leftcoast said:

skipp3Rn3ls0n said:

I understand it was his first time on National television and he was nervous, but...

*cringe*

PS. Wasn't he 21? He said he was 19, but I could've sworn he was 21 :\

Dick Clark was a bit of a dick. That comment about P's music not sounding like something from Minneapolis was so condescending! I don't know whether that effected the interview or not, maybe it did.

BTW - you're correct - he was 21. I read somewhere that his early handlers had told him to shave a few years off his age to make him more appealing to the teen age market.

People who live in or are used to places like NYC or LA always say dumb ignorant shit like that in reference to people and stuff from the Midwest and the South. They think it's like the real life version of "Deliverance" out here or something.

Dren5 said:

leftcoast said:

Dick Clark was a bit of a dick. That comment about P's music not sounding like something from Minneapolis was so condescending! I don't know whether that effected the interview or not, maybe it did.

BTW - you're correct - he was 21. I read somewhere that his early handlers had told him to shave a few years off his age to make him more appealing to the teen age market.

People who live in or are used to places like NYC or LA always say dumb ignorant shit like that in reference to people and stuff from the Midwest and the South. They think it's like the real life version of "Deliverance" out here or something.

I've learned to laugh about it, because the "fly over states" tend to produce a unique rare brand of genuis. Midwestern kids are forced to dream more and dream bigger because theres no movies or media in their near vacinity.

skipp3Rn3ls0n said:

I understand it was his first time on National television and he was nervous, but...

*cringe*

PS. Wasn't he 21? He said he was 19, but I could've sworn he was 21 :\

I cringe too. He acts flaming as hell and I hate lip syncing, I don't care who does it I hate it.

I don't like that performance and the interview segment was....awkward

Yes, very cringe-worthy. I read in one of the many books about Prince that it was meant as a practical joke, but to me, it's an epic fail. I try to steer as far away from that appearance as possible.

FunkySideEffects said:

This interview/performance was pretty rare, there's no way you'd ever see Prince act like this again.

But I got to say as far as cringeworthy interviews go... have you seen the Charlotte Roche interview? ...not that it was really P's fault.

Um, Prince did have another interview that was just as "awkward". Remember the one where he was wearing a red scarf over his head and would whisper the answers to Mayte, instead of simply answering them himself? Yes, Prince has done quite a few strange things.

Well the interview is definitely hard to watch, because that's exactly how I am in real life... My online personality and real life personality are completely the opposite.

leftcoast said:

skipp3Rn3ls0n said:

I understand it was his first time on National television and he was nervous, but...

*cringe*

PS. Wasn't he 21? He said he was 19, but I could've sworn he was 21 :\

Dick Clark was a bit of a dick. That comment about P's music not sounding like something from Minneapolis was so condescending! I don't know whether that effected the interview or not, maybe it did.

BTW - you're correct - he was 21. I read somewhere that his early handlers had told him to shave a few years off his age to make him more appealing to the teen age market.

I'm not seeing how that comment was condescending. Actually, the comment could have easily been taken as a compliment. Minneapolis, back in those days, wasn't exactly a music mecca. I'm pretty sure that, unless you lived there or already knew of musicians that hailed from there, the only thing known about the city was it's extremely cold winters. No, if it did have an affect on Prince, it was pure ego on his part.

As for the age thing, it was about wowing the music execs. Moon, I believe, wanted to give him an "edge". It's more impressive for someone to be 17 and possess as much talent as Prince did then to be 19 or 20. I think he got the idea from how the industry perceived/marketed Stevie Wonder in his youth.

It's written in the book that Ronin wrote. Can't remember the name off-hand, but mask was in the title.

dreamshaman32 said:

Dren5 said:

People who live in or are used to places like NYC or LA always say dumb ignorant shit like that in reference to people and stuff from the Midwest and the South. They think it's like the real life version of "Deliverance" out here or something.

I've learned to laugh about it, because the "fly over states" tend to produce a unique rare brand of genuis. Midwestern kids are forced to dream more and dream bigger because theres no movies or media in their near vacinity.

I think that statement alone sums it up.

That's why when someone like Prince finally "emerged" onto the big stage, no one knew how to "handle" him. He bought with him music that didn't fit neatly into any particular category. And then race could had played a part too. Here's this black kid that comes from some (then) "hicktown" and he's playing this music that people couldn't quite gauge, so to them it was probably a "wtf" moment. And we all know how "wtf" moments make people react.

mimi02 said:

FunkySideEffects said:

This interview/performance was pretty rare, there's no way you'd ever see Prince act like this again.

But I got to say as far as cringeworthy interviews go... have you seen the Charlotte Roche interview? ...not that it was really P's fault.

Um, Prince did have another interview that was just as "awkward". Remember the one where he was wearing a red scarf over his head and would whisper the answers to Mayte, instead of simply answering them himself? Yes, Prince has done quite a few strange things.

He did a similar thing back in '85 on the set of Under The Cherry Moon. He had the band and the cast around him and would have a girl answer all the questions asked .... in French.

all this was premeditated. he wanted to seem stand offish and aloof. also read somewhere that he took offence to dick's comment about his hometown. I did

not like the performance but the interview was strange.. loved it

.

[Edited 1/31/12 8:26am]

that interview/performance taken out of context...in other words looking back is hard to watch- knowing the performer he matured into. but if you were watching that saturday and you WERE if you had heard ANY of his music; you watched and sat there long after it was over wondering what really just happened? then you were on the phone talking about it with your friends and deejays were talking about it on the air. that little dustup got some attention.

he was an unknown quantity and had already flipped the switch between "for you" and his sophmore effort "prince", so if he was not intriguing before he became intriguing at that moment...how could HE make all that music?!?! "dirty mind" and "controversy" were just promises we had no idea of. and if it was "purple rain" that brought you on board then he was aleady a performer seasoned by the road. so yeah i hear you but i guess you had to be there.

i had not watched that interview in years, okay maybe decades until i read some of the posts here and as USUAL was taken aback by their venomous nature and had to see just WHAT was so BAD?? and though i would have sworn before that i'd never be grateful to the haters who always seem to be spoiling for a back-and-forth, i am because i looked back and felt transported to that moment when i got confirmation that a new artist that i was into long before he was famous, was going to take it all the way. it gave me goosebumps AGAIN! so thank you guys!

no doubt that performance was all rough edges but with each tour you were there to witness him being polished into the "tour de force" that he is now. even then you either loved him or hated him, you were never indifferent.

[Edited 1/31/12 8:57am]

When VH-1 had American Bandstand flashbacks in the 90's, one of my friends called me up laughing his ass off about Princes get up and performance. All I could say was "yeah...I know"

I just watched the Bandstand clip again, and I don't see what was so bad about the performance. I know it wasn't exactly "live", but that's how it went for everyone who played on that show (like I said before in this thread).

As for P's clothes and look at the time, If this was David Lee Roth, Steven Tyler or Mick Jagger dressed like this in '79, it wouldn't be such a big deal. People would expect tight shiny pants and long hair.

JediMaster said:

I believe it was deliberate. The "gay" antics, the weird, reserved responses. Prince was completely going for the whole "mysterious" thing (was he black or white, straight or gay?). It ultimately made him just look like an idiot, but he (fortunately) got better at creating the mysterious persona with his next record.

Well at least someone on this board gets it Thirty years later and some of you still have not figured out what P was doing and contiued to do his whole carreer.

laurarichardson said:

JediMaster said:

I believe it was deliberate. The "gay" antics, the weird, reserved responses. Prince was completely going for the whole "mysterious" thing (was he black or white, straight or gay?). It ultimately made him just look like an idiot, but he (fortunately) got better at creating the mysterious persona with his next record.

Well at least someone on this board gets it Thirty years later and some of you still have not figured out what P was doing and contiued to do his whole carreer.

laura, you'd probably say that him knocking over the lamp post was a brilliantly planned move

It looked to me like he was trying to please everybody around him ie Mick Jagger was very popular around that time hence the dancing, he was told to lie about his age so he can fit in with the age demographic who watched the show - trying to please too many people = uncomfortable Prince.

Also, back then people didn't put too much of a stigma on sexual orientation, it's only these days that being gay is looked upon as being weird or not cool. (not saying that Prince is Gay - because he's clearly not!!)

skipp3Rn3ls0n said:

I understand it was his first time on National television and he was nervous, but...

*cringe*

PS. Wasn't he 21? He said he was 19, but I could've sworn he was 21 :\

That's a very understandable reaction. That was my first look at Prince and at 11 or 12, I didn't know what to make of him, I said "he's either gay crazy or both" to my family. Turns out, I think that's just what Prince wanted, to get a reaction and shock people. He was acting like a horny homosexual on excstasy and seemed to try to mimick gay mannerisms but given all this time, I see it as just an act, the sucking his teeth, the flipping his hair the sexual body language, it worked and it's still funny as hell. I imagine an entertainer of Prince's stature would usually have things they regret having done in public, I'd like to know how he feels about this episode amongst many, many others.

vainandy said:

skipp3Rn3ls0n said:

I understand it was his first time on National television and he was nervous, but...

*cringe*

PS. Wasn't he 21? He said he was 19, but I could've sworn he was 21 :\

My favorite television performance of his ever. Those skin tight satin spandex pants, the slinging of the hair, the part where you wonder if he kissed Dez or just whispered something to him, the prancing across the stage, the fish pose with his hand on his hip while introducing the band, and the huge hoop earring in his right ear. It was his gayest performance ever and the first time I ever laid eyes on him. I loved it!

but of course you would andy, but do you see it as genuine in hindsight?

rdhull said:

laurarichardson said:

Well at least someone on this board gets it Thirty years later and some of you still have not figured out what P was doing and contiued to do his whole carreer.

laura, you'd probably say that him knocking over the lamp post was a brilliantly planned move

she's not the only one, a few weeks back i debated with people who actually thought that performance was great. Some of these fans would defend Prince if he peed on their heads.

FunkySideEffects said:

It looked to me like he was trying to please everybody around him ie Mick Jagger was very popular around that time hence the dancing, he was told to lie about his age so he can fit in with the age demographic who watched the show - trying to please too many people = uncomfortable Prince.

Also, back then people didn't put too much of a stigma on sexual orientation, it's only these days that being gay is looked upon as being weird or not cool. (not saying that Prince is Gay - because he's clearly not!!)

I don't think so either but if he is who cares? I do firmly believe he loved playing with dualities like the trickster he is. I showed a friend the AB performance a few years ago and he watched as the hushed audience was just as perplexed at the time as he was and finally after watching Prince's mincing act he imitated Prince "I wanna go down on you Dick!" Prince is something.

I believe members in Prince camp have confirmed that Prince planned to be difficult or "cool" to Dick during the interview. As for the performance, it is what it is-just okay.

DerekH said:

I just watched the Bandstand clip again, and I don't see what was so bad about the performance. I know it wasn't exactly "live", but that's how it went for everyone who played on that show (like I said before in this thread).

As for P's clothes and look at the time, If this was David Lee Roth, Steven Tyler or Mick Jagger dressed like this in '79, it wouldn't be such a big deal. People would expect tight shiny pants and long hair.

Yeah. I just think it had to do with Prince being a Brother. Like some have said, they had never seen a black man do things like that blurring the lines between gender rules. Sylvester was kinda expected because of the genre he was in but since Prince was an R&B/rock artist, this threw them for a loop and either made him the butt of jokes or gained him new fans in the R&B community.

petes2 said:

rdhull said:

laura, you'd probably say that him knocking over the lamp post was a brilliantly planned move

she's not the only one, a few weeks back i debated with people who actually thought that performance was great. Some of these fans would defend Prince if he peed on their heads.

where can I see this performance you speak of?????

Dick Clark should have reached back and slapped the shit outta that kid with all he had, that woulda been funny.

FunkySideEffects said:

It looked to me like he was trying to please everybody around him ie Mick Jagger was very popular around that time hence the dancing, he was told to lie about his age so he can fit in with the age demographic who watched the show - trying to please too many people = uncomfortable Prince.

Also, back then people didn't put too much of a stigma on sexual orientation, it's only these days that being gay is looked upon as being weird or not cool. (not saying that Prince is Gay - because he's clearly not!!)

Wait...what? We must be on different planets, because homosexuality was VERY taboo in mainstream America at the time. Elton John was crucified when he came out as "bisexual" in a Rolling Stone article around then, and most gay performers were very much in the closet. Only Bowie really was able to make the "Bi" tag work for him...and even then it wasn't so much in the States (though he did have a big cult following). A few years after this, when Freddie Mercury would show up with his gay-macho 'stache, he was getting razors thrown at him on stage (no surprise that Queen soon quit touring the States).

Contrasting that with today, homosexuality is fairly well accepted in the mainstream. Performers like Lady GaGa & Adam Lambert are out about their sexuality, as well as actors like Neil Patrick Harris and Ian McKellan. At the time of the Prince performance, actors like Rock Hudson were hiding their sexuality from the public in a major way. Personally, I think this is why Prince chose to put forth such an image in his performances at the time. He was pushing boundries of the taboo, never really letting the audience know where he stood. He would, soon thereafter, perfect this with his image in the Dirty Mind era. His ambiguous sexuality, coupled with songs about oral sex and incest, would push him into a whole new stratosphere of boundry-pushing. What we see in this performance, is him developing that whole persona. It isn't quite there, but you see it beginning to form.

[Edited 2/2/12 18:37pm]

JediMaster said:

cammi said:

where can I see this performance you speak of?????

It is up on youtube.

This is so funny. I was talking to someone tonight who asked me if I had seen Prince doing "I Want to be Your Lover" on American Bandstand. This person is about 35 or so - and told me to check it out.

[Edited 2/3/12 22:43pm]