Purple Medley Prince single

Warner Bros. Records

single

Prince: 1958–1993. May He Rest In Peace.

Purple Medley is a remix montage of Prince’s popular hits, all specially re-recorded by him at Paisley Park Studios in 1994. The tracks are included in the single as two versions, full and edit.

The edit is mixed into this sequence: Batdance, When Doves Cry, Kiss, Erotic City, Darling Nikki, 1999, Baby I’m A Star, Diamonds and Pearls, Purple Rain and Let’s Go Crazy. Which in the full 11 minute cut then continues with Sexy Dancer, Let’s Work, Irresistible Bitch, Sexy MF, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Alphabet St., Thieves in the Temple, 777-9311, A Love Bizarre, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Raspberry Beret, Little Red Corvette, Cream and closes with Peach.

The edited version was played at the start of the concerts during The Ultimate Live Experience tour, when Prince was under the name of The Artist Formally Known As Prince ( Prince Love Symbol). At the time of recording, Prince was in dispute with Warner Bros Records and had forged ahead with this promotional tour for The Gold Experience despite Warner’s refusal to release the album. Purple Medley was available commercially as an EP during the Ultimate Live Experience concert run as a ‘Tour Souvenir’ released by Warner Brothers on 6 March 1995. That tour did not visit the US and therefore Purple Medley performed poorly in the Billboard chart, peaking at only 84 in the Hot 100. Faring far better in the UK where concerts were played Purple Medley charted at number 33.

The third track on the EP is a remix medley produced by Prince’s DJ, Kirk Johnson. Although this track is called Kirky J’s B-Side Remix, only one of the songs the ‘B-Side Remix’ features (Shockadelica, the B-side for If I Was Your Girlfriend in 1987) was actually originally a B-side to a single. Kirky J’s B-Side Remix was available in the CD and 12″ vinyl releases of the EP. Its tracks are mixed in this order: Pop Life, Housequake, When Doves Cry, Shockadelica, Head and The Continental.

Cover Story

The back cover pictures Prince exiting a limo dressed in a light purple suit. This picture was capturing Prince’s arrival at Tramps nightclub on Jermyn Street, London for a private party during his stint at Earls Court for the Diamonds And Pearls Tour on 22 June 1992. The front cover is a painting done by Prince’s art director and official photographer Steve Parke, based on an original photograph shot by Lynn Goldsmith for Act I Tour promotional material.

Performers

Vox / All instr.

Prince

Programming

Kirk Johnson

Data

Producer

Prince

Label

Warner Bros. Records

Distribution

Warner Bros. Records

Cover/Design

Steve Parke and Michael Van Huffel

Released

31 years ago on 6 March 1995

Running Time

21:14

US Chart Peak

84

US R&B Peak

74

UK Chart Peak

33

Orig. Formats

Tracklist

1. Purple Medley [Edit] (3:14)
2. Kirk J's B-Sides Remix (7:00)

Running Time

10 min, 14 sec

Maxi-Single

1. Purple Medley [Edit] (3:14)
2. Purple Medley (11:00)
3. Kirk J's B-Sides Remix (7:00)

Running Time

21 min, 14 sec

Purple Medley review

Purple Medley is unique, a medley of Prince’s hits compressed into one 11 min track created by Prince. Billed as ‘the hits remixed’ the songs were newly recorded rerecorded especially for it, featuring no less than 25 of Prince’s most popular singles. It is remarkable to hear Prince mix his own hits his way. The B-side is a remix medley of favourite B-sides programmed by Kirky J, Prince’s best man when he married Mayte in 1996. Purple Medley was released as a single in March 1995 to coincide with The Ultimate Live Experience tour – Prince had it played it over the PA to open the shows. A tour of Prince’s catalogue at lightening speed, who else boasts this calibre of material.

Purple Medley is rated 4 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.