The video for this song - which features in my top ten list of Prince songs - had won Prince two awards 30 years ago today, for Best Male Video and Best Stage Performance, at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards. I will never forget my first time hearing this track on a French radiostation, late at night and being fascinated by the Camille voice and the distorted guitar screeches which worked so well together. Oh and what an unusual and mysterious way for a song to end I thought... I was hooked, immediately took the decision to purchase the Sign O' The Times album and was soon creating my own 'peach and black' outfits, just to get 'that look'!

His MTV award for Best Stage Performance in a Video was presented by DJ Jazzy Jeff and The Fresh Prince (Will Smith) and his Best Male Video award by The Bangles...

Does anyone know if Prince attended the show?

I remember when the song hit radio and MTV it created quite the buzz. On radio, there was some early resistance due to If I was Your Girlfriend bombing on radio just prior to it's release, but once it caught on it was one of the most requested songs for months. It got similar traction at MTV with one of his better videos. Alot of the general public had gotten dismissive of Prince, and this song brought at least a few back into the fold. I remember being in a store when it came on and I was checking out how people were responding to it. Several people seemed to be bopping around to the song and then I overheard a man tell his friend "Have you heard this song. Prince is back". I felt both relieved and infuriated by that comment, but I think it was a common misperception. As good as the Sign of the Times single was, it didn't have the commercial longevity and reach as U Got the Look. I believe U Got the Look went to #2 on the US pop chart and was prevented from getting to #1 by MJ's "Bad", if memory serves me correctly. I don't remember if he was at the MTV Video Awards.

One of his best and most original songs IMO! Still a classic, that part at the end is so hypnotic too, love it!

gandorb said:

I believe U Got the Look went to #2 on the US pop chart and was prevented from getting to #1 by MJ's "Bad", if memory serves me correctly.

Nope,it was Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam's "Lost In Emotion" that kept "U Got The Look" out of the top spot in September 1987.I love both songs

gandorb said:

I remember when the song hit radio and MTV it created quite the buzz. On radio, there was some early resistance due to If I was Your Girlfriend bombing on radio just prior to it's release, but once it caught on it was one of the most requested songs for months. It got similar traction at MTV with one of his better videos. Alot of the general public had gotten dismissive of Prince, and this song brought at least a few back into the fold. I remember being in a store when it came on and I was checking out how people were responding to it. Several people seemed to be bopping around to the song and then I overheard a man tell his friend "Have you heard this song. Prince is back". I felt both relieved and infuriated by that comment, but I think it was a common misperception. As good as the Sign of the Times single was, it didn't have the commercial longevity and reach as U Got the Look. I believe U Got the Look went to #2 on the US pop chart and was prevented from getting to #1 by MJ's "Bad", if memory serves me correctly. I don't remember if he was at the MTV Video Awards.

It's interesting how the SOTT album really came alive,commercially,during the fall of 1987."U Got The Look" and "ICNTTPOYM" gave the album a second life.I always say that,if there was ever a perfect time for Prince to launch a US tour,it was in the fall of '87.The album was really taking off.In addition,several album tracks like "Housequake","Hot Thing" and "Adore" were getting tremendous airplay on R&B stations too.

gandorb said:

I remember when the song hit radio and MTV it created quite the buzz. On radio, there was some early resistance due to If I was Your Girlfriend bombing on radio just prior to it's release, but once it caught on it was one of the most requested songs for months. It got similar traction at MTV with one of his better videos. Alot of the general public had gotten dismissive of Prince, and this song brought at least a few back into the fold. I remember being in a store when it came on and I was checking out how people were responding to it. Several people seemed to be bopping around to the song and then I overheard a man tell his friend "Have you heard this song. Prince is back". I felt both relieved and infuriated by that comment, but I think it was a common misperception. As good as the Sign of the Times single was, it didn't have the commercial longevity and reach as U Got the Look. I believe U Got the Look went to #2 on the US pop chart and was prevented from getting to #1 by MJ's "Bad", if memory serves me correctly. I don't remember if he was at the MTV Video Awards.

I don't remember ever hearing 'If I Was Your Girlfriend' on the radio in France at all. All that was heard at the time was 'Sign O' The Times' first then 'U Got The Look' but not as much, the former having had an equally massive impact on me as a budding Prince fan. Our local radiostation also played the remix of 'Housequake' a lot... 1987 was definitely the year that Prince's popularity in France reached a level previously unattained with Purple Rain.

Empress said:

This is a great pop song. Prince is so sassy in the video too.

video is good..the song ..meh

The video is really good.Cat choreographed it and I like the dance that they're all doing.

SoulAlive said:

The video is really good.Cat choreographed it and I like the dance that they're all doing.

I love the whole sexy vibe of this choreography. One of my (many) favourite moments is before the vocals start, the beat kicks in along with the heavy guitar, and the video shows Miko and Levi stepping in tune and moving their heads together...

[Edited 9/8/18 15:16pm]

The video was shot at the Palais Omnisport de Bercy in Paris on June 16, 1987.

'Around 150 invitations to participate as extras in the video were given out to attendants of the June, 15th 1987 concert. A note with a lipstick trace stamp as well as handwritten info on the shooting date, time and entrance door was distributed to the front row concerts-goers.

Shooting started around 6:00 p.m. and lasted until around 3:00 a.m. with a food break in the middle for which tables were set up. During the break Prince performed a 10 minute drums solo.' (Princevault)

Cat Glover:

"U Got the Look"...funny story. Even though I was in Prince's band, he asked me to choreograph the video. I said "Fine, but, you have to pay me. This is not for the 'Sign o' the Times' Tour, this is an extra job." So, I told him the money that I wanted and he agreed to it. He said "We're going to film it in Paris."
I did not speak any French. He had me audition about 300 dancers, and—excuse me for being ignorant or slow—but, I had no idea that Black people there didn't speak English. I was there saying "Hello! Hello!" to all the Black people and they couldn't speak English and I couldn't speak French. Now, this is when I say I was naive.
The best education is to travel the world. There is no book that can teach about cultures. Luckily, there was an interpreter, I can't remember her name, who was Prince's assistant at the time. I was trying to call out their names and stuff like that. I narrowed it down to about a dozen dancers. I did the choreography for everyone and the video came out really well. It was exciting and sexy.
No one knows this, but, Prince and I both edited the "Sign o' the Times" movie together. Even though it has the editor's name (on it), we went picture by picture. We had pictures all over the wall of the editing room.
The "U Got the Look" video was amazing. Sheena Easton was funny. I told her "You have to be sexy and you have to walk backwards." She said "But, I will fall! I will fall down!" I said "Just do it." It was cold and I was freezing. I was about to blow off the stage holding on to Prince's coat and she said "Oh, I can't, I'm scared." I said "Just do it!" It came out really well. I actually enjoyed that video.
Prince's mom came (to the set). That was the first time I met her. She was so beautiful. A doll. Just gorgeous. I met Prince's little brother. He was so cute and he had a crush on me. I was like "Bless your little heart." I can't remember his name, but, he was just adorable. He had green eyes and curly hair. Prince's mom was really short like him and adorable, sweet, kind. Just awesome.

Thanks for posting this OldFriend, what a lovely (and funny) story! It reminds me of my own initial reaction the first time I came to the UK and heard a black person with a Scottish accent... Travelling certainly stretches people's perception of the world. Which comes back to another connection here, since Sheena Easton is Scottish!

[Edited 9/9/18 4:05am]

CherryMoon57 said:

SoulAlive said:

The video is really good.Cat choreographed it and I like the dance that they're all doing.

I love the whole sexy vibe of this choreography. One of my (many) favourite moments is before the vocals start, the beat kicks in along with the heavy guitar, and the video shows Miko and Levi stepping in tune and moving their heads together...

[Edited 9/8/18 15:16pm]

LOL that is actually from my computer screen lol
I snapped a bunch of them from a not so clear UGTL video years ago

On recording U Got The Look

“[After that], he really liked my voice and thought we should do more stuff. Then occasionally he’d ask if I wanted to come in and listen to stuff. That’s how we did ‘U Got The Look.’ ‘U Got the Look’ was a track he’d basically finished for himself. It was just a Prince track. He said, ‘Do you want to just come in and sing some backup vocals on the choruses?’ So I went into the studio, and because I didn’t know I was singing against him (sings parts!), I was all over the place—and he said he kind of liked that, so he expanded it into a duet."

OldFriends4Sale said:

Peach and Black - Susannah's favorite colors Thinking the song was inspired by her.

*

Here's Cat's story about the peach dress she wore for SOTT:

*

The "Sign o' the Times" single cover...that was when Prince actually asked me to join his band. I had no idea what was going on.
He asked me to go by his house in Beverly Hills and pick up a dress. I flew to Minneapolis the next day and I had no idea that was the dress I was supposed to wear. But, that dress was supposed to be for Susannah Melvoin, Wendy's twin sister. It just so happened I fit the dress. I came to find out that was the dress he wanted me to wear for the cover and he didn't let me know what it was for.
Earl Jones, Jill Jones' uncle, did my hair. I put on the dress, they gave me Prince's glasses, Prince told me to play the guitar and they started shooting. That how it ended up on the cover.
By the way, that heart you see on the cover, was a thick glass mirror. It was so heavy and that's why you see my muscles. I was shaking holding that heart. I said "Prince, if you were going to make the heart black, you could just drawn a black cardboard heart and it would have been effortless."
But, he's smart and he's such a genius, he wanted it to look like him. I got it. If you're holding something heavy, I don't care if you're a baby, girl or woman, your muscles are going to show. Even my dad thought that was Prince. Prince's dad thought that was Prince. Amazing, right?

OldFriends4Sale said:

CherryMoon57 said:

I love the whole sexy vibe of this choreography. One of my (many) favourite moments is before the vocals start, the beat kicks in along with the heavy guitar, and the video shows Miko and Levi stepping in tune and moving their heads together...

[Edited 9/8/18 15:16pm]

LOL that is actually from my computer screen lol
I snapped a bunch of them from a not so clear UGTL video years ago

Well it came in very handy to illustrate my post... Nothing wrong with a bit of recycling

I liked the way P looked in the video..From the short haircut, slick suit and tie of 86 to this new psychafunkadelica look. I remember my brother saying; "Prince is starting to look crazy again"....I was also trying to figure out who were these new members in the band..(Miko/Levi).....Was glad to see him jamming on the cloud guitar again...The 87 MTV awards show performance is still one of my favorites..Still not crazy about the song.

CherryMoon57 said:

Nice. Love the colors!

CherryMoon57 said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

LOL that is actually from my computer screen lol
I snapped a bunch of them from a not so clear UGTL video years ago

Well it came in very handy to illustrate my post... Nothing wrong with a bit of recycling

of course lol that is why I put them out on the web

I believe in sharing

Since I first heard the tune when I was 11, until about a year or two ago, I quite disliked this song. I considered it one of two or three skippable tracks on Sign o' the Times. But now I think it's great! I'm not sure what changed for me, but I enjoy the tune a lot now.