Was watching my local music channel on TV... Saw The Most beautiful girl in the world video when it was released..

I was like that Felt something down my spine, fell in love. He was so fascinating.. I was instantly hooked.

databank said:

Through an odd guy who dresses as a bat at night instead of smoking his bloody millions

I was 12, I was a comics fan, I wanted the soundtrack just for the sake of it. I happened 2 love it and it changed my life

I remember seeing the video in 89 and was a little scared but I love it so much now

When it comes to a lot of things that have been huge in my life, I seem to take the side entrance more often than the obvious: I saw so-and-so, LOVEd what they did and instantly became a fan or whatever...

Prince was one of those cases.

My first introduction was very brief: my dad's mix CD that had songs often played at the go-go bars back in the day... after "Stairway to Heaven," there were the last two songs featured in Purple Rain. "I would die 4 u" blew my mind so much I hated to see it end, therefore I didn't care much for "Baby I'm a star" for the longest time

also briefly saw the video for "1999" just before 1999 the year came around

I remember it being summertime, it being a weekend. flipping through the channels, dad says to stop at one channel (this was before TV guides being a click of a button away)... I have zero interest in most cases seeing movies unless I catch them at the very beginning.

"Purple Rain" being half over, I didn't see the point. But I was encouraged to stick around.

That was my first taste of independant film because it just had that feel all over it. Plus I think it was the first movie I saw that really had no white people in the cast I didn't see a lot of minorities growing up

Race became the last thing on my mind when the movie got me hooked. I couldn't quite explain it, but there was something about Prince's determination and his talent. When I started listening to my own music, it was the bubblegum pop highway of Britney Spears and boybands (late 90's, early 2K), and I didn't really know too well about what it meant to be a true musician. The kind who live for their craft to the point they'd die for it (at this point, I hadn't seen "Amadeus" yet, but I knew Mozart was a prodigy who died in the prime of his life as a result of his adoration of his music... and some other disease that I can never remember)...

The strangest part to all this was my recollection of the last club scenes is very spotty regarding that first time. I remembered "The Bird" performance quite well, my dad thought it was ridiculous ...but I didn't remember "Purple Rain"... knowing myself at the time, when I was thinking "when's this gonna be over" about Stairway to Heaven, I was probably not hipped to that groove until several years later (2007) when I saw the movie in its entrity...

but... given that I was very familiar with the last two songs, I was in awe about how they were translated to the stage with the instruments, the choreography and all that. Like my jaw literally dropped and I couldn't take my eyes off Prince.

I think for the first 10 minutes afterwards, I was saying how incredible all that was and maybe at one point, I got told "that's enough" a little jokingly... it was dinnertime

like a lot of movies later on in life, I remembered being affected by it so much that I had to see the whole thing ("The Dark Crystal" was among the ones I finally managed to see the entirity of recently)... its just a matter of remembering that they were that mind-blowing

Purple Rain was always kinda in the back of my head, never really surfacing but deep down, I knew what it was like. Prince did a few TV spots here and there in 2006... he headlined the HalfTime show the following February... basically that was it... I had to start investigating and here I am 4 years later...

Radio play, on the school bus. It was a what is that sound, that voice? I was sold.

When I was around 12 I got tapes of Diamonds And Pearls and Graffiti Bridge.

The same year I bought on CD after finally getting my first CD player.

I could not recall exact time - that was twice

1) when Batman was released - I LOVED that song in the scene with appearance of Joker (played by Jack Nicholson).

I did not know who was that - but song was very interesting for me.

2) there was a music programme on Ulrainian TV called "Skyscrapers" (a kind of MTV but with focus on GOOD and popular music)/

And as song "The most beautiful girl..." was printed in my heart

I was 11 at the time and could already play drums and piano - I was just starting to get seriously interested in music. "When Doves Cry" came on the radio and I just loved it, so went out and bought the single, then the album. Saw the film and thought it was one of the best things ever - then realised there was already a quite hefty back catalogue. As I learned more about him (multi-instrumentalist, producer etc etc), this inspired me to learn more instruments and recording techniques.

I set about obtaining his back catalogue (Dirty Mind was the next album I bought - blew me away) and the love affair and education continued on from there. I think I'd pretty much bought all his preceding albums by the time ATWIAD dropped and have maintained buying his work as it comes out ever since.

What a joy it has been

my earliest memory of prince is when i was around 3 years old i used to listen to the purple rain album on a morning whilst getting ready for nursery

steelyd said:

smokeverbs said:

The Electrifying Mojo.

Ditto!!! Well first it started when I was 10yrs old with hearing I Wanna Be Your Lover on WLBS in Detroit. A few years later, The Electrifying Mojo got me liking the Controversy album...I thought it was creepy at first. Also, Mojo and his Prince/ Prince Protege hours played "Irresistable Bitch" uncut at midnight...I thought Prince was musically sick & brilliant...been a huge fan of his ever since then.

I'd also like to give a special shout out to Nat Morris & The Scene for having the Time & Vanity 6 as guest & showing Prince's early videos and Dirty Mind concert clips.

[Edited 12/5/11 6:06am]

Co-Sign on The Scene, TV-62, 6pm baby!

My mom was playing Prince songs on the computer 2 years ago. Her Bf commeted that he's a hermaphodite(hence the female, male symbol). I overheard that conversation and I was bored so I looked up Prince to see the symbol he was talking about. I was like

I saw his picture when I googled him Fell in LOVE!!!! I didn't know he was HOTT!!! Especially since he is older than my parents.

So he sparked my curiosity and i read the whole wikipedia article on him. I wondered if he had kids then, I found out that he lost a baby and I felt sad...(that probably contributed to me being so loyal to him) so then i guessed i was hooked from then. I found this place and well here i am!!

Musically, I was hooked once I listened to Raspberry Beret. I put it on repeat and finally decided that Prince was my Favorite artist.

i remember prince from the 80's but took proper interest after my bloke dragged me to a concert 2007, i was like wow, all these people actually like prince?!! i'd never heard controversy b4 & wanted more..

My parents and siblings.

babyjubilation said:

My mom was playing Prince songs on the computer 2 years ago. Her Bf commeted that he's a hermaphodite(hence the female, male symbol). I overheard that conversation and I was bored so I looked up Prince to see the symbol he was talking about. I was like

I saw his picture when I googled him Fell in LOVE!!!! I didn't know he was HOTT!!! Especially since he is older than my parents.

So he sparked my curiosity and i read the whole wikipedia article on him. I wondered if he had kids then, I found out that he lost a baby and I felt sad...(that probably contributed to me being so loyal to him) so then i guessed i was hooked from then. I found this place and well here i am!!

Musically, I was hooked once I listened to Raspberry Beret. I put it on repeat and finally decided that Prince was my Favorite artist.

That sounds so pure and cute

babyjubilation said:

My mom was playing Prince songs on the computer 2 years ago. Her Bf commeted that he's a hermaphodite(hence the female, male symbol). I overheard that conversation and I was bored so I looked up Prince to see the symbol he was talking about. I was like

I saw his picture when I googled him Fell in LOVE!!!! I didn't know he was HOTT!!! Especially since he is older than my parents.

So he sparked my curiosity and i read the whole wikipedia article on him. I wondered if he had kids then, I found out that he lost a baby and I felt sad...(that probably contributed to me being so loyal to him) so then i guessed i was hooked from then. I found this place and well here i am!!

Musically, I was hooked once I listened to Raspberry Beret. I put it on repeat and finally decided that Prince was my Favorite artist.

my grandma is only 5 years older than him

carinemjj said:

babyjubilation said:

My mom was playing Prince songs on the computer 2 years ago. Her Bf commeted that he's a hermaphodite(hence the female, male symbol). I overheard that conversation and I was bored so I looked up Prince to see the symbol he was talking about. I was like

I saw his picture when I googled him Fell in LOVE!!!! I didn't know he was HOTT!!! Especially since he is older than my parents.

So he sparked my curiosity and i read the whole wikipedia article on him. I wondered if he had kids then, I found out that he lost a baby and I felt sad...(that probably contributed to me being so loyal to him) so then i guessed i was hooked from then. I found this place and well here i am!!

Musically, I was hooked once I listened to Raspberry Beret. I put it on repeat and finally decided that Prince was my Favorite artist.

That sounds so pure and cute

yeah, it's a sweet story

I heard Soft and Wet on the radio in the summer of 1978. I've been hooked ever since.

the music found me while in a bar dancing. but the bigger picture of being introduced was in 84 when my sister, 11 years younger, came to florida and begged me to take her to see purple rain. that was really the beginning seeing him on the screen - in this life.

i would also like to add that my sister has taken awful actions 2wards me as she is a methadone addict trying to kick the addiction. surpringly, the only ground that broke her attack on me was her approcahing me about prince. she loves prince beyond words and i pray that the Light which she identifies with in him is such that she realizes it to be the same Light in her and hence kick the addiction permanently.

I'd known Prince from hearing my sister play singles from Controversy and 1999. I never paid much attention, though.

Then I heard "Let's Go Crazy" in the trailer for Purple Rain. I was hooked.

I was introduced to him by my mom who showed me Purple Rain

During the 80's a woman friend of mine loved his Purple Rain era, but I never liked him. But I was a big Batman fan so I picked up the album for Batdance. Then, Thieves In the Temple came out the next year, so I picked up Graffiti Bridge. That was the first time I really went out in search of buying a Prince album, as Batman was more for the movie than Prince. After that, Diamonds and Pearls hit with that MTV performance of Gett Off and I was hooked. My love for his music just continued to grow with The Symbol Album, The B-Sides, Come, Exodus...and by the time Gold Experience hit, no other artist even came close for me anymore.

That was THE ALBUM for me. And in many ways, still is.

I know everyone loves his 80's stuff more, but for me, it's his 90's work - Graffiti Bridge to Emancipation - that really is my own personal 'Prince Era'. When I think of Prince, I think first and foremost of D&P, Symbol and Gold. Wow, just such an exciting time period! Going to the stores to hunt down bootlegs, and getting Uptown from Tower Records -- all without the internet. It was sometimes more about the search than whatever bootleg or treasured single I might find. While I love the 24/7 access of the internet, those of you who remember scrounging around all over town for hidden Prince stuff back in the day, might know what I mean about how much fun that all was.

when i was 5 or 7 my cousin was playing erotic city in my grandmas basement and he asked me to sing along. my cousin explained to me about cherries but the lyrics just made me think of those cherries on the pacman game. but my obsession officially bloomed with graffiti bridge, when i more consciously met his music.

Wow...I was born in 1974, and was fortunate that my Mom loved Prince from the start, thus, I have been listening to Prince since I was like 4 haha!! I think I began to become a true fan...I mean "a believer"... when I was around 8 or 9. It was then that I fell in love with a song that a child of that age probably should not have been listening to, "Let's Pretend We're Married". I had no clue, but I loved the beat, and I still do.

When I was little, TMBGITW and Diamonds and Pearls were my favorite songs, but I really got into Prince when I was allowed to watch PR the full movie at 16 after that The Beautiful Ones captivated my heart and then spark the love for LRC again because as a teen I always loved that song. Well in my dorm, 2006 I was known as the girl to bump Prince, but it wasn't until two years ago I spotted GB and Under The Cherry Moon on Netflix, I lost my mind and watched them.. googled Prince, came across this site and got deeper into his music, hearing the songs that I never heard before. IT's been history ever since, at 23 I am a huge fan now and my friends find it annoying at times... lol

I've watched the Kiss video on MTV when I was 14.

I had just turned 13, I was a diehard Michael Jackson fan and a family friend recommended me Purple Rain, The Very Best & The Gold Experience as she thought I may be interested. The first time I heard 'I Hate U', my life changed in that very moment I’d never heard music so complex, so bold, so sexy, so raw .. music that fed my soul

Let's just say Michael Jackson went out the window & I've never looked back

I was 15 in 1982 and watching MTV and "1999" and "LRC" really grabbed me and my mother bought the 1999 album and I loved it. Then Purple Rain and got all his past albums too and the rest is history..

Bought 'The Very Best Of Prince' in 2001 and went from there.

It's funny cause generally that album has a really bad rep as being a total Warners cash in which I believe Prince made a point of disassociating himself from but to me it means a lot cause it's how I became a fan!

"I Wanna Be Your Lover" on the radio in 1979.

vainandy said:

"I Wanna Be Your Lover" on the radio in 1979.

Same here--only I thought it was Sylvester!