration of how love causes someone to leave from being a single intity to the gradual change of the individuals intermerging into one couple sharing similar thought, physical desires, emotional, mental and prayfully spirtual unity suggested by the line "This where U end and U and I begin..U and I begin" is pretty insightful and stunning to both the hearer of the song and possibly the writer himself.. ...did I say I love this songs and the video's examination of a deepening relationship ...the video is still breath-taking, seductive and filled with a almost 3rd person view about the interdynamics of the occurrance within a changing relationship and each person within the relationship...always felt TGRES should have been released as a single with major video and radio promotion...it had the style, musical arrangement, electic format and a "I know what U mean" feel in the story-telling to highlight, the any person view, about the changing dynamics of love. ...and that was a wonderfully intriquing video, but released, too long after the song was initially released...it was not shown during the songs highest radio and internet play... I don't ever remember it ever being in a concert or on any live television preformance. I think it could have been one of Prince's best songs that touched and reached that gray area in individuals about the excitement, seduction, sexuality, joys, uncertainities, as well as, the highs, ebbs and lows of becoming one...or becoming two again as a relationship dissolves......P.S... Prince looked fine in this video... one of my favorite songs, period

kok said:

Good grief. are you kidding? The video isn't "breath taking". No one loses their breath or is surprised watching that video. It's not Citizen Kane or something.

The song is the weakest on the album, and the video was too late, and no one cared. Clive Davis was right to try and fight Prince on releasing it as a lead single (or as a single at all). I blame that song's release for the overall failure of a decent album.

ernestsewell said:

sorry I don't agree with U. .....I think it is visual breath-taking in format, concept and imagery...and I already stated the video was released much to late for it to make a significate impact or work in conjuction or partnership with the cd or it's release... Marketing and P.R. is major factor and if the artist is met with resistance on it's release, it may not have recieved, the marketing it desired...and I don't feel it was the cause of the album not making a significate impact in the top 10...but the song was in the top 30 or 40 ...by the way a album is never a failure when U share what U want to say and express it in a way that connects on a deeper level with so many... every song has a different flavor and ambiance and can not be compared with it's predcessor ...every album is not a Sign O The Times, Purple Rain or even a For You or my favorite Emancipation...a commericial success?...a lot a commerical successes are not the greatest songs....there is a fine line between a temporary appeal, who or what's hot, good or great music and music that makes an emotional impact... Sometimes it Rains In April, The Joy In Repetition, Adore etc, were not lead singles or made no.1 but are highly respected songs that were not commerical successes...By the way when ever has a Prince song been judged to be successful by it's commercial success? Emancipation went platinum on the internet.. By the way, Clive Davis, is wonderfully respected but has not be perfect or always on point, with his handling of those who he represented..if U don't fit a certain signature sometimes he missed the mark (Phyllis Hyman for one and Kelly Clarkston and his differences for another) he is not infallible, he is like Prince, just human and subject to making mistakes like human's do... as for Ur thoughts that just because U don't like TGRES well, that the beauty of music, U can embrace or reject what doesn't appeal to U or touch U on some level, as U know many people don't embrace Ur feelings about the song, including me....and to me this remains a wonderfully orchastrated, well- written, stylized and insightful look into the interdynamics of a relationship
becoming one or the painful dissolution of a loving relationship...P.S. the conversation was not talking about Citizen Kane or any other movie, we were just talking about music. .. sorry, I'm not the one...love this song
[Edited 6/23/09 10:39am]
[Edited 6/23/09 10:44am]
[Edited 6/23/09 10:47am]

kok said:

Maybe you've just not seen a lot of great music videos. I understand that limited point of view now.



He was right in thinking TGRES wasn't a great lead single, especially when you have stronger, MUCH stronger, songs like "So Far So Pleased", "Baby Knows", "Prettyman", or "Wherever U Go, Whatever U Do". It should never have been a single. Not everything Prince does is a smart move. "If I Was Your Girlfriend" almost stalled SOTT's popularity on the charts, but an upbeat, more radio friendly song like "U Got The Look" saved it and propelled it into pop history. "Sexy MF" did the same thing with because no one could play it on the radio. Yet you get videos and songs like "My name is Prince" and "The Morning Papers" out there, and it generates more interest. Even Chaos and Disorder could have sold a bit more, but with the belabored point of being a slave, and a weak first single "Dinner With Delores", it barely made gold status (if that). But what if the title track was released? Might've been different. Emancipation suffered a bit because of a ballad "Betcha By Golly Wow" coming out first instead of something like "Sleep Around", which practically BEGGED for a CDs worth of remixes, yet was ignored.

Tame said:

that must be me
i got the album and the single greatest romance... but i just don´t like the songs and i think the album it´s over produced..
not saying i´m right, just my feelings for the album

I have to agree, there were some very strong potential singles on Rave but TGRES was not one of them. Maybe as a 4th single... maybe.

Baby Knows, So Far So Pleased, Wherever U Go.... all would have been far better.

I think The Sun, The Moon and Stars might have been an interesting choice. It's at least funky and different.

TGRES is just too plastic, too boring, and frankly is soulless.

NoVideo said:

Exactamundo!

ernestsewell said:

Was he right or did TGRES get people to the table.: ..yes, I agree, the other songs were very good but out of that album, TGRES, is the song that is most remembered and touches a core response...I still hear it playing in other people's car cd players....U Got The Look is catchy but it is the video that re-enforced it ...If I Was Your Girlfriend did not have a video, to support it, and it is still the ....Morning Papers is the bomb but I doubt it would have faired much better when the company marketing and providing the P.R.team supporting three cds did not put it out there, keep it out there and make it do what it could do...no one said Prince was infallable...remember my statement, he like Clive Davis, have been off point at times, he, like Prince.... are human... and humans make mistakes...like the two examples I mention above....Emancipation's lead video, BBGW, the video included dancing by Dominque Dauws, who was steaming hot from winning a gold metal in the Olympics and it was a wise move to feature her in the video to get people to watch the video... Emancipation didn't suffer from ,releasing Betcha By Golly Wow as the lead video...how would people know about Curious Child, One Kiss At A Time, I Can't Make U Love Me, Dreamin About U, Face Down, SMLFW, or other songs in that cd, if the Lead song mainly sold on the internet, wasn't drawn in by BBGW.... that song is still played at weddings...especially the Prince version, as well as, the original Stylistic version, even now...and why was that the wrong song to release first, Prince and Mayte were happily in love and expecting a child, which the song had used as a pretext, and that brought a legion of new Prince fans to the table... not just those stuck and finding it difficult to embrace his newer evolving style from his previous style...many new and old fans loved his new romantic transition but BBGW was still was electic enough to be called a Prince joint... by the way, who are you to say what is right for him at that time in his life to release.... that song help propelled Emancipation and it still went platinum without much radio play. ..he felt it so he dealt it... ...and about your opionion about my percieved a limited point of view on video .. who said your opionion is the .... you could not be implying only your opionion was it ... maybe if you free your mind the rest will follow