When I was 15 and Diamonds and Pearls, Cream where in the Australian charts. Mum asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told her, I'd like the Prince CD. I played that CD over and over and over, so that now, 20 years later I still remember every word, moan and rap on that album. I went and saw him in concert at the D&P tour of Australia and I was IN LOVE, enraptured. I started collecting albums, discovered that my parents had Purple Rain and the song Darling Nikki.(my name is Nikki)....sigh.

I got maried had three kids and really only pulled out my albums when I was alone. Prince touring Australia this year, I drove three hours three times to see all of his Sydney concerts and my LOVE has been re-ignited. The man is a musical genius who has the IT factor like no one I have ever seen before and I pray he comes back to Australia sooner this time, I cant wait another 9 years!!!

DarlingNikki6 said:

When I was 15 and Diamonds and Pearls, Cream where in the Australian charts. Mum asked me what I wanted for Christmas and I told her, I'd like the Prince CD. I played that CD over and over and over, so that now, 20 years later I still remember every word, moan and rap on that album. I went and saw him in concert at the D&P tour of Australia and I was IN LOVE, enraptured. I started collecting albums, discovered that my parents had Purple Rain and the song Darling Nikki.(my name is Nikki)....sigh.

I got maried had three kids and really only pulled out my albums when I was alone. Prince touring Australia this year, I drove three hours three times to see all of his Sydney concerts and my LOVE has been re-ignited. The man is a musical genius who has the IT factor like no one I have ever seen before and I pray he comes back to Australia sooner this time, I cant wait another 9 years!!!

You were 15 in 91 too, theres a few of us. I can remember my mother too having bizarre birthday and Xmas Gift buying sessions at the wrekka stow, the time when the assistant had no idea what she meant about an album by a group called Iced Tea (Ice T), and the new Prince album called Emancify. You were lucky to see the D and p tour, my parents would not let me go (As I was turning 16 and too young), they were so strict they even tried to stop me buying sexy mf when it came out (We had a news item here in NZ, which mentioned it used the f word and showed bits of the video with him rapping by those old cars in the video). When I got to 18 in 1994/95 I left home and a whole world of Prince opened up to me, it was then I bought the back catalogue.

Adorecream said:

Hearing "Purple Rain", "Do Me, Baby", and "Diamonds & Pearls" a lot on the radio as a little boy.

my step dad took me to see prince when i was ten....it was the purple rain tour in 84, at the civic center in saint paul MN. pretty much had my mind blown.

Well, I'm only 17 so I never got to hear much Prince on the radio or anything but what happened to me was I was a HUGE MJ fan and I was waiting for a MJ video to boot up on YouTube (this was a few months before he died) and an ad for LotusFlow3r came up. I got curious about it and my friend told me, oh thats just Prince... He's like MJ but with a guitar and that was the end of it. I went back to listening to MJ and a lot of other music (all very disposable and generic teenager music) until MJ died. So I'm on the web one day and I get curious about Prince again, so I get my hands on a couple songs and started listening. Let's Go Crazy seemed like the quintessential 80's theme song to me, like when I heard it I literally imagined kids at a party getting busted by cops and running away while this song played (strange ain't it?) then I heard Kiss, (didn't like it at first) When Doves Cry (which I had heard in the past but never knew who sang it) and some other songs (mostly the hits). A year later, I listened to My Name Is Prince and I was hooked... Of all the songs to hook me, it was that one. I guess it's cocky nature suited me when I heard it or something. After that, I bought Purple Rain (the movie) saw it, loved it, got the album, then found Emancipation at a garage sale and listened to it, didn't like a lot of it at first, then heard The Holy River. Fell in love with that song, bought Love Symbol, liked it, then I bought Graffiti Bridge... Man all I gotta say is The Question of U and Joy In Repitition... Those songs threw me into another universe where the sky was purple and all of the worlds problems were solved through singing and dancing... I loved those two songs (and a lot of that album) so much that I saw the movie, sat through it and while my friends were mocking how ridiculous it was, I was the only one in a group of around 8 trying to admire the effort... Man, being a teenage Prince fan nowadays isn't fun... He has so much good music its easy to just listen to him or his associated artists for a few months straight without hearing what people around you are into.

I'd say that I wasn't really a fan at this point because I saw his Bandstand interview and thought he was wierd but I was about 13 when I listened to controversy over and over, I thought the song was special, then came 1999 and it was the same thing. As a 13 year old boy I realized he was a great songwriter because of the incredible feeling I got listening to his music. But 1999 with Little Red Corvette were even better, then by the time of Purple Rain, not only was I a fan, I wanted to dedicate my life to music.

Thanks the 3 of you made new posts today 7/19/12!

beatriceau said:

what song or moment made you a fan? How long have you been a fan? Why you love prince? Have you ever wavered?

My older brother was always playing Prince and The Time. My earliest memory was when I was about 5 yrs old. I remember people thought he was weird but I thought he was interesting and I loved his music. I loved 'When Doves Cry' and all his popular stuff.

However, it was when I first heard 'Scandalous' that I was forever hooked.

He's an awesome composer, lyricist, musician, and singer.

I've never waived.

The double whammy of "Condition of the Heart" and "Tambourine"

1984, I was 12, Purple Rain was the album that started it all!!! Why Prince? My mother passed away 3 yrs later, 3 mths after my 15th birthday It was then that Prince became more than just a cool singer..... He was my friend & thru his music he bought me solace in what was at the time for me a cold, cold world. Many a night I fell asleep to his music playing in my earphones, pillows wet from all the tears I shed for my mum & for that I could never thank him enough, when no-one else was there to take me to a brighter place ( albeit temporarily) Prince could, & even to this day when I'm feeling down I retreat to my room & put in my earphones & my world feels brighter. I have never wavered from him.... Even when his releases have been less than great!!! 28 yrs of loving Prince...... & there is no sign of divorce in sight!!!!

Peace & Be Wild.........

BobGeorge909 said:

BobGeorge909 said:

On "My Name Is Prince," when he fit like five of his win samples within 15 seconds....WITH FLAIR. Sad but true. That takes balls AND talent.

I wanna Be Your Lover, Party Up, Controversy, "Prince!" (Arsenio Hall's voice).

What else was there? That's all I hear, I think.

When I was little I heard "I wanna be your lover" on the radio a lot...

I remember that song being the 1st I liked, but what song hooked me in deep was WDC.

When Doves Cry did something to me, it was raw and funky and sexy. It was like nothing else on the radio and I was hooked. I immediately went to the record stores to find all I could on this "Prince" and his music.

Then Purple Rain hit in theaters and I was totally a star struck tween in love!

was always aware and somewhat interested in the background. and with the full-on assaults of Batman and D&P by the time I was of age to start getting into or buying my own music, I was primed for the song "7" to strike me down like a bolt of lightning and ruin the rest of my life

lovesexy06 said:

1984, I was 12, Purple Rain was the album that started it all!!! Why Prince? My mother passed away 3 yrs later, 3 mths after my 15th birthday It was then that Prince became more than just a cool singer..... He was my friend & thru his music he bought me solace in what was at the time for me a cold, cold world. Many a night I fell asleep to his music playing in my earphones, pillows wet from all the tears I shed for my mum & for that I could never thank him enough, when no-one else was there to take me to a brighter place ( albeit temporarily) Prince could, & even to this day when I'm feeling down I retreat to my room & put in my earphones & my world feels brighter. I have never wavered from him.... Even when his releases have been less than great!!! 28 yrs of loving Prince...... & there is no sign of divorce in sight!!!!

Peace & Be Wild.........

I enjoyed all the posts here, but particularly moved by this one, what happened and how you wrote about it here.

I think it must be the ultimate blessing as an artist to know that one's creations have so touched another person's life.

You're the one with the separate organized (purple) boxes and files for Prince stuff?

artist76 said:

lovesexy06 said:

1984, I was 12, Purple Rain was the album that started it all!!! Why Prince? My mother passed away 3 yrs later, 3 mths after my 15th birthday It was then that Prince became more than just a cool singer..... He was my friend & thru his music he bought me solace in what was at the time for me a cold, cold world. Many a night I fell asleep to his music playing in my earphones, pillows wet from all the tears I shed for my mum & for that I could never thank him enough, when no-one else was there to take me to a brighter place ( albeit temporarily) Prince could, & even to this day when I'm feeling down I retreat to my room & put in my earphones & my world feels brighter. I have never wavered from him.... Even when his releases have been less than great!!! 28 yrs of loving Prince...... & there is no sign of divorce in sight!!!!

Peace & Be Wild.........

I enjoyed all the posts here, but particularly moved by this one, what happened and how you wrote about it here.

I think it must be the ultimate blessing as an artist to know that one's creations have so touched another person's life.

You're the one with the separate organized (purple) boxes and files for Prince stuff?

you're correct, I can verify this as a musician in my own miniscule way. When someone says you moved them to tears or somesuch song meant so much to them (the way it's said will tell how sincere they are, the expression in their eyes and on their face that lets you know they aren't just giving you petty flattery) it's quite a feeling.

artist76 said:

lovesexy06 said:

1984, I was 12, Purple Rain was the album that started it all!!! Why Prince? My mother passed away 3 yrs later, 3 mths after my 15th birthday It was then that Prince became more than just a cool singer..... He was my friend & thru his music he bought me solace in what was at the time for me a cold, cold world. Many a night I fell asleep to his music playing in my earphones, pillows wet from all the tears I shed for my mum & for that I could never thank him enough, when no-one else was there to take me to a brighter place ( albeit temporarily) Prince could, & even to this day when I'm feeling down I retreat to my room & put in my earphones & my world feels brighter. I have never wavered from him.... Even when his releases have been less than great!!! 28 yrs of loving Prince...... & there is no sign of divorce in sight!!!!

Peace & Be Wild.........

I enjoyed all the posts here, but particularly moved by this one, what happened and how you wrote about it here.

I think it must be the ultimate blessing as an artist to know that one's creations have so touched another person's life.

You're the one with the separate organized (purple) boxes and files for Prince stuff?

There was a typo error, I was 11, my mum passed in '88 making it 4 yrs later, I was 12 when my parents separated.

Yes, I think I got that from my Dad who has an enormous Elvis collection & I remember as a child watching him catalogue everything. He has a card system that he uses so he can locate an item quickly if he needs to. His Elvis rooms look like a library & although I don't go to that extreme, it works for him.

It's funny how I was exposed to so many different artists as a child, Rock & Roll by my Dad & Uncle, Eighties Punk by another uncle but my Mum had very mixed music tastes & in the Eighties there were so many different artists out there but for me to single out Prince is something I can't even explain....... I think it was the fact that Prince has the freakish ability to put true emotion into his voice, the listener can feel his pain, his happiness & at times his desperation in his songs. I remember wondering how can he write such beautiful songs & not end up shedding a couple of tears himself in the studio, maybe he has...... I don't know. I think because my Mum was the one that introduced me to Prince I chose to keep that connection to her thru his music, strange I know maybe even a bit nutty, but when i'm listening to Prince I am overcome by a peace that I only knew when my mum was alive, The kind of peace where even if i'm in the foulest of moods & snapping my way thru my day I play me some Prince & all is calm again. My mother's anniversary of death will be upon me again soon & you can lay the safest bet that it will be Prince being played in my house just as it has been for the last 24 yrs........ some things will never change.

I wish there was a way for me to Thank Prince........ That's all, Just to Thank him for the beautiful music that truly comes from his heart.

[Edited 7/20/12 22:17pm]

I believe it was "Little Red Corvette" and whatever MTV played that sold me but the first time I heard Prince, me and a friend sneak into older bros record collection and snatched Dirty Mind and some KISS records.

petes2 said:

artist76 said:

I enjoyed all the posts here, but particularly moved by this one, what happened and how you wrote about it here.

I think it must be the ultimate blessing as an artist to know that one's creations have so touched another person's life.

You're the one with the separate organized (purple) boxes and files for Prince stuff?

you're correct, I can verify this as a musician in my own miniscule way. When someone says you moved them to tears or somesuch song meant so much to them (the way it's said will tell how sincere they are, the expression in their eyes and on their face that lets you know they aren't just giving you petty flattery) it's quite a feeling.

You say your a musician in your own MINISCULE way......... Obviously your not miniscule to the person who you touched thru your music so without ever meeting you i'd say that you may be bigger than alot of other musicians out there........ While my biggest wish would be to thank Prince for the music that has been there for me thru my life......... I don't think I'd be able to tell him without getting teary, so hopefully he would see it in my eyes & on my face & I wouldn't have to speak at all.

"Why You Wanna Treat Me So BAD"

The second album did it for me. I had a 1969 Impala that had hydraulics and I would cruise San Jose blasting The Isley Bros, Funkadelic, WAR and Prince. I think I had the only lowrider that also had The Beatles in my 8 track box. Prince to me, was another John Lennon, a genius and a musician who was to be reckoned with. If you love music, you gotta love Prince. Lil Richard, James Brown, Sly Stone and John Lennon got put in this man and he has never looked back. Legacy be damned! Prince does what he wants for better or worse and Kevin Smith can kiss my ass!

Real music fans love Prince. Fakers need not apply. Prince is smart and knows that if he does not have control of his music, someone else will be making money, lots of money off of his hard work and musical genius. All of our hero's have been burned by the record companies and the leeches who call themselves producer's/managers!

Be careful of trademarks and Jerry Goldstein.

"WAR IS COMING" as The Lowrider Band! www.lowriderband.com

el_callejero

[Edited 7/20/12 22:49pm]

I had heard I Wanna Be Your Lover and liked that song when I was 8 but didn't truly get hooked until I heard Little Red Corvette (and saw the video) that I truly got hooked. I LOVED the drum sounds and when I finally bought the 1999 album cassette, I was hooked for life. Soon after that I bought the Prince (2nd album) album on cassette. Then the Dirty Mind/Controversy double album cassette. Then For You and finally May/June 1984 rolled up and When Doves Cry completely blew my mind. The rest is history.

lovesexy06 said:

petes2 said:

you're correct, I can verify this as a musician in my own miniscule way. When someone says you moved them to tears or somesuch song meant so much to them (the way it's said will tell how sincere they are, the expression in their eyes and on their face that lets you know they aren't just giving you petty flattery) it's quite a feeling.

You say your a musician in your own MINISCULE way......... Obviously your not miniscule to the person who you touched thru your music so without ever meeting you i'd say that you may be bigger than alot of other musicians out there........ While my biggest wish would be to thank Prince for the music that has been there for me thru my life......... I don't think I'd be able to tell him without getting teary, so hopefully he would see it in my eyes & on my face & I wouldn't have to speak at all.

I have to say,I am truly humbled in those moments, thankful that I have whatever talent I have. I've been through the high of people screaming but truthfully, that's a fleeting and meaningless thing that has to be kept in check. When someone is truly moved by something you wrote it's a lot more meaningful because often times, as a small time songwriter, well you can't help but feel that what you were trying to say just didn't get through to anyone. When it happens, it's much more precious than any of the superficial flattery you get.

[Edited 7/20/12 22:56pm]

When i bought the The Hits 1 in late 1998, most of the songs had to grow on me to be honest, but songs like "ICNTTPOYM", "Let's Go Crazy", "Alphabet St." & "7" i liked straight away, so i guess they hooked me first.

"Raspberry Beret." I remember listening to it on my first radio when I was eleven years old. I had just gotten out of a Beatles phase so it was a natural transition. When I bought the record, I liked the B-side even better.

Anotherloverholeinyohead!

BET Or MTV First time I saw him on tv singing 1999.

My parents had the album and I was 5 so,from there I was hooked.

When Doves cry