So when you think back as to how you became a fan of Prince.... What is your first memory? What image/song/symbol did you in to become a Prince lover forever?

What made me become a hard core fan is when a friend of mine made me watch "Purple Rain" for the first time.. I'm only 25 so I missed the big hype of when the album and movie made its magical debut.. So after viewing that movie many years later need less to say I was sucked in for life and that is my first memory of Prince!

"I Wanna Be Your Lover" on the radio and in the skating rinks. Then seeing him perform it on "American Bandstand" later that year.

My first memory of the Purple one was a tv broadcast of a gig from the Purple Rain tour on uk tv, it was 1984 or 85 when the gig was broadcast. My older sister was a prince fan and was watching it, i joined her at the tv, i was 16 years old. It was that gig that made me a fan.....Good times.

LRC and 1999. In 1983.

When Doves Cry the video and song.

Side One:
Upside Down - Diana Ross
Funkytown - Lipps Inc.
Cupid/I've Loved You For A Long Time - Spinners
Let's Get Serious - Jermaine Jackson
I Wanna Be Your Lover - Prince
The Empire Strikes Back (Melody) - Meco
I Was Made For Lovin' You - Kiss
You Better Run - Pat Benatar

Side Two:
Steal Away - Robbie Dupree
Tired of Toein' the Line - Rocky Burnette
Let Me Love You Tonight - Pure Prairie League
Do That To Me One More Time - Captain & Tenille
Lost in Love - Air Supply
Take A Little Rhythm - Ali Thomson
Into the Night - Benny Mardones

The hits from Purple Rain.

^ what a sweet pic....

The gleaming cut out symbol stage being empowered by a marching band in the wet heat of the moment as an ambiguous flamboyant petite man thundered through his set perfectly "closing" (I'd say just starting) with the most inspirational piece of Heaven I've heard up to my impressionable age in life with the help of an intricate guitar that seemingly matched his stage boasting of what control he had reigns of amongst millions of viewers, that of including my screaming mother jumping off the couches in nostalgic excitement ...a side of her i've never, nor my dad's apparently , seen before in my life.


yeah yeah i'm young. it's so cool some of you guys have old school retro memories

He made an appearance on Solid Gold performing Little Red Corvette.
I thought he looked kind of strange. But then Culture Club mad
an appearance that same year I believe, and I had to put everything
in perspective.

"1999" "When Doves Cry" "Raspberry Beret" "Little Red Corvette" im only 19. ive been into prince for as long as i can remember. i grew up listening to his music

vainandy said:

same for me...what a great time & memorable time

I remember hearing 1999 and Little Red Corvette on the radio but didn't become a big fan until Purple Rain. I then bought all the old albums. I started getting the 12" singles around the time of Sign O' The Times. Then I started to collect the 12" mixes not realizing their were hundreds upon hundreds of different pressings

thedance said:

thanks

I owe becoming a Prince fan to my dad,he played The Batman soundtrack
for me when i was just 5. I loved all the songs except for Arms of Orion. 3 of my greatest heroes when i was just 5 were Prince,Batman,and Michael Jackson. I would be in 1st grade and the teachers would tell us to draw whatever we want. I would draw those 3. Then i started buying all the batman,mj and prince vhs tapes i could. i had and have them all ever since i was 6. I remember going to the mall and finding the Sign of the times vhs and asking the clerk if it was really Prince cuz he looked a lot different from purple rain with the glasses and all.

me 5 years old in '81.i had 6 aunts.4 were teenagers and 1 had just bought controversy.they played it like it was the last album on earth.btw they played it on one nof those big old school box stereos

I read about Purple Rain in a german magazine for teenagers. They had a photostory about the movie. But that didn't have any impact. I even stood in front of a cinema with a big purple rain poster but I didn't want to see it.

My next memorable moment was the Kiss single. I hated it back then because it was "too sexual" for me. I was 13 when it came out and was in a very romantic mood, very idealistic. I wasn't into "fucking" at all, I really disliked princes image.

Everything changed in 1988 when I needed some music for a one-week lomg trip to the netherlands with my school class. So I went to a music store and bought some albums on cassette. I really can't tell you why I bought the Lovesexy album back then, because I didn't knew just one song from it. I think I was fascinated by the cover artwork. Whatever it was, I'm very glad that I bought it, because it opened a whole new world for me. Listening to "alphabet street" was the first time I felt the mighty FUNK in my bones, and all those musical ideas packed in one album blew me away.
When I came back home from my trip to holland I bought prince's whole back catalogue within a few months.
[Edited 2/27/10 22:12pm]

"Right On" magazine. His 1st interview w/ Cynthia Horner. This was when he had the big fro, leather jacket and the little ankh symbol around his neck.

He said his favorite foods were mashed yeast, Bubble Yum and he wanted to have the world's 1st test tube baby.

I still have that mag somewhere.

SPYZFAN1 said:

thats pretty hilarious

hearing 'delirious' on the radio when it was first released

I was about 5 years old and saw "Cream" video on tv. I wanted to look just like Michael B.

In high school, hearing "Soft & Wet" on the radio for the first time.

Actually, believe it or not, I was introduced to Prince by a Rastaman!
For real One of the baddest, funkiest Rastas on the planet

only been a fan since 2007. i went to see one of the 21 nights concerts when i was 16- the o2 is only a bus ride away from me =)
only knew the songs "musicology" and "kiss" at the time, and i remember seeing the videos previously and quite liking them. been absolutely hooked since seeing him live tho! what a complete legend!
the next day after seeing him i went to the o2 again for a meal, and heard him doing sound checks. amazing

I always kinda liked his music. But my 10th grade year he had just released the Batman Soundtrack, and a bunch of girls nicknamed me Prince because they thought I looked like him. They kept telling me his was awesome and I should take it as a compliment. I wouldnt give it a chance.
But one day I heard BatDance and Party Man on the radio, i decided to buy the album. Electric Chair was the final blow that won me over. I didnt realize how cool, funky and great this guy was!
From there, I started buying all his albums and any boots I could get my hands on.
Almost All entries in my 10th, 11th, and 12th grade annuals are addressed to "Prince II"

Ahhh..the good ol' days

1978 - Junior High.
"Why are all these girls walking around school with Prince bookcovers, and who is that girl singing that funky ass song "soft & wet" on the radio? Man I have to get that song!
I never made the connection til weeks later. I was hooked for life!
[Edited 2/28/10 13:22pm]

Introduced by my sister in 1991 hearing Gett Off i knew prince existed but wasnt interested i thought he wore wacky clothes then my sister took me to glasgow to see the D&P concert and wow never looked back i just wanted everything he created

See I love all of your posts so far!! I always feel it is much needed to look back sometimes....it makes you appricate the old days more.. to look back to how you were at that point in your life and what you were doing at that time.. and it makes you appriciate the artist and his music alot more. oh the fond memories!

insatiable3 said:

Taking a hot shower!