violetcrush said:

EmmaMcG said:

Had Prince been a more, for lack of a better word, "normal", in his behaviour, I think he would have been a much bigger star.

That's funny, because both Madonna and MJ were about as far from normal as you can get.

I think Prince's lack of being out in the public eye was a huge factor in his lack of general audience appeal. He didn't whore himself out nearly as much as WB wanted him to. And we all know that by the time one album was in the can, he was already bored with it and had moved on to the next album. So that played a part as well. He didn't give regular folks enough time to digest what he fed them before he was bringing them another plate, so to speak.

EmmaMcG said:

violetcrush said:

Not a genius with marketing his music?? Were you around during the 80's???? Not referring to post 80's here. From 1980-1987-88, his marketing chops and musical choices moved him to the top of the mountain. The steady climb is clear if you review the charts back then. He also made The Time and Vanity 6 a success while they were together. In addition. he made top hits for Sheena, Chaka Khan, The Bangles, and I'm sure others that I'm not listing here.

*

HE WAS HUGE. Musically unstoppable during that time....

Nope. I was born in 1990. But charts from the 80s are easy to look up and he had very few number ones. Certainly a LOT less than his music deserved. His musical ability is not up for debate. As you say, not only has he written great songs for himself but he's also written songs for artists as diverse as Andre Cymone and Kenny Rogers. But if you actually look at Prince's chart history, you'll see that even in his prime, he was never on the same level as the likes of Madonna or Michael Jackson. Now, I know this is just my opinion here, but I think that of the three, Prince is by far the better artist. So there must be a reason for his lack of chart toppers. Could it be that his overall public persona actually turned people off his music? I think that's quite possible. My mum was always a big Sheila E fan but never really listened to Prince because she found him to be weird. In fact, quite a lot of people I know, even those within the music industry, stayed away from Prince's music because they were turned off by his antics. That is not an example of good marketing. Had Prince been a more, for lack of a better word, "normal", in his behaviour, I think he would have been a much bigger star.

Nonsense. MJ ruled 83-84, Prince ruled 84-85, Madonna ruled 85-86, along with Prince.
No MJ album for 5 (five) years. MJ became mythical (thanks to marketing and big money) after you were born.
But you can't ignore #1 single, #1 album and #1 movie in the same week. Oh, and #1 U.S. Tour.

[Edited 9/15/18 11:54am]

EmmaMcG said:

violetcrush said:

Not a genius with marketing his music?? Were you around during the 80's???? Not referring to post 80's here. From 1980-1987-88, his marketing chops and musical choices moved him to the top of the mountain. The steady climb is clear if you review the charts back then. He also made The Time and Vanity 6 a success while they were together. In addition. he made top hits for Sheena, Chaka Khan, The Bangles, and I'm sure others that I'm not listing here.

*

HE WAS HUGE. Musically unstoppable during that time....

Nope. I was born in 1990. But charts from the 80s are easy to look up and he had very few number ones. Certainly a LOT less than his music deserved. His musical ability is not up for debate. As you say, not only has he written great songs for himself but he's also written songs for artists as diverse as Andre Cymone and Kenny Rogers. But if you actually look at Prince's chart history, you'll see that even in his prime, he was never on the same level as the likes of Madonna or Michael Jackson. Now, I know this is just my opinion here, but I think that of the three, Prince is by far the better artist. So there must be a reason for his lack of chart toppers. Could it be that his overall public persona actually turned people off his music? I think that's quite possible. My mum was always a big Sheila E fan but never really listened to Prince because she found him to be weird. In fact, quite a lot of people I know, even those within the music industry, stayed away from Prince's music because they were turned off by his antics. That is not an example of good marketing. Had Prince been a more, for lack of a better word, "normal", in his behaviour, I think he would have been a much bigger star.

I think you will find MJ was thought off as weird aswell by many. I think many people thought Prince was gay so would not buy or listen to his music especially some homophobic straight guys. As a straight guy myself the abuse i got in my school days for digging Prince in the 80's was ridiculous. But i told those homophobic pricks to f**k off.

Guitarhero said:

EmmaMcG said:

violetcrush said: Nope. I was born in 1990. But charts from the 80s are easy to look up and he had very few number ones. Certainly a LOT less than his music deserved. His musical ability is not up for debate. As you say, not only has he written great songs for himself but he's also written songs for artists as diverse as Andre Cymone and Kenny Rogers. But if you actually look at Prince's chart history, you'll see that even in his prime, he was never on the same level as the likes of Madonna or Michael Jackson. Now, I know this is just my opinion here, but I think that of the three, Prince is by far the better artist. So there must be a reason for his lack of chart toppers. Could it be that his overall public persona actually turned people off his music? I think that's quite possible. My mum was always a big Sheila E fan but never really listened to Prince because she found him to be weird. In fact, quite a lot of people I know, even those within the music industry, stayed away from Prince's music because they were turned off by his antics. That is not an example of good marketing. Had Prince been a more, for lack of a better word, "normal", in his behaviour, I think he would have been a much bigger star.

I think you will find MJ was thought off as weird aswell by many. I think many people thought Prince was gay so would not buy or listen to his music especially some homophobic straight guys. As a straight guy myself the abuse i got in my school days for digging Prince in the 80's was ridiculous. But i told those homophobic pricks to f**k off.

EmmaMcG - Prince from 1980-1982-83 - yep, you are correct. He had a smaller fan base, and his songs had not reached number one - although I believe Little Red Corvette was in the top 10. I'm also pretty sure that for several weeks in 1984 he had the number one song, number one album, and number one movie. Starting from the Summer of '84 through the end of 1985 he was bigger than Madonna and Michael Jackson. He won just about every award in 1985. He won over many "unsure" fans with the Purple Rain film, because it was clear how he wanted to be viewed, and he showed the rock fans that he could slay on guitar.

*

I don't think that if he had been more "normal", he would have had more fans - at least in the 80's. Those that didn't like his music because of the way he dressed or behaved, most likely wouldn't have been fans of his music anyway. I do agree that he struggled in the 90's because of his behavior and struggle with remaining successful.

*

Guitarhero - right. Those that refused to listen to Prince or MJ's music for homophobic reasons had other issues. Funny, I guess it depended on where you lived, because I remember a lot of guys loving the music, and going to the PR concert. One guy in my Chemistry class was so excited, and he brought in pictures to show everyone.

Guitarhero said:

EmmaMcG said:

violetcrush said: Nope. I was born in 1990. But charts from the 80s are easy to look up and he had very few number ones. Certainly a LOT less than his music deserved. His musical ability is not up for debate. As you say, not only has he written great songs for himself but he's also written songs for artists as diverse as Andre Cymone and Kenny Rogers. But if you actually look at Prince's chart history, you'll see that even in his prime, he was never on the same level as the likes of Madonna or Michael Jackson. Now, I know this is just my opinion here, but I think that of the three, Prince is by far the better artist. So there must be a reason for his lack of chart toppers. Could it be that his overall public persona actually turned people off his music? I think that's quite possible. My mum was always a big Sheila E fan but never really listened to Prince because she found him to be weird. In fact, quite a lot of people I know, even those within the music industry, stayed away from Prince's music because they were turned off by his antics. That is not an example of good marketing. Had Prince been a more, for lack of a better word, "normal", in his behaviour, I think he would have been a much bigger star.

I think you will find MJ was thought off as weird aswell by many. I think many people thought Prince was gay so would not buy or listen to his music especially some homophobic straight guys. As a straight guy myself the abuse i got in my school days for digging Prince in the 80's was ridiculous. But i told those homophobic pricks to f**k off.

got the same kinda thing...didnt stop me from enjoying the ride till death

luvsexy4all said:

Guitarhero said:

I think you will find MJ was thought off as weird aswell by many. I think many people thought Prince was gay so would not buy or listen to his music especially some homophobic straight guys. As a straight guy myself the abuse i got in my school days for digging Prince in the 80's was ridiculous. But i told those homophobic pricks to f**k off.

got the same kinda thing...didnt stop me from enjoying the ride till death

In 1984/1985 Prince was selling out huge arenas and doing multiple shows in each city. Many of those seats were filled by guys - not just girls

bonatoc said:

EmmaMcG said:

violetcrush said: Nope. I was born in 1990. But charts from the 80s are easy to look up and he had very few number ones. Certainly a LOT less than his music deserved. His musical ability is not up for debate. As you say, not only has he written great songs for himself but he's also written songs for artists as diverse as Andre Cymone and Kenny Rogers. But if you actually look at Prince's chart history, you'll see that even in his prime, he was never on the same level as the likes of Madonna or Michael Jackson. Now, I know this is just my opinion here, but I think that of the three, Prince is by far the better artist. So there must be a reason for his lack of chart toppers. Could it be that his overall public persona actually turned people off his music? I think that's quite possible. My mum was always a big Sheila E fan but never really listened to Prince because she found him to be weird. In fact, quite a lot of people I know, even those within the music industry, stayed away from Prince's music because they were turned off by his antics. That is not an example of good marketing. Had Prince been a more, for lack of a better word, "normal", in his behaviour, I think he would have been a much bigger star.

Nonsense. MJ ruled 83-84, Prince ruled 84-85, Madonna ruled 85-86, along with Prince.
No MJ album for 5 (five) years. MJ became mythical (thanks to marketing and big money) after you were born.
But you can't ignore #1 single, #1 album and #1 movie in the same week. Oh, and #1 U.S. Tour.

[Edited 9/15/18 11:54am]

violetcrush said:

bonatoc said:

Nonsense. MJ ruled 83-84, Prince ruled 84-85, Madonna ruled 85-86, along with Prince.
No MJ album for 5 (five) years. MJ became mythical (thanks to marketing and big money) after you were born.
But you can't ignore #1 single, #1 album and #1 movie in the same week. Oh, and #1 U.S. Tour.

[Edited 9/15/18 11:54am]

And the amazing thing with Prince is that, even though he struggled in the 90's with lower sales and the fight with WB, he managed to hang on, continue to release music, and then climb back up that mountain (not to the top, but pretty high) in the early 2000's and starting selling out larger venues again. Fantastic.

Well said violetcrush.

As far as I can remember by 1987 Prince was HUGE and just as famous as Madonna and MJ were. You basically just couldn't go anywhere without seeing those three on almost every single magazine cover at the French newsagents or hearing many of their recent songs on the radio.

The following year every other person I met was either a fan of Madonna, Prince, or MJ. And many more like myself who had started off by being an MJ fan in the early 80's were getting older and moving towards Prince by the end of the 80's attracted to his more mature lyrical content.

The year Batman came out and Prince did the soundtrack, his video of Batdance was played incessantly on television. You could not escape his fame.

CherryMoon57 said:

Well said violetcrush.

As far as I can remember by 1987 Prince was HUGE and just as famous as Madonna and MJ were. You basically just couldn't go anywhere without seeing those three on almost every single magazine cover at the French newsagents or hearing many of their recent songs on the radio.

The following year every other person I met was either a fan of Madonna, Prince, or MJ. And many more like myself who had started off by being an MJ fan in the early 80's were getting older and moving towards Prince by the end of the 80's attracted to his more mature lyrical content.

The year Batman came out and Prince did the soundtrack, his video of Batdance was played incessantly on television. You could not escape his fame.

Thanks CherryMoon57 Yes, that's right - Prince was huge during the Batman period too. MTV had the Batdance video on constant rotation, and it was #1 on Billboard, R&B and Dance charts in 1989. Were his overall chart numbers as high as 85/86? No, but he was still huge. PR through Batman he was huge. Oh geez, too many "huges" in there - I sound Like Donald Trump

[Edited 9/15/18 13:41pm]

violetcrush said:

CherryMoon57 said:

Well said violetcrush.

As far as I can remember by 1987 Prince was HUGE and just as famous as Madonna and MJ were. You basically just couldn't go anywhere without seeing those three on almost every single magazine cover at the French newsagents or hearing many of their recent songs on the radio.

The following year every other person I met was either a fan of Madonna, Prince, or MJ. And many more like myself who had started off by being an MJ fan in the early 80's were getting older and moving towards Prince by the end of the 80's attracted to his more mature lyrical content.

The year Batman came out and Prince did the soundtrack, his video of Batdance was played incessantly on television. You could not escape his fame.

Thanks CherryMoon57 Yes, that's right - Prince was huge during the Batman period too. MTV had the Batdance video on constant rotation, and it was #1 on Billboard, R&B and Dance charts in 1989. Were his overall chart numbers as high as 85/86? No, but he was still huge. PR through Batman he was huge. Oh geez, too many "huges" in there - I sound Like Donald Trump

[Edited 9/15/18 13:41pm]

May I just add: It's true!

CherryMoon57 said:

violetcrush said:

Thanks CherryMoon57 Yes, that's right - Prince was huge during the Batman period too. MTV had the Batdance video on constant rotation, and it was #1 on Billboard, R&B and Dance charts in 1989. Were his overall chart numbers as high as 85/86? No, but he was still huge. PR through Batman he was huge. Oh geez, too many "huges" in there - I sound Like Donald Trump

[Edited 9/15/18 13:41pm]

May I just add: It's true!

that'a a nice interview with Sheena.She has a great sense of humor funny,I never really thought of the Pointer Sister's "Slow Hand" as a dirty song (lol) but she's right....there seems to be a double meaning there,lol

SoulAlive said:

that'a a nice interview with Sheena.She has a great sense of humor funny,I never really thought of the Pointer Sister's "Slow Hand" as a dirty song (lol) but she's right....there seems to be a double meaning there,lol

Cause I got a man with a slow hand
I got a lover with an easy touch
I got somebody who will spend some time
Not come and go in a heated rush
I found somebody who will understand
When it comes to love, I want a slow hand

*

Innuendo all over the place

TheBigBang said:

bonatoc said:

EmmaMcG said:

^^Also, 'Prince has sold over 100 million records worldwide, including 48.9 million certified units in the United States, and over 10 million records in the United Kingdom.'(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_albums_discography)

Not bad for someone who did not excell at marketing his music.

And despite not having had that many number ones he still managed to become one of the most influencial artists of all times...

CherryMoon57 said:

I got the SOTT album on record the day it came out..

I was in 7th grade and BEGGED my parents to take me to the mall to get it..

When I got home, I was GLUED to it...

It was A LOT to take in.. I was 12 and this was some challenging stuff!

When I flipped the record over.. U GOT THE LOOK sounded promising.. but after a few seconds.. the entire song had a defect....

I couldnt even deal with it.. becuase by the time IIWYGF came on .. nothing in the world even existed besides that song!!!!!

I got the cassette about 6 weeks later so we could have it in the car... and that was when I FINALLY heard UGTL!

It is pretty near perfect.....

ONE THING THO... There are a LOT of similarites to Ray Parker Jr's "The Other Woman"... he even calls a girl 'tough' in that song!

Prince took some inspiration and of course blew the roof off of it...

violetcrush said:

she looks more like Vanity than Apollonia ever did

purplefam99 said:

violetcrush said:

Really?? I don't see Vanity at all in this picture.....

Yes to me her makeup and her expression are similar to the Rolling Stone Cover Vanity and Prince did causing me to see a resemblance. Take a look at the RS cover you may see it.

Maybe the way the eyes are done, but no....I don't really see Vanity with Sheena. Below is the RS picture, and also a GIF of Susannah in the Screams Of Passion video, and her eye makeup is the same too. I guess Prince liked a lot of eye makeup?? Susannah also has the red hair that Sheena is sporting in the video....

*

CherryMoon57 said:

violetcrush said:

Thanks CherryMoon57 Yes, that's right - Prince was huge during the Batman period too. MTV had the Batdance video on constant rotation, and it was #1 on Billboard, R&B and Dance charts in 1989. Were his overall chart numbers as high as 85/86? No, but he was still huge. PR through Batman he was huge. Oh geez, too many "huges" in there - I sound Like Donald Trump

[Edited 9/15/18 13:41pm]

May I just add: It's true!

I wouldn't mind the Black Version tho.

EmmaMcG said:

Where there's smoke there's fire. Besides, I prefer to think about Prince as a sex-crazed maniac. So I just automatically assume that he's slept with 90% of the women he's worked with. Especially the ones who had little to no talent. It's not degrading towards ALL women. Just the ones with no talent who fucked their way into the music business. And no, before anyone accuses me of aiming that towards Sheena Easton, I'm not. But to automatically buy into her denial of any affair is naive. It's not like Prince isn't known for this kind of thing. Prince was a genius when it comes to crafting great songs and albums. But I wouldn't say he was a genius when it comes to marketing. His music was arguably better than anything else in the charts but he had very few number ones.

Emma, just... no.

As you may know, Sheena Easton was a very talented singer and a very successful recording artist on her own before she worked with Prince. Right away, this distinguishes her completely from the Vanitys, Jill Joneses, Appollonias, etc., of the Prince world.

There is absolutely no reason to think that Prince and Sheena had any kind of special relationship, unless one of them said so.