into “Erotic City,” the first song of Act 1: “The Dark,” the section of the show almost entirely dedicated to the sleazier, more lustful, sexually themed work in Prince’s canon. Sequenced like a long suite into a rich tapestry, incorporating old standards with new contemporary material, the songs fit like a Lovesexy vs. the Black Album super project—a story of good overcoming evil. “No one had ever attempted a theatrical show like that, an arena show in the round,” says Roy Bennett. Prince strode onto the stage wearing a white suit with polka dots, his long black hair tied back behind his head, large hooped earring on his right ear—every step, every movement, every facial gesture, every flick of the hair carefully choreographed in an elaborate dance. “Prince was inspired by a guy named Moses Pendleton; he gave me a [video] cassette and told me to go to the hotel and watch it,” explains Cat. “Moses was a dancer that worked in the theater who had a different way of doing everything. When he got out of bed in the morning, he made it a dance. He was awesome.” The potential for pretension tempered by the humor on display, like when Prince shushes the crowd as Cat sings to his crotch during “Head,” then implores the audience to sing along to his most salacious lines, leading them astray. “I know you’re nasty—say it.” The two additions from The Black Album are performed in their entirety. The dark ’n’ freaky, S&M-themed “Superfunkycalifragisexy” is a debauched precursor to the funny, caustic, showstopper “Bob George,” with Prince dressed in flamboyant shades and an alligator coat that, according to Cat, George Clinton gave to him. The song itself allegedly named after manager Bob Cavallo and music critic Nelson George. “I flew out for a Purple Rain gig and was disappointed that he seemed like he was trying very hard to replicate the movie onstage, and I wrote that in Billboard ,” explains Nelson George, adding, “I believe that’s the genesis of ‘Bob George.’ I went and saw the Purple Rain show later in D.C., and I know he was aware I was in the building. He started that show in total darkness, jamming for several minutes, before doing a stellar show that had the fresh feeling of his earlier tours. I always thought the D.C. show was a bit of a ‘fuck you’ to me. But then I thought, ‘I’m giving myself too much credit.’ Then, years later, ‘Bob George’ comes out, so I definitely pissed him off at some point.” As the end of Act 1 nears, Prince—the old Prince—symbolically dies onstage as Eric Leeds, Atlanta Bliss, Miko Weaver, and Levi Seacer Jr. point their musical instruments at him and shoot. Then the emotional rendition of “Anna Stesia” signals his rebirth, bringing Act 1 to a close. Meanwhile, under the stage, Cat is getting ready for the next number. “I had to wear outfits under my outfits, which really wasn’t a lot of clothes, as it was just underwear mainly,” Cat laughs. “That wasn’t my choice, but I’d be under the stage taking down a pair of thigh-high stockings and adding on another pair right above them, jumping straight back onstage. It was just energy.” For the “Intermission,” Prince produced a specially made track, splicing an excerpt of a Jill Jones recitation from Romeo and Juliet . “Wow, flashback,” says Jill. “We did that originally for ‘Modernaire’; we had a whole [Shakespeare] soliloquy!” “Intermission” also used the aforementioned “Cross the Line” by Ingrid Chavez, adding samples of stunning Clare Fischer string arrangements from the vault. “In the distance, a light shines…,” recited Ingrid over the sound system, while Cat danced a ballet. “ ‘I Wish U Heaven’ was like a nightly relief,” admits Alan Leeds, “a moment when we could all exhale, partly because the bulk of the show was behind us, and particularly because the lyrics were so inspiring. My wife, Gwen, was my assistant on the tour. She and a couple of the wardrobe staff might only watch that one song and often returned to the production office with tears of joy in their eyes.”
have to back out of the Queen thing.’ And I said, ‘That’s really unfair!’ And we’re going back and forth, when all of sudden, the door opens and Prince walks in, where he must have been outside listening—‘So you wanna work with Queen, huh?’ And he said, ‘What’s the name of their single? “Princes of the Universe”?!’ And he just started laughing, turned around, walked out, and slammed the door.” Prince intended to take the Sign “O” the Times show to the next level; wanted the Lovesexy ’88 stage to look like a playground for grown-ups, to be set in the round for stadiums, with a basketball hoop, a swing, a bed, a replica Ford Thunderbird car, a bridge, trellises and flowers, strobe lights and LED Plexiglas with multi-colored letters, with the entire production setting him back an alleged two million dollars. He also wanted a sailboat (for “I Wish U Heaven”), a waterfall, and a fountain; but after they couldn’t get the fountain to work in the Paisley Park car park—water was pissing out everywhere, not good for such an electronically powered production—it was decided to stick with what they had. Rehearsals were tedious, each song taking as long as ten hours to set up, with over forty song arrangements to be learned just in case Prince wanted to alter the track list. “We’d be on the first song and then, after thirty seconds of it, Prince would yell, ‘Stop!’ ” explains Eric, adding, “Then he and Roy would sit there for fifteen to thirty minutes, discussing the movements, lights, and all the effects. Then we’d do another minute and Prince would yell again, ‘Everybody stop!’—this was the process. I tell you, I was so done with that show before we had even played the first gig!” Rehearsals took around four months. Other band members were showing signs of fatigue. Boni Boyer was arguably the greatest vocalist to ever work in a Prince band. Raphael Saadiq grew up with Boni (who, sadly, passed away in 1996) and had played in her band back in the Bay Area. “Boni Boyer was like the Queen of Oakland,” says Saadiq, “whether it was funk, house, or whatever.” “Boni and I were really close,” says Cat Glover. “Duane [Nelson, Prince’s brother,] used to say, ‘What, are you guys like Wendy and Lisa now?’ ” Boni was not shy of telling Prince what she thought; used to give him lip. “We were doing a sound check,” recalls Cat, “and Boni came in wearing silk pajamas. She looked really cute in a silk two- piece, but Prince made a joke. Using that voice he does, he said, ‘You don’t come on my stayyge wearin’ no silk pajamas!’ And Boni said, ‘You got a nerve, you on this stage with a green jumpsuit wi’ alphabets all over it!’ ” Everyone cracked up laughing.
Hundalasiliah!
“Clap your hands, stomp your feet—everybody,” said Spirit Child, introducing the TV broadcast from Westfalenhalle Stadium, the thirty- first night of the world tour. The crowd, made up of predominantly Dutch fans, duly obliged. “They were massive fans of Prince, and were the best crowd ever,” says Roy, “so we bussed a ton of them in from Holland to create the vibe for the live recording.” Dutchman Rob Bemelen, who had already seen Prince twice that summer, had all the LPs: Madhouse, Sheila E.’s albums (“A Love Bizarre” had been a number seven hit in the Netherlands), and even owned an actual copy, not a bootleg, of The Black Album . “Yes, of course,” states Rob, “I can’t remember the name of the shop, it was in Nijmegen [Netherlands], a record store, or— wrecka stow .” Rob laughs at his own fortune/ingenuity in referencing the film Under the Cherry Moon . His countrymen and women also knew all of the music, and were with Prince from the get-go as he rode into the arena, with Cat and Sheila E., on the Ford Thunderbird. “Snare drum pounds on the two and four,” hollers Prince. “All the party people get on the floor— bass !” The band launches
93
Made with FlippingBook - PDF hosting