rusty1 said:

The shame of it all is that the " sign o'the times" tour would've been something if it came to the U.S.. The amazing simple stage set & his look & vibe.

.

I saw a bunch of US Lovesexy shows and they were great, but I can't stand the in-the-round stage setup, so probably not his best tour. The song selection was great though. SOTT Tour seems better from a purely visual perpective.

Lovesexy was great, but nothing can beat the SOTT Tour.
The Parade Tour may have been even better.

I was in the front row in 1987, so I may be biased,
but I guarantee you, this was a once in a lifetime experience.
If "Hot Thing" is phenomenal in the movie, it was out of this world seeing him
right in front of you, doing splits, chasing Cat.

In 1988, the center stage was probably a generous move,

but you had him turning his back to you for half of the concert,
so you kinda disconnected.

But we're talking about the best four tours (add the PR one) the music business has ever witnessed.

I mean just try to sit down through another pop artist's filmed concert after these.
You'll find something better to do before you reach the end credits, like the dishes.

bonatoc said:

That one performance of Anna Stesia changed my life. I remember watching it and getting chills. In the video, the close-ups of Prince talking to God and really seemingly channeling that performance was a game-changer. I got a Love is God, God is Love tattoo.

delirious26 said:

That one performance of Anna Stesia changed my life. I remember watching it and getting chills. In the video, the close-ups of Prince talking to God and really seemingly channeling that performance was a game-changer. I got a Love is God, God is Love tattoo.

And what about that incredible rendition of "The Cross" ("Purple Rain" is exceptional as well)?

Sheila banging the cowbell like it's Judgment Day.
Prince does one of is best Blue Angel soloes ever, just in under 2 minutes.
Abstract to the Max, it's just a beam of light, an unstoppable whirlwind.

All influences are gone, we're in Skipper's stratosphere.
In transe. The same spirit found in "Just My Imagination" from the "Small Club" aftershow.
No less, man.

Don't start me on the "Mozart's Medley".
Arguably one of his very best "Strange Relationship",
so naked, so bare, Blues coloured,
using the minor resolution and those M7/9 chords in incredible ways.
"Moooh-yea-eah!!!... I-think-you-and-I-got(t)-a..."

Skipper's voice is on top form, and connected to His Soul
through all the concert.

SR is a pop masterpiece.
The "4 Those Of U On Valium" version comes next.
It started the infamous "Oh-hee-oh" chant.
Or did it start in Paris, in august 1986 ("It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night")?
Can't remember if they're overdubs too.


The sound engineers outdid themselves,
make a K7 (oops) out of Dortmund '88, and put your headphones on.


"...W, X, Y, Z!"

Foque, I mean, is there a better way to conclude this incredible introspection/sin/salvation/partay?


I miss U so much, Little Big Man.

[Edited 5/31/16 6:01am]

[Edited 5/31/16 6:02am]

FragileUndertow said:

Lovesexy (in the UK) was certainly the best concert I have ever seen (twice). I can't comment whether SOTT was better because the UK concert at Wembley Stadium in 1987 was cancelled due to poor weather across Europe (never been so gutted in my "Prince Life" until this year of course).

Prince's people tried to rebook the concert into Earls Court (17k capacity) over four nights (Wembley Stadium c.70k capacity) but it was too short notice for the local authority to grant a licence!

The irony of the whole thing was that we had to go and queue up at Wembley Ticket office to get our refund and it was a beautiful sunny day!

A year later got to two Lovesexy shows - they were truly unbelievable. Around the same week (cannot remember if it was before or after the actual shows) they had the SOTT concert movie on as a special screening at the Dominion theatre in central London (went a couple of times). A very awesome week or so that almost made up for not getting a SOTT show.

BombFunk said:

bonatoc said:

delirious26 said:

That one performance of Anna Stesia changed my life. I remember watching it and getting chills. In the video, the close-ups of Prince talking to God and really seemingly channeling that performance was a game-changer. I got a Love is God, God is Love tattoo.

And what about that incredible rendition of "The Cross" ("Purple Rain" is exceptional as well)?

Sheila banging the cowbell like it's Judgment Day.
Prince does one of is best Blue Angel soloes ever, just in under 2 minutes.
Abstract to the Max, it's just a beam of light, an unstoppable whirlwind.

All influences are gone, we're in Skipper's stratosphere.
In transe. The same spirit found in "Just My Imagination" from the "Small Club" aftershow.
No less, man.

Don't start me on the "Mozart's Medley".
Arguably one of his very best "Strange Relationship",
so naked, so bare, Blues coloured,
using the minor resolution and those M7/9 chords in incredible ways.
"Moooh-yea-eah!!!... I-think-you-and-I-got(t)-a..."

Skipper's voice is on top form, and connected to His Soul
through all the concert.

SR is a pop masterpiece.
The "4 Those Of U On Valium" version comes next.
It started the infamous "Oh-hee-oh" chant.
Or did it start in Paris, in august 1986 ("It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night")?
Can't remember if they're overdubs too.


The sound engineers outdid themselves,
make a K7 (oops) out of Dortmund '88, and put your headphones on.


"...W, X, Y, Z!"

Foque, I mean, is there a better way to conclude this incredible introspection/sin/salvation/partay?


I miss U so much, Little Big Man.

I'm not a fan of the Lovesexy live show at all (based on VHS of it, too young to have been at it), but GREAT POST.

Just I'm not a fan of "in-the-round". Didnt see it I but judging from the movie SOTT would be the best. From the ones I've seen, I have to go with my first, the Parade tour.

Lovesexy is my favorite tour he did in the 80's...I think an added bonus was the legendary aftershows he did as well.

I prefer the SOTT stage setup to the Lovesexy tour. You cannot see the band the way I like.

Parade SOTT 1999 are my favorites

I always think an ATWIAD tour would have been really good

yes, I agree with some here.. Lovesexy was the best tour..

[Edited 5/31/16 7:11am]

kristy said:

Out of all of princes tours I heard a lot of lovesexy tour, I see a lot Of people have a special place in their heart for it , best tour ever?

yes.... in a word

Lovesexy, Sign 'O' the Times, and Parade the trilogy of concert tours. For later in his career One Nite Alone, Musicology (later in the tour-not the broadcast one), and Live Out Loud Tour was his Trilogy later in his career.

Lovesexy was my first show so I don't think anything will ever match it, even when I was front row for One Night Alone! It was just overwhelming, that's about all I can remember from it - singing Anna Stesia until the lights came up!

Wish I was old enough to have seen the Parade tour!! Looks RIDICULOUS!!!

Literally one of the worst shows I have ever attended by any artist.

It was in the round, but there was a definite front and back to the staging. We spent the whole concert looking at the back of Dr. Fink's head. Prince only came down the ramp/walkway at our end about 3 times.

The coach journey back was very subdued indeed. We all felt disappointed and the playing of the SOTT concert film on the video system was a cruel joke.

It only made sense when I watched the concert on television with the multiple camera angles. At least I can say I was there. Just don't ask me if I enjoyed it.

Honorable mention Montreux 2009. But that's not really a tour persay.

EugeneKnight said:

jaypotton said:

I think you really needed to be up in the side seating to fully enjoy the show. Luckily, that's exactly where I was for the opening night in Paris. I was just above his eye level, bang in the center. I could have been closer, but I don't think the view could have been any better.

That was such a special night. Nobody had any idea what to expect. I can't begin to express the feeling of excitement in the arena when the Thunderbird appeared and started driving around the stage. I thought I was going to explode when it sunk in that he was opening with Erotic City. The whole thing was just too much to take in at the time.

I was back for a bunch of nights at Wembley about three weeks later. On one of the days, a few of us spent several hours staking out his hotel. When his limo finally pulled out on the way to the concert, he peeked through the curtains between the front and back seats and gave us a cheeky smile. I was buzzing on that moment for years to come.

The last night I saw Lovesexy, a group of us were down on the floor pretty near to the stage. The only thing I clearly remember is that he stayed on our side for Blues In C (If I Had A Harem), frequently making eye contact with us. By the end, we were all in a daze. We were on such a high all the way back home. I remember I had trouble sleeping for days after while I replayed the concerts over and over in my mind. It was the end of an incredible summer that I've never been able to forget.

The first time I saw Prince was the final night at Wembley in 86. I can only remember small fragments of that night, but it might have been the greatest single show I've ever seen. But, as a total experience, nothing can come close to the wonder that was Lovesexy: the greatest spectacle of all time. No, not just a spectacle, it was the most amazing feeling of all time.

No word of a lie: OF - A L L - T I M E.