Screwdriver Prince single

Purple Music

single

We are Untitled.

Screwdriver was a digital single released across all leading platforms by independent Swiss-based music publisher Purple Music, one day prior to the launch of Prince’s latest websites 20pr1nc3.com and 3rdEyeGirl.com where the song was likewise available for purchase from 4 February 2013.

Prince and 3rdEyeGirl performed the track on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, aired on NBC on 2 March 2013, an appearance which also served as the public launch of his new backing group. Despite this, Screwdriver is not however a 3rdEyeGirl track as was recorded at Paisley Park Studios in 2012 with John Blackwell on drums, and future 3rdEye band member Ida Nielsen who appears on bass.

The lyric video published to 20pr1nc3.com on 22 January 2013 inaugurated new music by Prince featuring his all-female backing band 3rdEyeGirl. The video of a live version of the track with 3rdEyeGirl was issued on the same website on 10 February. Screwdriver was possibly considered as a stand-alone release or to appear on the band’s debut album Plectrumelectrum, but during 2013 the track fell from favour and was not included in its final configuration. Screwdriver eventually found a home in the 12 December 2015 release of what became Prince’s final solo album HITNRUN Phase Two.

Performers

Vocals/Guitar

Prince

Drums

John Blackwell

Bass Guitar

Ida Nielsen

Data

Producer

Prince

Label

NPG Records

Distribution

Purple Music

Released

13 years ago on 22 January 2013

Running Time

4:13

US Chart Peak

Did not chart

UK Chart Peak

Did not chart

Orig. Format

Tracklist

1. Screwdriver (4:13)

Screwdriver single review

A song that’s often credited to 3rdeyegirl because the band revealed it on their first public outing, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on 2 March 2013. Screwdriver hails from late 2012 weeks prior to the band’s formation, so it’s the late great John Blackwell on drums in the studio recording, 3rdEyes’s Ida Nielsen on bass, was available commercially on 4 February 2013. This is a rock drenched song and a sad farewell to Blackwell who passed on 4 July 2017 battling a brain tumour at the young age of 43. What’s difficult to reconcile is the thought of Prince handling a DIY tool. Screwdriver later found a home on Prince’s final LP HITNRUN Phase Two in 2015.

Screwdriver is rated 4 out of 5 by Goldies Parade.

Related release

HITNRUN Phase Two

NPG Records • 2015

About this release and review