DMSR said:

I never realized that Erotic City is clearly taken from White Horse. I'm surprised they didn't sue Prince for this.

Everyone is not familiar with what your talking about. You should add more information to what you mean.

NeonCraxx said:

Two completely different sounding songs.

What??? You can mix those two together seamlessly. As people often do.

[Edited 1/12/12 20:07pm]

Are you guys aware that Laid Back, the duo behind White Horse are danish?

The 2 guys made a hit called Sunshine Reggae with the b-side White Horse.

White Horse never became a hit in Denmark or the rest of Europe, like Sunshine Reggae did.

But am american radio station flipped the single and White Horse got a lot of airplay.

The single was released and White Horse became their biggest hit over there.

The story is a little longer, the dansih devision of their record company said to the 2 guys who both are white: "Don't go and show your faces in America, cuz everyone thinks you are some cool black guys over there, they will just get disappointed.."

So afaik Laid Back never went to America to make any promotion, reason everyone thought they were black.

Laid Back had several hits in Denmark, the latest being "Baker Man", a song from the early 1990's, the music video is made by famous movie director Lars Von Trier who is danish also.

I love White Horse, but I don't hear the song in Erotic City, 2 different songs, imo...

the video to "Baker Man" by Laid Back, video by Lars Von Trier:

I once heard the two boys on tv. Prince had told them that he got inspired by their hit - I think it was white horse. (Whey were very proud )They didn't mention what song Prince made from White Horse, but I paid more attention to what song it could be. I think "Positivity" from LoveSexy is very good guess.

from WikiP:

Guldberg and Stahl met in the mid-1970s... Guldberg set up a small studio in downtown Copenhagen where the two musicians began exploring the possibilities that were being opened up by new technologies, such as multitrack tape recorders, synthesizers and drum machines.

Their first album, simply titled Laid Back, was released in 1981, and the single "Maybe I'm Crazy" became a number-one hit in Denmark. The next year, the single "Sunshine Reggae" was released, and became another chart-topper in their home country; it was later included on the band's second album, Keep Smiling, in 1983, and went on to become a number-one single in Italy, West Germany, and nineteen other countries around the world.

In the US, however, it was the single's B-side that became the band's only big hit. "White Horse" is a funk-influenced dance track with a memorable bassline and ambiguous, drug- and/or sex-themed lyrics ("white horse" being slang for heroin) that became popular in US clubs.

After the song was re-released as an A-side on both 7-inch and 12-inch vinyl, it went on to spend three weeks at number one on Billboard 's National Disco Action charts; it was also a crossover success, reaching the top five on the Hot Black Singles chart while peaking at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1984. Its relatively poor performance on the Hot 100 is most likely due to the track's controversial lyrics (including the word "bitch"), which prevented it from receiving radio airplay in much of the country. (more...)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laid_Back

From my perspective, it never really sounded like a " black " song but it sounded cool and fun to dance and sing along to. I was nine around the time it came out and it did get played on the popular Black station ( KSOL in San Francisco ) along with The Fixx's One Thing Leads To Another and Fascination by The Human League because they sounded good and not too new wavey like early Depeche Mode or Soft Cell.

I thought I was the only one who felt this.

I didn't know this song, it's very possible indeed that got his inspiration from it (particularly the first notes), but he made it waaaaaaaaaaaaaay funkier

[Edited 1/13/12 5:49am]

At first I thought you were talking about White Girls the studio jam

inspired probably, he took that synth groove, made something lovely

And something better.

DMSR said:

I never realized that Erotic City is clearly taken from White Horse. I'm surprised they didn't sue Prince for this.

No it was NOT.

[Edited 1/13/12 7:57am]

I thought the purple folklore was that Prince saw George Clinton in concert and went home and wrote Erotic City.

However I have always felt EC bit off of White Horse.

I swear I used to have a tape of a Sheila E. concert (presumably opening for Prince on the Purple Rain tour) where she sang some of the White Horse lyrics during the song.

Again, like another thread that suggested that Prince "clearly' stole...I can kind of see where you get your opinion. There are some slight similarities, but it's not in "all-out copy".

Also, in order to be sued, it has to be more evident. You know, it has to sound so much like the original that you don't know which song it is unless the vocals come up and the "borrower" has to have literally stolen the song from it's creator.

Neither, appears, is the case with Erotic City and White Horse.

from the danish WikiPedia: http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laid_Back

White Horse blev et stort klubhit i USA og er betragtet som en ret stilskabende danseklassiker.

"Selv hitmageren Prince lister dette nummer som ét af hans absolutte favoritnumre fra andre kunstnere."

Translation:

White Horse became a big clubhit in the USA and is considered a trendsetting dance classic.

"Even the hitmaker Prince is listing this track as one of his absolutely favorite tracks from other artists".

^ however there's no source to back this up.

I hear very slight synth lines and sounds that could have influeneced erotic city. But out and out theft.. NO Way!

[Edited 1/13/12 11:30am]

"Sunshine Reggae" was unsuccessful in the United States, but its B-side, "White Horse," was embraced by several of the country's club DJs. Thanks to support from Prince, Warner Bros. eventually released a 12" single featuring "White Horse" and Prince's "When Doves Cry" on the same platter, increasing Laid Back's profile significantly."

http://www.answers.com/topic/laid-back-rock-band

I hear a similarity, within the first part, but I'm sure Prince has already finished the song by the time he heard it. Prince isn't a thief. He draws incpiration but he would never steal parts from other songs to make his masterpiece.

aardvark15 said:

I hear a similarity, within the first part, but I'm sure Prince has already finished the song by the time he heard it. Prince isn't a thief. He draws incpiration but he would never steal parts from other songs to make his masterpiece.

LOL

ludwig said:

aardvark15 said:

I hear a similarity, within the first part, but I'm sure Prince has already finished the song by the time he heard it. Prince isn't a thief. He draws incpiration but he would never steal parts from other songs to make his masterpiece.

LOL

LOL x2

WinterIsComing said:

I hear very slight synth lines and sounds that could have influeneced erotic city. But out and out theft.. NO Way!

[Edited 1/13/12 11:30am]

thats what i hear too, some of those warped synth lines sound similar.

to balance it up, i hear purple rain in the piano runs of this........http://youtu.be/J8_hVPI8DLM

There are a few other songs from that period or earlier that used the same recipe.

I always thought it was more influenced by Nucleaus "Jam on It" or "Pop It" by One Way...but there's definitely some similar sounds in White Horse....and I too have a vague recollection of Prince or someone during Prince shows ad libbing lines trying to get the audience to sing about riding white horses.

robertgeorgeakabob said:

WinterIsComing said:

I hear very slight synth lines and sounds that could have influeneced erotic city. But out and out theft.. NO Way!

[Edited 1/13/12 11:30am]

thats what i hear too, some of those warped synth lines sound similar.

to balance it up, i hear purple rain in the piano runs of this........http://youtu.be/J8_hVPI8DLM

That paul brady song definitely has the same chord progressions as purple rain (albeit faster). Im sure paul and his co-writers had to have mentioned it to each other lol.

[Edited 1/14/12 12:09pm]