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Japanese Prince collectables Taken from Uptown issue #11 (October - December 1993)
One of the most notorius and sought-after Prince releases in the world is the promo-only Strange Tales From The Rain: Prince 1978-1984, 500 copies of which were issued in November of 1984 to honor the success of "Purple Rain". This 2-LP set was given to both selected radio and retail outlets, as well as a handful of guests at the movie's Japanese premiere.  The gatefold cover of "Strange Tales From the Rain" was covered with a downpour of "purple rain," with the back containing the same and a red love/sex symbol. No words or pictures grace the outer cover, but upon opening the sleve one will find the "Purple Rain" movie story in words, still photographs from the movie, and a list of the cast of characters and credits. The records have picture labels, with Prince's eye, his mouth, head and his body. The music contained on the discs is divided into two categories, and the records themselves have picture labels. The first disc contains the music that appears in the film (in the order it appears) "Let's Go Crazy" (Dance Mix), "Jungle Love," "Take Me With U," "The Beautiful Ones," "When Doves Cry" (Single Edit), "Computer Blue," "Darling Nikki," "Sex Shooter," "The Bird," "Purple Rain" (Single Edit), "I Would Die 4 U," and "Baby, I'm A Star." The second disc contains a selection of Prince's well-known compositions at the time of release: "Soft And Wet," "I Wanna Be Your Lover," "Sexy Dancer," "Uptown," "Dirty Mind," "Do Me, Baby" (listed as the 'Fuck Mix,' but is actually the album version), "Sexuality," "Controversy," "1999," "Little Red Corvette," "Delirious," and "The Glamorous Life."  Around the same time as "Strange Tales From The Rain", a special press kit was issued to various members of the media. It contained six full-color photos, a biography, and a 6" red flexi-disc for When Doves Cry (PS-1022). Interestingly, the label features 1999-style writing and a drawing of Prince's eyes! The flexidisc alone sold for $400 at a Los Angeles record convention in 1992.  Japan saw the release of another special promo item in December, 1984. This eight-track 7" single is known as Prince Syndicate (PS-1025). The front cover contains a photo of Prince's dove, Divinity, that was also used in the Purple Rain World Tour program, while the reverse side held a tracklisting. Side A contains the edit version of "Another Lonely Christmas," while Side B features messages (anywhere from four to twelve seconds in length) listed on the label as "Sheila E. introducing 'The Belle Of St. Mark,'" "Sheila E.'s Christmas Message," "Apollonia's Message To Japan," "Apollonia introducing 'Sex Shooter,'" "Apollonia introducing 'Happy Birthday Mr. Christian,'" and "Prince Introducing 'Purple Rain.'" Today (1993) this promo is worth about $350, but a copy of "Prince Syndicate" sold for $600 at a record convention at Hotel Russell in London in 1990.  Another promo release for "Around The World In A Day" was a 2-record set (a 12" and an LP) entitled His Majesty's Pop Life: The Purple Mix Club. Warner-Pioneer Music requested in August of 1985 that Warner Bros put out a double 12" of mixes to help give the sales of "Around The World In A Day" a little added boost. When Warner Bros. refused, Warner-Pioneer went ahead and put together "His Majesty's Pop Life" anyway. What makes this release so special is the fact that all the 12" remixes contained on the records were previously unavailable in Japan. Another different feature of this set is the fact that the first disc is played at 45 rpm, while the second is played at 33 1/3 rpm. Only 500 copies were pressed. The cover picture of "His Majesty's Pop Life" should be familiar to most collectors -- it's the same painting as used for the US and European releases of "Pop Life." The inner sleeves of the gatefold cover contain photos of Prince and The Revolution live during the Purple Rain tour, as well as a complete listing of the dates and venues played during the tour and a discography of Japanese Prince releases until 1985. The records also feature prominent picture labels, consisting of close-ups of a few of the various unusual characters portrayed on the "Around The World In A Day" album cover. Disc one contains "Pop Life" (Fresh Dance Mix), "America," "Raspberry Beret" (New Mix), and "Paisley Park" (Remix), while disc two holds "Let's Go Crazy" (Special Dance Mix), "Little Red Corvette" (Dance Mix), "Erotic City" (Long Version) and "When Doves Cry." Expect to see this item selling for about the same price as "Strange Tales From The Rain" ($300-$500). [This message was edited Fri May 30 9:32:28 PDT 2003 by suomynona] | |
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What about the Sign O' The Times acetates ? supposedly it's worth at least 1,000 bucks because it's unreleased? | |
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PhilG said: What about the Sign O' The Times acetates ? supposedly it's worth at least 1,000 bucks because it's unreleased? they'd be worth a lot more than that (i'm assuming you're referring to what prince originally turned into wbr as a 3LP set)...
those aren't japanese (i was trying to list only japanese vinyl goodies around 1984-85), and really aren't listed in any discography at all since they don't have catalogue #'s... | |
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 looking at who did the edits, i'm wondering if these are even approved edits (by wbr or paisley)... as with cd acetates (i have a few) it would be easy to fake... all someone would have to do is have the vinyl from that location, and write whatever they want on the label... now, if it was prince's handwriting... | |
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How about a Japan promo Purple Rain puzzle.I think its the lp cover photo. | |
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I have a white label promo of the SOTT 12" mixes. | |
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groovement said: I have a white label promo of the SOTT 12" mixes. just fyi "white label" aka unapproved/unofficial mixes... | |
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What is actually on the "My Name Was Prince" promo? | |
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chickengrease said: What is actually on the "My Name Was Prince" promo? songs culled from the hits the bsides.
i posted about it a while back... including a very small photo of the front insert... | |
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What about the Japanese promo 7" of Raspberry Beret.Apparently 10 were made and given to the top-brass at Warner Japan.
THAT'S gotta be worth a penny or two. | |
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thebumpsquad said: What about the Japanese promo 7" of Raspberry Beret.Apparently 10 were made and given to the top-brass at Warner Japan. THAT'S gotta be worth a penny or two. yeah, i just got tired of typing... knowing it wouldn't be read by very many people heheh. | |
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