1contessa said:

LBrent said:

1contessa said: Yup. I heard Soft & Wet on the radio in late '77-early '78. I was around 16. Geez that was a long time ago.

Lord, don't I know it, don't remind me.

To this day I still can't master that damned dance step from the When Doves Cry video and believe me, my rthym-challenged-clumsy-azz has tried for years. Damn that man!

I'm like a newbie next to you cats, all of you are like Purple Rain or earlier and one person was a fan when For You came out, that is amazing.

.

Makes my 25 years since Diamonds and Pearls seem like an after thought, we have some dedicated people here!

30 years. My penfriend was a hardcore Prince fan and he used to send me a lot of mix tapes, so I discovered things like Erotic City, Love Bizarre, Love or Money, 17 Days etc before I even started listening to his albums. I bought SOTT (vinyl) when it came out, followed by ATWIAD and all the other albums (all vinyls, since we didn't have a CD player yet) shortly after. I just couldn't get enough. I must confess I wasn't a huge fan of D & P, which kind of made me take a little break until the end of the 1990's, whilst still remaining a big fan of his 1979-1989 era.

When I first heard I wanna be your Lover on the radio, I was so intrigued by who this person was that sounded so different and provocative. I couldn't believe that they had this androgynous singer saying I wanna be the only one you Come For on the radio in my conservative city. In fact, for years I though I just misunderstood the lyric and that he must be saying the only one you comfort .

paradise000 said:

All my life, but I'm under 30

If we assume that one stops being a fan after his death, it's 10,087 days.

Else it is a number over that amount.

gandorb said:

When I first heard I wanna be your Lover on the radio, I was so intrigued by who this person was that sounded so different and provocative. I couldn't believe that they had this androgynous singer saying I wanna be the only one you Come For on the radio in my conservative city. In fact, for years I though I just misunderstood the lyric and that he must be saying the only one you comfort .

I liked the odd single as early as Dirty Mind, but Purple Rain made me a diehard fan. 32ish years, then.

LBrent said:

PurpleDiamonds1 said:

LBrent said:

Yup. I heard Soft & Wet on the radio in late '77-early '78. I was around 16. Geez that was a long time ago.

this was me too... You're right that was a long time ago I was only 10.

Since the beginning. 1978. My older brother was a big Right On! magazine fan. All of the top R and B singers of the day interviews and pull out posters etc. My brother had all is favorite artists on his bedroom wall. Guess who was up there too? lol One day I noticed someone I hadnt see before! A poster of the most adorable man with long hair! I soon found out his name was PRINCE and the song 'I Wanna Be Your Lover" was him! It was all over. Officially my first and ONLY celebrity crush! I was 7 years old. Do the math. When I tell people I have ADORED and he has "been" with me my entire life, I am oh so serious! lol

I was a Prince fan from the beginning, not alway active, but always a fan.

Since I saw him crawl out of thaty bathtub in the 'When doves cry video'. 32 years ago!

Wlcm2thdwn3 said:

Since I saw him crawl out of thaty bathtub in the 'When doves cry video'. 32 years ago!

I was also gonna say this ^^^^^!!!! I would only add "saw him crawl naked out of that bathtub"

Will never ever forget how I felt and the impact the song had on me.

ldmendes said:

1984 when I was in college..Prince was everywhere, even though he's only 1 year older than me, he seemed much older..when I was goofing off in college, he was becoming an international star...however I was a back and forth follower. Always interested in what he was wearing this year. There were years when I didn't buy any of his albums, so I have some catching up to do...Strange how devisating his death was to me..truly feels like I lost someone I've known for years..

[Edited 9/24/16 20:31pm]

Your Prince story is very similar to mine.

I loved him the first time I heard him. Then, when I saw him, and that big Afro, I was really in love. I didn't really understand "Soft and Wet," but by the time "Do Me Baby" hit, I was coming of age, going through my own sexual awakening. That song SPOKE to me. Soon thereafter, I, along with millions of folks around the world, lost my mind during the Purple Rain era. But, somewhere along the way, I veered off course. I became so engrossed in my career that I lost track of Prince. Really, I had pretty much stopped actively listening to any music, except whatever played on the radio in the car. And, of course, P was at war with WB, so his music was seldom on the radio. Still, whenever songs like "Diamonds and Pearl," "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World," or "Call My Name" broke through, or when he made his rare TV appearances, my ears would immediately perk up and I would come out of my musical slumber. Then came the day that I heard about the emergency landing of his jet. My heart stopped. I was somewhat relieved when I read that he was fine, but I wasn't convinced. When I had seen him at The French Open and, more recently, at the Warriors games, I just knew that something was amiss. He just didn't look like himself. My worst fears were confirmed on April 21...and my world has been reeling ever since. Since his passing, I can't stop listening to his music and watching his performances. I only saw him perform once, during the Rick James tour. I will always regret that, but once is better than never.

Guitarhero said:

From 1980 none stop. Seems a lot of other Prince fans have had time away from him and then come back. Is that just a Prince thing? All the bands and musicians i follow i stick with them through thick and thin. Did MJ fans have time from MJ and then come back, just curious.

No. I don't think so. I don't know about anyone else, but when I say I was away, it doesn't mean the CDs I owned were not in rotation. It just means that I wasn't keeping up with every new production. When I love a record, I'm not necessarily ready to move on when the artist puts out something new. I have to take it at my own pace, which doesn't always match up with the artist (and P was hard because he was so much more prolific). And then, of course, life intervenes...

I've come to terms with the fact that I cannot digest art quickly. For instance, I loved a live version of Funknroll so I bought Art Official Age. I listened to it once and I am profoundly moved. But I am not ready to listen to it again. I don't know why. I just can't. I had to move away from Prince in the last month and pick up with another favorite band, only to discover that they had put out a new live album that I didn't know about. Their music was just what I needed with everything going on in my life. But AOA is in the back of my mind. It's sitting there, as if staring at me. I will pick it up in good time. I used to frustrate myself worrying about my slowness, my inability to gobble up art and music quickly (I read slow, go to only a few concerts, listen to the same song over and over and over), but in my old age I've come to terms with it. When I'm ready, I will get back to AOA and I have a feeling it will be a favorite. In the meantime, there is music that I'm missing (from favorite artists and leaks of unreleased P music). But that's okay. I cannot do it all, even with those artists I love the most.

Oh, and I've been a fan since Little Red Corvette, although I do remember him from American Bandstand.

[Edited 9/25/16 20:58pm]

[Edited 9/26/16 8:57am]

[Edited 9/26/16 17:36pm]

April 1979, I discovered For You at Licorice Pizza record shop and was hooked since then.

I've been infatuated with this beautiful man since I heard one song on the second album he ever performed on (technically the first album he performed on was in 1975 with a band called 94 East, on which he co-wrote a song and played guitar) The one song that captured my attention in 1978 on his debut album titled "For You" was a song called "Soft & Wet." Knowing Prince back in the day, y'all know what the song was about, right? The synth playing on that song blew me away, along with that unique falsetto voice of his. I was on a mission to find out who this person was.

I took a trip to the local record store and inquired at the counter about an artist named "Prince" (strange that after all these years I sill remember the moment I fell head over heels for anything with Prince's name on it) Anyway, back to the Wreka Stow... The clerk pointed me in the general direction of the Prince albums and when I saw those eyes, I thought "Wow, he sho is fine!" Then when I started to read on the album cover who composed, arranged, sang lead vocals, sand background vocals, played every single instrument (21 and some bells & blocks), and produced the album! I almost wet myself right then and there.

That was pretty much it for me. I was hooked and enthralled and curious and confused on how in the hell can one person do all of this and sound this good?

That was the beginning of my Rock N Roll Love Affair. I've followed him from that day till this.

I do so deeply miss him.

udo said:

If we assume that one stops being a fan after his death, it's 10,087 days.

Else it is a number over that amount.

Not sure how you suddenly "stop" being a fan, so I would say it's a number greater than 10,087 days. If you loved his music then, you should still love it now. Besides... he considered us "Fam" or "Friends" and those attachments linger on even after death. <3

I became a fan in 1988. I wish I'd have gotten into Prince sooner as I feel that his music lost it's way after that.

How cool must it have been to have been a fan in those first 10 years, he was on fire!

There were some good songs here and there after '88 but the first 10 years of his career were the strongest musically in my opinion.

Prince in the 90's seemed to follow rather than lead musically with the rappers etc. As for the 2000's I recently listened to Musicology album and Life O' The Party sounded really dated and cringeworthy. A lot of songs sounded like demoes rather than finished productions.

Just my opnion guys so don't shoot me. Prince changed my life and I'm forever gratetful for his music.

RIP Prince.

[Edited 9/26/16 15:34pm]

Since 1991