I always assumed that:

Old Guy = John L. Nelson
Surgeon = Dr. Fink
Tamborine Guy = Bobby Z.
Bra Girl = Wendy
Ice-Cream Girl = Brown Mark
Cloud-Suit Guy = Prince
Violin Girl = Lisa

I thought that the three figures in robes may have been Taja Sevelle, Jill Jones and Susannah Melvoin. I don't know. Who sang back-up on The Ladder? Was it Taja, Jill and Susannah or was it Sheila? I can't remember and I'm not home.

No rotten internet access at my parent's house! I'm "between homes" at the moment, so I'm using the net at work! Waiting for a mortgage to reach completion. Very stressy.

rdhull said:

The one dressed in black with the tambourine looks more like Wendy to me. Even though the bra n skirt lady looks like her in the RB video, the face and hair on the whitefaced one look just like her.

Ok - there is only one character on this album cover that I am 100% absolutely certain of - Prince is the one in the wight hood in the trio at the back. Get yourself a look at a big picture, or a vinyl cover - it is a very accurate drawing of Prince. Really, check it out.

Indeed Funk Mistress - there is much credence to the theory that the band members are clothed differently.

The cloud suit guy looks nothing like Prince. And the girl in black has Wendy's moody/sultry look, in my opinion. Yet, the girl next to her is wearing Wendy's outfit from the RB video.

Mindflux said:

the reviewer from RS I beklieve said the same thing..the whom is it in th ecloud suit? Im wondering if they did the RB vid and just took roles regardless of the painting etc

Brownmark must be the cloud suit guy? But who is that freak with the ice cream cone and reddish wig etc..is that a guy or a girl?

.
[This message was edited Tue May 20 11:46:27 PDT 2003 by rdhull]

rdhull said:

Miko in drag.

Also in the RB vid, right behind Prince is a guy/girl in whilte robe...very very weird looking/acting, but hey, its cool

I'm still convinced that is meant to represent BobbyZ.

Can somebody post a pic of the otherside of the album..?
[This message was edited Tue May 20 11:49:00 PDT 2003 by pejman]

pejman said:

Nah--Bobby Z is in white face with the black suit holdin the tambourine

My chronology is suffering here though - is it Brown Mark (I thought it was too late) or is it Miko (though, I thought this might be a little early!)?!!

As I said at the beginning, one of my favourite covers - fascinating.

rdhull said:

Scary, that's who.
And you can't convice me that the mime is Bobby Z. It's a chick, and it looks like Wendy. Didn't Bobby have a mustache?

At least there is no disputing the Fink character

See, the punk has a tache!! Its not really that visible on this picture, but check out the vinyl.

FunkMistress said:

yeah but Im sayin..thats how each had their haircuts etc...plus that has Bobbies stoic look

whos the girl on the see-saw?

Mindflux said:

Yes he-she does. and red fingernails..he-she is directly below the womans nipples..Fink has a mini ladder in his hand

rdhull said:

Duh, she's the girl on the see-saw. She's laughing 'cause love is the color this place imparts.

Maybe she's Cynthia Rose.

rdhull said:

Bobby could look pretty freakin blank and menacing. at times. But Wendy did the stoneface, too.

FunkMistress said:

Way too early to be Cynthia...

pejman said:

I was being facetious. Besides, concepts from Prince songs very often surface in songs/outtakes from years earlier.

FunkMistress said:

Nice description, a mime!!! A sad mime!

FunkMistress said:

pejman said:

Yeah, for a place that's supposed to be Eden, nobody looks like they're having much fun. Besides Ziggy Tranniedust over there.

FunkMistress said:

Wendy(bikini clad) sure does too..and that clown looks like a killer and that b-52 is going to hit that dove!

rdhull said:

That place would give me a headache! Too much going on.

FunkMistress said:

seems trppy..Id climb the mountain

rdhull said:

right up to the peek of it...