At the end of 1987, Prince suddenly changed his tune and decided to pull his impending visceral release, The Black Album , immediately going to work on its replacement, an artful record about love and sex titled LOVESEXY, whose subsequent tour saw Prince at the height of his performance powers.
CHANGE OF HEART by Dan Dodds “This is not music, this is a trip,” Prince chanted, like a mantra, to the encore of “Alphabet St.” At the close of 1987, stung by the relative commercial disappointment of his masterpiece, Sign “O” the Times —especially when compared to the triumphant, diamond-selling, Black-pop return of Michael Jackson’s Bad —Prince believed he still had much to prove, particularly with his original Black American fan base, who he felt had deserted him, not just to his archrival, but also to, in his mind, the ultimate pretenders of funk: the emerging rap and hip-hop stylists. Canceling the Black Album —the notorious, knee-jerk reaction to his opponents—Prince instead embarked upon the more personal, idiosyncratic Lovesexy project; a platform for his most ambitious show to date and, arguably, his greatest work. A theatrical testimony of good conquering evil, it was a tour from which his band, his management, and indeed his art would never recover. It was a trip all right.
“Thing is, I don’t believe in God , but when Prince asks you to sing ‘God is love, love is God’—you do that; you don’t question him,” explains Dutch fan Rob Bemelen, who was there to witness Prince at the Westfalenhalle Stadium, in Dortmund, Germany, on September 9, 1988. It was a televised event, broadcast live to the whole of Europe. “That’s the power he had over us,” continues Rob, still in awe of the experience. “It was like a collective togetherness, for all eleven thousand of us.” The pivotal moment came at the end of the first act, when, having spent the previous hour wallowing in the filth of his most sinister classics—songs like “Sister,” “Head,” and “Jack U Off”—Prince struck up the solitary keyboard intro to the devotional epic “Anna Stesia.” Essentially a Euro-soul hybrid in sound design; stark like Ultravox’s “Vienna” before swirling into a rousing, twisted-gospel workout. Prince utilized the expertise at hand of his seasoned players who were primed coming off their concert film Sign “O” the Times —the all-star, rainbow- slop combo of she-funk heroine Sheila E.; bass player Levi Seacer Jr.; rhythm guitarist Miko Weaver; electric church powerhouse Boni Boyer; Madhouse sax player Eric Leeds; trumpet-musketeer Atlanta Bliss; triple threat Cat Glover (his greatest dancer, choreographer,
and rapper); and of course, ex-Revolution synth-stalwart Doctor Fink (“Doctorrr!”). While the band members all stand guard, Prince, seated at the piano in the center of the round, is lifted two stories high on a hydraulic platform, his arms outstretched in worship, bathed in a sunburst of spotlight. The song’s impassioned performance matched its deeper meaning and significance, recounting the events of Tuesday, December 1, 1987, or “Blue Tuesday,” as immortalized in the Lovesexy ’88 tour program. Perhaps Blue Tuesday is the most speculated night in Prince-lore for two reasons: firstly, it was when Prince met Ingrid Chavez, aka Spirit Child; “A beautiful girl, the most” is how he described her, in a verse of “Anna Stesia” (long before Mayte Garcia, Prince’s future wife, appropriated the title). Secondly, it was the infamous night when, in- spired by an “epiphany,” Prince felt compelled to cancel The Black Album . “Do you believe?” he asked, as the band played out the vamp; the crowd roared “yes!” in response. Prince then abandoned the microphone and dropped his instrument, uncommonly exposed for a brief moment. “There’s a new power in this house tonight,” he says, off-mic to guitarist Miko Weaver, visibly moved. “Take this with you forever.”
The Lovesexy band: (Clockwise from top left) Cat Glover, Doctor Fink, Miko (kneeling), Eric Leeds, Levi Seacer Jr., Atlanta Bliss, Sheila E., Prince, and Boni Boyer. Photo by Jeff Katz for a promotional poster.
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