Or the rest of those characters on that bizarre album cover.Anybody know?

If you look carefully, the one most to the rear is actually Prince. The others are based on the rest of the band.

In case you hadn't noticed, if you fold out the sleeve, the colourful "hills" in the background is actually a silhouette of a woman laying down.

Mindflux said:

yeah, took me a while 2 notice the woman laying down thing.
It hit me when I dropped it on the floor and saw it side-on

---

For me, it serves as one of Prince's more interesting record covers, in the same vein as 1999. You can find all sorts great details and references to the songs on the album in these covers - great!

Tony,Damon,& Kirk

Mindflux said:

I thought Prince was the he/she/it that was laying down, then again the Dr. Fink guy is all gray. I dunno??

pejman said:

No - he's definitely the guy most at the rear, in the group of three on the right-hand side.

I'm looking for a jpeg, but can't find one big enough for people to be able to see the detail.

ok, found one!! Its not that big, but the best I could find. Prince is the one in the white hood - its pretty easy to see who each of the others are too!

I don't think any of the characters are meant to be 100% "literal" representations of anyone in the band - it took me a few years to figure out that theory, I'm a little slow on the uptake, ha...

Anyone have the URL to the other paintings by the guy who did this album cover? His work is really, really interesting to me.

They are not "100% literal" but they do represent members of the band.

It is quite clear that Fink, Wendy, Lisa, Bobby Z, Susannah and Miko are the people who are, shall we say, caricatured on the cover.

Mindflux said:

I take that back the one laying down w/ice cream looks like Mico!

Haha - this might get interesting. I always perceived the ice-cream wielding punk to be BobbyZ, with Miko in the clous suit with cloud guitar.

i always thought the album cover was just indicative of all the people in his life at the time and involved in the making of the record. I've always thought that the older guy in the corner was his pops because he contributed to the record. and the woman with the violin is clare fischer. at least, that's what i think.

I understand where you are coming from, but Clare is a MAN!!

The violin lady is Susannah. I'm not sure about the old man in the corner. Maybe it is John L, but my feeling has always been that it was a reference to Africa - there were plenty of references in his music to Africa at this time, it was also the time of the "We are the World" campaign, and there is also a picture of a young, naked black boy on the other side of the cover. Just my opinion, of course!

I think the doctor looks like Prince. Xcept for the hair.
Maybe is each band member with the clothes of another.
I dunno. Nevermind.

7salles - was thinkink along those lines myself.

Mainly because Miko is wearing Prince's cloud suit and has his guitar and Lisa is wearing an outfit similar to that worn by Wendy in the Raspberry Beret video.

Mindflux said:

hahaha! well, you learn something new every day! i never knew, in all this time, that clare was a man! lol!

imnotsayinthisjust2bnasty said:

yep an old man taboot...

Mindflux said:




Really? Given all the responses on this thread, you coulda fooled me.

I think the characters on the cover represent ASPECTS of each of the band members and associates of the time, but I DON'T think there's a literal "this person equals that person" interpretation to be had...and I'm guessing that this was kind of the point when the painting was commissioned by Prince.

(And for the record (pardon the pun), I always thought the woman with the violin was Lisa.)

The violin lady is Lisa, Wenmdy is the bra and skirt lady and his pops is the old man with the cane or he maybe the guy in the song Paisley Park.

don't they all come alive in the raspberry beret video?

richb8 said:

The lil boy with the baloon does.

I always thought the dude in the cloud suit was prince, based on the RB video. It seems that everyone is represented by their outfits but given different nationalities. Couldn't the three men be the string section in the RB video, assuming they're men.

Mindflux said:

Check out that nipple in the background!

those three with robes on are terrorist strapped with bombs waiting to blow up paisely park

thats levi

and his

career


lol

tis a

brown mark

on musical

history

Mindflux said:

I always thought the old man was the character from "Paisley Park" whose house was condemned by the city ("see the man cry...")

FunkMistress said:

yep Princes dad was more of a pimp than that old fogie!