That was in 1983. I heard on a german radio station "1999". The DJ said: "His name is Prince!" And I thought: "Prince? Damn! What a name! Typically American!"

TheNewPowerMan said:

When i first heard Prince, it was in '78 and i was at home listening to the radio. I heard "Soft and wet" and i knew right away that this kid was going to be something B I G. His sound was so different from what was going on then. I became and instant fan and have followed his royal badness ever since.

Bran

the first time I heard Prince, I was in 6 th grade, & a friend of mine from school, went into her older sister's room, to borrow her Brand spankin new record of Controversy, we played Controversy over & over again, probably 50 times, I knew the first time I heard it, I was hooked 4-ever.

when doves cry 1984 , been a fan ever since !!!

I heard 1999 and Little Red Corvette, like everyone else, and somehow I missed Purple Rain mania. I think I was way into Wham or Duran Duran or some other Euro band and even though all my friends at school were singing When Doves Cry and Purple Rain, I just didn't get it. Then one day, I was just listening to some tapes and my sisters 1999 was somehow in the mix and I heard Lets Pretend We're Married. I was like "did he just sing the F word"...oh snaps. The song was so crude and profane and naughty and I absolutely loved it. I played the rest of the tape ( I had never heard it all the way through) and something about the mix of profanity and lewdness just got to me. Hell, I was 13 and I thought looking at Penthouse was the ultimate sexual experience. For someone to be singing about sex and using all the 4 letter words...this guy must be pretty cool. I then went out and rented Purple Rain (on betamax for God's sakes) and was hooked from that point on.

I know Prince doesn't think the profanity is good anymore but it hooked this 13 year old dork back in 1985 who had no idea what the heck funk was and was listening to really lame Eurocrap at the time. The attitude, the bravery, and yes the curse words all played a role in what will probably be lifelong fandom.

danielboon said:

Could have been my story... sold at the very 1st time hearing this song!

I remeber seeing Diamonds and Pearls at my cousins house back when he was the only one with cable. I was about 6 or 7, but at that moment I fell in love