It was the day after Christmas in 1982. I was 12 years old, looking to buy a tape with my gift money. I had my choices narrowed down to 1999 and Billy Joel's "An Innocent Man." Thankfully I went with the former, and I have been warped ever since.

codshort looks a lot like todd bridges . . . hmmmm

4everYoung said:

squintin.....yeah, todd bridges with cheex....

Damn.. y'all some old mofos... I'm only 19 but I guess i spent way too much money and too much time on P's music. Well... in the words of Prince and Morris Day in 'chocolate'

'Too Old...'
'Too ugly!'

hmmm lets see...summer 98' i was bored so i pulled a purple rain video tape we had in the closet and watched it...again.and again...and soon after i got purple rain....that was it... i ran out and bought everything else..which i hated at first i thought sott,and parade where sucky but they became favorites.

oh and i was...17 at the time

I became a Prince fan about 5 years ago, I fell in love with him after watching the Purple rain movie again, I was so mesmerized by his performance of singing Purple rain, how he played his guitar, and the words to the song. My sister always liked Prince she had the poster that came with the Purple rain album on the wall and she used to do her hair like him. Now I fell inside a deep well, I am so psyched, Prince rules my world musically!!!!!
[This message was edited Thu Feb 21 18:12:38 PST 2002 by lonelyrock]

4everYoung said:

Todd Bridges wishes he could look like me!!

I became a true fan the first time I heard "The Most Beautiful Girl In The World." The beauty and melody of the song just floored me. The next day I went out and bought The Beautiful Experience, and Hits 1 and 2. The day after that I went and got Purple Rain and Sign 'O' the Times. The day after that, well, u get the idea.

I became a REAL fan in 5th grade!.. my first girlfriend's mom had a party for her and we were all dancing.. in her basement.. and we found her mom's new 1999 album!! and we all loved it!!
and that was the first time I kissed her!!!

but I really became a fan on my own in 7th grade and purple rain movie/album came out and prince was on every award show.. kicking ass!! I used to have "prince pins" for my jean jacket and all the other guys.. thought I was odd.. because they were into heavy metal..

but I knew "the truth"! from that point on when I saw the movie.. and heard "the beautiful ones" I was HOOKED!!!

** at the time also.. when I heard a "b side" of Erotic City.. and HEARD the words!! WOW.. he was swearing I was like this guy is the man!!! He put secret songs out with swear words! more then just the album!
[This message was edited Thu Feb 21 20:30:30 PST 2002 by locoarts]

I was 9 years-old and 'I Wanna Be Your Lover' was in it's high radio rotation (especially on AM radio here). I loved the song, but didn't know who the guy/girl was. The video for the song came on one night because I heard it, but my mother refused to let me see it (she was trying to make sure he wasn't nekked or something). I caught a glimpse of long brown hair flying around and some boots and a scarf somewhere, too. After I saw that mystical album cover with Prince on a white horse with wings (I think he was nekked), the damage was done...

Almost everything he came out with in the 80s I loved. And I would crank it up, much to my parents' dismay. That, of course, made me love it more! I've been hooked on everything he does since then - I do not feel this way about any other artist's music. The fact that he is always so in-your-face raw and honest is a draw to me. I also love his "shock" factor! When people meet me they sometimes assume I'd listen to something Barry Manilow-ish. (Not that I'm a geek - just that I'm a mother of a 4 year old and a CEO.) So it's always fun to see the reaction when they walk by my office and hear Prince tunes! Then all of the sudden they're intrigued like - "oh what else don't we know about you!"

In 1994 was n the 4th grade and my older brother had given me Purple Rain and Parade.I started 2 listen to the tapes everyday and just fell n love with his music...I really njoyed the beats and his funky music...4rom then on i was hooked.
[This message was edited Thu Feb 21 21:08:56 PST 2002 by purpledarling55]

9-9-1988 or september 9th, 1988

The broadcast of the concert at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany.
This performance really made me a fan, although I was listening to his stuff before this date (end of 1987).

Eye became a true Prince "friend" in 1980, and have luved him ever since. Eye think he is the most talented performer eye have ever known and might eye say 1 of the FINEST! He has been a part of my life 4 22 years and eye still have the same luv 4 him as eye did back then. What can eye say, eye luv that man.

Paisley.

I was 8 years old in 1986 when I saw the video for Kiss on MTV...after that I was hooked.

I was just turning 7 when I saw The Diamonds and Pearls video. I was in complete amazement. As I got older I payed attention to Prince's music but it wasent until I saw the Gold video that something really hit me. And then seeing His peformance on the VH1 Fashion awards...It was all down hill fron there ::

Wow, back in 1981 I was just going out of elementary to junior high, some rock show on TV played the performance for Dirty Mind orUptown, well I thought, that this was a band who like Queen named themselves Prince? I thought he was too freaky, it bothered me. Then I heard the following years, Delirious, sounded like he was singing like Elvis, thought it was okay. Saw his Corvette video, thought his dancing was cool.

BUT then, When Doves Cry, summer school before hight school, hot, steamy, the video blew me away, The Revolution were too cool, like how they danced at the end, the way Bobby Z. hit the Simmons drum pad and turned away, how Prince looked killer in that outfit and that screaming! Wooo!

My brother then brought in promo copies he got for free of Purple Rain and Glamourous Life vinyl LP's. He wasn't a fan but I think that did it for me. The songs all touched me, the spirituality, the powerful instruments, and the lyrics totally affected me and inspired my crush towards this one girl. It was like everysong was in tune with what I was feeling. Whew. I was hooked from then on. I played that record everyday afterschool.

The frum sounds blew me away, I tweaked those records to figure them out.

Then went to see Puprle Rain with a friend, I loved it! The black folk were dancing standing up at there seats, in the theatre when The Time performed!!!

I got more intense when I saw the long video for I Would Die 4 U and Baby I'm a Star! "Goodgod! Pak(Linn clap)!" It was just awesome! His whole performance was riveting, spectacular! This dude was AWSOME!

I haven't seen any other performer come close to this day. Since then it's just was collect the singles for the long versions and B-Sides, backtracking and discovering more of his music and his protegé's, loved the album artworks and lettering, drew the whole Around The World in a Day type on my school folders, and as many rarities I could find and my wallet could handle. Collected pictures, read everything.

Sign"O" The times movie...finding the Black Album bootleg and a boot named Chocolate Box with Dream Factory outtakes...lots of fun! Then Glam Slam LA...

What a great trip it's been.

One of the things that hooked me his uniqueness. He was totally different from anything going on, like this other world. Through his music, clothes, style, way of talking, showed me how to be an individual, unique, stand out in a crowd, be a iconoclast, that is one of the qualities I love about Prince, his compete and utter uniqueness. It was very inspiring and influential part of my growing up. Thanks Prince.

*
[This message was edited Thu Feb 21 23:13:17 PST 2002 by FlyingCloudPassenger]

I was ten when Purple Rain became a big hit and I just loved that song. Decided to buy the album and it was fantastic. Then Around the world in a day came out. I bought it and at first I hated it, but I thought well I bought it so I might as well listen to it again. I was just under the impression that ATWIAD would be a kind of Purple Rain number 2. Like all other artists who try to copy what sells good. Then I figured it out... This man was a REAL musician, a REAL artist. The more I listened to ATWIAD the more I loved it and it's still one of my favorite albums. So the why I became a fan is simply the immense versatility of the man, he always changes without ever making comprimises and eventhough the music is always different I love it every time. Prince: YOU ARE THE BEST keep up the good work! I love U.

I first heard Prince when "Willis" & "Arnold" were dancing to "I Wanna Be Your Lover" on "Different Strokes". Then I never really heard him again until 1984, I was 10 yrs old and my cousin had picked me up in her truck. She was playing "When Doves Cry", since then I've been hooked. I've bought his albums on record, tape and then CD. Now I run an internet radio station that plays mostly Prince.
[This message was edited Fri Feb 22 1:51:21 PST 2002 by DJEmale]

I become a Prince fan when i was 11. It was the summer of the 1988....
Why it happened? I dont no exatly...i loved him at the first sight

Been a fan since 1979 , 23YEARS!!! Saw all the old shows: Prince vs. Rick James,Prince w/ ZAPP!!!

What's beautiful about this thread is that there are some young fans of the LIL MAN here. While they are some that OLD OLD OLD!!!!!(LOL).


I guess I'm one of the old .....wait a minute I'm young man. Age ain't nothing but a number.Besides LIL MAN's music keeps you young!!!!!


*First started liking LIL MAN with the song I WANNA BE YOUR LOVER in 79'. My sisters used to love him. They would cut out all his pictures from the teen magazine RIGHT ON!!!! I was one of the dudes that was like...Who is the fag singing like a woman"????? However, I loved IWBYL and the ultra funky "Sexy Dancer". Then "Still Waiting" was released I was becoming impressed. This was a heartfelt ballad.

*1980- Nothing I mean nothing on the radio sounded like "Dirty Mind" the song and "Uptown". These songs were truly innovating. Even before P blew up and became a mainstream pop star, he had followers. There was this R&B group called EBONEE WEBB that had a R&B hit back in 1981 that sounded just like P's stuff on the Dirty Mind. So P was a trailblazer even then!!!!! I remember taping "Dirty Mind" and "Uptown" off the radio....PSSST...remember those portable tape recorders that you'd carry around..you'd put the recorder up to the radio to record your favorite songs...only problem was if someone comes in the room talking, the tape recorder would pick it up. Needless to say, there were some tapes that were screwed up because my sisters would come in my bedroom screaming because P was on the radio.

*1999 was the first album by P I bought, The album came out in late 1982 and everybody at my high school was trying to get a copy of this record. You just weren't happeing if you didn't have this record. The songs on this album were just so irresistible. It seems like the radio stations were playing nearly every song from 1999 on the radio. I thougt "International Lover" was released as a single because radio was playing it so much. I remember seeing the video for "Automatic" for the first time and being amazed at P's stage performance. It was such a simple video but it was elevated by P's stage presence and charisma. Oh... Lisa and JJ looked great in it. Then "Little Red Corvette" video and single came out. LIL MAN had his first top 10 hit. I remember listening to Casey Kasem's show American Top 40 and being happy that LRC had moved from number 11 on the charts to number 8. I finally bought the cassette tape of 1999 in the summer of 1983 with my check from my first summer job. I no longer had to borrow other people's 1999 tape/album. And from there I've been a fan and a respecter of his musical talent every since.

Brother 9/15 aka CR3

Brother915 said:

OMG did other people used to do that too! i thought it was just me.
this thread is 2 cool. i love hearing everyone's stories. everyone has said something that i can relate 2. 1 album is never enough, his music is so addictive. i am just putting my own story together and will post it in a bit.

It was 1988 (B4 the I Wish U Heaven single was released though) and I was taking the p* out of a friend who had the Lovesexy album in his car. I was 14 at the time. So he took me a ride and made me listen, then did me a recording and it started from there...I then met 2 girlies on holiday about 2 months later and, when asked what music I liked, my instant response was "I love Prince". They did too, and r now the only people who still understand me waffling on about how gr8 he is! Between us, we got all the old stuff - Dirty Mind made a BIG impression on my 14 year old mind - and it carried on growing until 1992 and the Symbol album. Saw him in concert twice, last time being 1992, and wasn't too impressed with Symbol, so gave it a rest 4 a while. Then, the same guy who "shared" Lovesexy with me bought Come and, as we got 2gether as a couple, I got back in2 Prince, briefly. I've recently updated my collection from vynyl to CD (and video to DVD - where's SOTT and Lovesexy Tour??), and have picked up every thing I can, including all the stuff I missed between 1994 and 2000! And I'm well impressed, just totally disappointed with how long I've missed out. But I'm back - and my parents r rolling their eyes just like they did the first time! So fill me in on all the things I've missed, someone....please!!!!

First album purchased- Around The World In A Day....

Prior to that, had never purchased any Prince music, due to the fact my mother was not going to give me cash to buy the music of a "freak".

My mother met Prince a few times in 1985... Before he bought his place in L.A., he used to camp out at Le Parc (on West Knoll) in West Hollywood for a week or two at a time. She just told me he was always "covered up" with some sheet on his head.

I was really into Prince up to a cetain point, not saying I dont like him now, just not as much as then. He is still among my favorites

There was an MTV special on 0{+> around the time of The Gold Experience. All I remember was when the 0{+> fans were interviewed and asked who was better Prince or MJ. MJ got roasted! Then the played the Gold video and that was that. I've never looked back since...

Ahhh...I remember that moment well. I have always been a fan of Prince's music, but I really fell in love with the "man" when I watched his television interview with Oprah in 1996. That interview allowed me to really get to know what a wonderful, thoughtful, kind, and engaging human being Prince is. A peek into his personality has had me hooked since that day!

man oh man....it don't matter how old folks are here, man! honestly, i love readin the testimonials from folks who have dug the man since for you and such....a lot can be learned from the old-skoolers, u know. i'm only 21 and i've dug ol' boy since i wuz about 15-ish, and i've learned a lot in a short time...i still got a ways 2 go, 2.