I am a long term fan of both Prince and Morrissey yet only recently after purchasing the book "The Smiths - songs that changed your life" did I read to my astonishment that the Morrissey song "Late Night, Maudlin Street" was perforated by a drum sample from Prince's Housequake.

I must admit it came as a complete surprise to me. It was producer Stephen Street that did it. Listening to the song I can hear the distinctive drum beat.
Morrissey getting funky

You might not care but I found it rather interesting nonetheless

I've actually wondered what Morrissey thought about prince being that Prince is a vegan.

I've even written him into several fan fiction threads here with Prince.


He was actually supposed to be the 'other' person in post #33 here: http://prince.org/msg/7/251739

I chose Kevin Federline instead cause I wanted a celebrity who was more relevant to the lives of most folks in this forum.

I just found it fascinating that two of the most influential artists in music from the last 25 years and I've never heard this fact before.

Had anyone else ever known about Housequake being sampled in this way? Must say it shocked me.

Having been this shocked about Prince's music since I heard that The Jesus and Mary Chain once did a cover version of Alphabet St...I kid you not

BobPaisleyPark said:

Afghan Whigs did a lot of Prince covers too..even inserted a quick rendition of HQ live once.

xlr8r said:

Never knew this either.

More interesting Prince and indie band facts.

Did you know that the ethereal sound that distinguishes the Lovesexy album came about as Prince was avidly listening to The Cocteau Twins at the time.
He tried to sign the band to his Paisley Park label but lead singer Elisabeth Fraser declined the offer.
[Edited 10/12/09 17:55pm]

BobPaisleyPark said:

?! YOu kiddin me?

Awesome! I can hear CT in Glam Slam kind of. That guitar psychadelic slam sound.

Imago said:

I'd love to know what he thinks of him as well. Has Prince ever mentioned Morrissey or The Smiths? Probably not.

I know Morrissey once said of Prince "if he had have come from Wigan, he'd be dead by now"

God knows what he meant by this.

I knew Johnny Marr and the other two members of The Smiths were huge fans of the SOTT album and listened to it religiously when it was released.

xlr8r said:

Exactly...that's pure CT. Also I Wish U heaven sounds like the CT song IceBlink Luck.

If you ever purchase the CT best of "Stars and Topsoil" it contained a booklet about the band's history and the story of P trying to sign them is contained in it.

BobPaisleyPark said:

and parts of Lovesexy..or lets say "the production" of the song

BobPaisleyPark said:[quote]

Imago said:

I know Morrissey once said of Prince "if he had have come from Wigan, he'd be dead by now"

God knows what he meant by this.

quote]
Probably because Wigan is a very working class, Northern town. In such places one becomes a target if one dares to stand out and look different.
I actually visit the town on a regular basis and although I've never been attacked I have been threatened because I dress a little differently to the majority.

So Morrissey probably meant that Prince would have been severely beaten up if he came from Wigan for being a "fag/wuss/queer/poof"... insert your own offensive remark.

Imago said:

You are such a bastard.

squirrelgrease said:

im sorry where is there a familiar P thing here ?
[Edited 10/12/09 21:27pm]

fingertips said:

Great track.

I'm assuming the sample is in the recorded version.

Shall be whipping it out tonight.

y'all r SOO RIGHT. I just liostened to a snippet in iTunes...it SO is right there...lol

BobGeorge909 said:

Yep it's there.

Now it's just distracting!

Oh well, always preferred live versions of the song anyway.

Morrissey used to call Prince, Ponce. That and the Wigan quote suggests he wasn't a fan. That said Moz was highly critical of virtually all black artists.

As suggested above I doubt he had any input into Street's sampling.

Dsoul said:

I recall a rumour in 1990 that Moz & P were planning on recording together. It obviously never happened but it was big news at the time.

The sample was almost definitely brought in by Stephen Street. He's a big fan of funk and provided the music to Morrissey's lyrics on Viva Hate.

interesting.....you can hear it here

http://www.amazon.com/Viv...188&sr=8-5

i would haved loved to have known that when Suedehead came out because i was always getting in arguments over who was a better artist - Morrissey or Prince - with some co-worker at a record shop

by the way, Suedehead is my favorite by him....is there anything else he has done that compares to this?
[Edited 10/29/09 23:51pm]

Im going to get shot down here but IMHO The Smiths/Morrissey are/is so overated its criminal.
The epitome of dour.

japanrocks said:

I'm biased but virtually everything Smiths or Morrissey is excellent. A few solo b-sides etc are weaker but otherwise the albums are strong.

an overarted, self obsessed wanker with only 1 sound to his name.

funkyhead said:

Why use this criticism if you're a Prince fan?

xlr8r said:

"Going To Town" is based on Housequake. They wrote it while high on shrooms and listening to HQ.

xlr8r said:

They sure did. Dulli's new band, the Twilight Singers, have performed a number of Prince tunes as well. (And recorded "When Doves Cry" for the Spin tribute, of course)

BobPaisleyPark said:

I think you are hearing a lot more than is there - the drum rhythm is not the same and it is not a loop that has been sampled, just a drum hit that is used.

And, I think you'd be surprised at how many times Prince has been sampled. I've got a track by Luke Vibert and BJ Cole that samples the mad synth segue before Head on Dirty Mind. http://www.youtube.com/wa...jcLTlcGpo8 - check it out at 55 seconds in

Dsoul said:

lol !