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The Revolution

I have the baddest band in the universe

The genesis of Prince’s first credited backing band begins as far back as 1979 with The Rebels. This was a group comprising Andre Cymone on bass, Dez Dickerson on guitar and Gayle Chapman on keyboards. They and Prince flew to Boulder, Colorado in the wake Prince’s sessions at Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California which created his debut album For You. He was looking to hone his band for the supporting tour. The band had played their first public gigs at the Minneapolis’s Capri Theatre that January, $4 a head on the door, but their performance was not thought up to par by the Warner executives that attended and that the live act needed work. Prince believed naming his touring band would instil the sense of ambition and unified purpose in the group, so from 10th to 21 July the four were ensconced at Mountain Ears Sound Studio to cut tracks and form a tighter unit.

Prince was keen to put together a multiracial ensemble and although the name The Rebels was dropped shortly after, that November rehearsals were complete and the band joined Prince on his debut tour in support of his self-titled second album Prince. The legacy of The Rebels sowed the concept in Prince’s mind to one day tour with a named backing band, which four albums later saw the formation of The Revolution.

Original line-up

Prince’s approach to hiring his band members took inspiration from the working practices of James Brown, which would issue a formal call sheet and dock the pay of musicians who turned up late or missed sessions entirely. Prince had little tolerance for members who missed rehearsals, and there was certainly no hanging out at the local bar after hours. They were also offered financial intensives for creativity; for instance following the Purple Rain Tour, The Revolution received bonuses at three times their salary. Throughout his career, Prince’s band members were employed on a contract basis and kept on retainers for work in the studio and on tour. The pay rate was the industry standard, and despite being a member of arguably the most successful band of the day rates were low, earning just a few hundred dollars per day. Hotels were booked using the ABC method: Artist, Band, Crew. Prince rarely travelled in the same tour bus or stayed at the same hotel with his bands. He was after all the international superstar and responsible for keeping the entire show on the road and its supporting personnel employed. Prince was a hard taskmaster and always pushed his bands beyond their limits, yielding from them results they believed could not otherwise have achieved. It also nurtured a lifestyle that was difficult to sustain for long periods. In result there was a noticeable rotation of personnel in Prince’s bands and assistants – even his then girlfriend Mayte in the early 1990s at one stage had to request for a pay rise because she was unable to pay her rent.

Bobby Z (drums)

Born in Minneapolis on 9 January 1956, Robert Rivkin played drums since Junior High School and had adopted the stage name Bobby Z, taken from the name used by his grandmother, “Butzie”. He landed a job through his brother, sound engineer David Rivkin for a local producer named Chris Moon, and became a runner for music manager Owen Husney – Prince’s first manager. It was Husney that introduced Bobby to Prince in 1977 and, liking the novelty of hiring a white drummer, Bobby performed alongside Prince and Andre Cymone in their studio sessions for Pepe Willie’s band 94 East. Bobby also facilitated the introduction of Prince to local keyboardists and brothers, Ricky and Paul Peterson. Paul would lead Prince’s side project The Family in 1985, and Ricky would become a technician at Paisley Park during the mid 1990s. Bobby Z played six tours with Prince, from the debut up until Parade. For the the first three tours, Bobby played an acoustic kit by Ludwig, but fearing for his place in the band when Prince acquired the Linn LM-1 Drum Machine, for the 1999 Tour Prince had Bobby on the Simmons SDS-V electric drums, having its pads hooked up to the Linn in the live shows. The kit reappeared on the subsequent Purple Rain and Parade tours, latterly wrapped in a paisley pattern. Bobby remained in Prince’s band for 10 years.

Dr Fink (keyboards)

Matthew Fink was born in Minneapolis on 8 February 1957. At school he became a jazz pianist as well as a friend of Bobby Rivkin, who introduced Fink to Prince in 1978 to audition on keyboards in his first professional band. That audition took place in the basement at Pepe Wille’s home, Fink was hired that day. For the debut tour in 1979, Prince was looking to create a band whose members adopted stage personas. The character Matt came up with would stick for the remainder of his working career; he proposed two concepts: a jail suit (rejected, as Rick James had done that already) and surgical scrubs. Accepting the latter, and on tour in Chicago at that time, an assistant was despatched to a local medical suppliers to buy scrubs, mask and a stethoscope. Prince gave Fink the stage name Dr Fink. Matt’s first writing contribution in the band was creating the synthesiser parts for the track Dirty Mind. His main keyboards used both in the studio and at the live shows with The Revolution were the Oberheim OB-Xa and SX and Yamaha DX7 and KX88. Fink served in Prince’s bands for a total of 12 years.

Lisa (keyboards)

Born in Los Angeles on 17 August 1960, Lisa Coleman grew up with Wendy Melvoin and became close childhood friends. Coleman was a classically trained pianist having played since high school and got her first job in 1975 as session musician on the movie soundtrack Portrait Of A Teenage Alcoholic. A friend who was working as an office junior for Prince’s manager Steve Fargnoli gave Coleman a recommendation, and he in turn suggested Coleman to Prince when learning he needed a new keyboardist following the resignation of Gayle Chapman in 1980. Chapman had quit Prince’s band on religious grounds and having to sing his lewd lyrics throughout the run of Dirty Mind Tour. Coleman was thereby asked to audition, and happy to sing those lyrics, by way of initiation test, she secured the role. The backbone of Prince’s style of electro-funk that became so widely adopted in the city it got the name ‘Minneapolis sound’. Prince kept dual keyboardists in his bands and offshoots to create its key characteristic of having the second keyboard synthesizing in place of horns.

BrownMark (bass guitar)

Born as Mark Brown in Minneapolis on 8 March 1962, he established himself as bass player in a local 12-piece funk band named Phantasy shortly after leaving high school in 1981. He received a phone call out of the blue from Prince asking him to audition in replacement of Andre Cymone who quit to pursue a solo career. Believing this a prank call, Brown hung up but luckily Prince called back to tell him Bobby Z will be collecting him from the 7/11 store where he worked and drive him to Prince’s house to audition. The pair jammed for 15 minutes and was signed up that day and given the stage name BrownMark. Shortly afterwards, Brown was performing alongside Prince at their two fateful dates as support act for the Rolling Stones at the LA Memorial Coliseum. In both shows he and the band were pelted with off stage by the rock fans not digging the band’s avant-garde wardrobe. Come 1984, it was Prince and The Revolution topping the charts with the most successful album, single, tour and movie of the day. His mainstay bass for his tenure with The Revolution was the Alembic Spoiler.

Wendy (rhythm guitar)

Wendy Melvoin was born in Los Angeles on 26 January 1964 and came into Prince’s orbit via childhood friend Lisa Coleman, when in 1980 Prince and the band was staying at Lisa’s house in West Hollywood during the LA dates of the Dirty Mind Tour. Wendy is also twin sister of Susannah Melvoin who became an occasional backing singer for Prince, as well as his girlfriend and finance. Her elder brother Jonathan was keyboardist for The Smashing Pumpkins and played drums on Parade album’s Do U Lie? He died on 12 July 1996 from a heroin overdose and the incident inspired Prince to write The Love We Make. Prince first heard Wendy playing guitar in Lisa’s bedroom at the house and a few days later asked her to step in for Dez Dickerson who failed to turn up to a soundcheck. At 19, Melvoin was the youngest member of the band when she became full time in the summer of 1983 after Dickerson quit at the conclusion of the Triple Threat Tour. Wendy’s guitar of choice for Purple Rain Tour was a purple Rickenbacker 330, moving to a white Gibson ES-335 for Parade Tour. Dickerson’s departure presented Prince the inducement to start afresh and name his backing band: The Revolution.

Collaborations with Prince

The Revolution made their public debut on 3 August 1983, performing a show staged at First Avenue in benefit of the Minnesota Dance Theatre. This show was also Wendy’s first appearance with Prince and was played to a capacity audience of 1,500. It was also recorded using a mobile studio parked outside operated by sound engineer David Rivkin. Three songs captured during this legendary 70-minute concert would ultimately be included on the band’s first album jointly credited Prince and The Revolution. The songs were: I Would Die 4 U, Baby I’m A Star and the album’s anthemic title track Purple Rain. Other tracks premiered and recorded that night were Let’s Go Crazy, Electric Intercourse and Computer Blue. The recordings were edited, embellished and cleaned. In mid September, the string portions of Purple Rain were added at Sunset Sound by cellists David Coleman and Suzie Katayama, and Novi Novog on violin.

1999 (1982)

Although not strictly credited to The Revolution, its line-up perform on two of the 1999 album’s singles. The title track is sung as a trio led by Prince, with Dez Dickerson and Lisa Coleman taking subsequent lines. Dickerson plays the guitar solo in Little Red Corvette, since regarded among the best solos in music history. The creation of 1999 was predominantly a solo affair with Prince recording in long sessions at his home studio in his purple coloured ranch at Kiowa Trail perched in an idyllic setting on the shore of Like Riley, Minnesota. Having performed with Prince since his first tour, when seeing that he acquired an LINN LM-1 drum machine, Bobby Z saw the threat this posed to his future with the band. Fearing his role was usurped, Prince instead instructed Bobby to learn it and recreate the effects on an electric drumkit in the live shows, which became synonymous with him since. 1999 entered the US album top 10 and produced Prince his commercial breakthrough. The album’s cover displays a reverse handwritten tentative credit to The Revolution, who were given co-credit on Prince’s next LP.

Purple Rain (1984)

It was not long before Wendy and Lisa became key creative influences in the band and shaped Prince’s material for his sixth album Purple Rain. Wendy and Lisa introduced a clear honing of Prince’s artistic style. Wendy created the iconic intro for the album’s title track, as well co-wrote Computer Blue with Lisa, Prince and Fink. Purple Rain was recorded throughout the latter half of 1983 and was released on 25 June the following year, one month ahead of the accompanying movie that opened on 26 July. The band received acting lessons three days a week and given speaking roles in the Purple Rain movie, which was filmed at a range of locations throughout Minnesota during November and December 1983, climaxing at scenes shot at First Avenue. The movie was a box-office hit and the resulting Purple Rain Tour continued the success enjoyed by the album and movie. The tour was a gruelling schedule of 100 shows staged across the US. Feeling the strain as it wound on into 1985, Prince had one of the shows professionally filmed and simultaneously broadcast to European TV stations to save continuing the tour overseas, it was subsequently released on home video as Prince And The Revolution: Live. The album held the number 1 spot on Billboard for an astonishing 24 weeks and was the most successful of Prince’s career. Its sales would amass a total of 13 Platinum certifications by RIAA and is regarded among the best LPs ever produced.

Around The World In A Day (1985)

Prince wrote the material for The Revolution’s second album while on the road with the Purple Rain Tour during the winter of 1984. It was largely a solo effort, yet this time the musical style was far removed from the formula of Prince’s previous records. Much of it was laid down at the warehouse he was renting to rehearse with the band for the tour; Flying Cloud Drive in the suburbs of Eden Prairie, Minneapolis. Wendy and Lisa influence the experimental style of Around The World In A Day, The Revolution as a band also perform on three of the album’s tracks: America, Pop Life and The Ladder. Wendy and Lisa provide backing vocals on others, including Raspberry Beret, Paisley Park, The Ladder and the sessions out-take Wonderful Ass. Lisa’s father, Gary Coleman, would also make a crucial introduction which would shape Prince’s music forever, introducing Prince to his orchestral arranger Clare Fischer in 1985, Fischer would be a major contributor to The Revolution‘s third LP Parade and on many of Prince’s key output since. During tour rehearsals, the band also produced additional out-takes such as Splash, Our Destiny and Empty Room. Because Prince was so tired performing the Purple Rain Tour, he wanted to take a whole new creative direction and consequently no supporting tour was given for Around The World In A Day. Despite the criticism it drew, the album occupied the number 1 spot on Billboard for 3 weeks and achieved sales certified double Platinum.

Parade (1986)

The third LP co-credited to Prince and The Revolution was titled Parade and formed the soundtrack to his second movie Under The Cherry Moon. Once more it was almost entirely written by Prince, save for Sometimes It Snows In April which he co-wrote with Wendy and Lisa. Prince began working on the material when in virtual residence at Sunset Sound throughout the spring of 1985. There he laid down the basis of the tracks, starting with Wendy’s Parade on 17 April. The tracks developed over the coming months and Fischer’s orchestration was added through a process that continued into 1986. In December 1985, Wendy’s Parade was renamed Christopher Tracy’s Parade to fit with the movie. The Revolution perform on the tracks Girls & Boys, Mountains and Anotherloverholenyohead. Sometimes It Snows In April was performed by Prince, Wendy and Lisa, as well as the Parade out-take All My Dreams. The soundtrack was released on 31 March 1986 almost three months to the day ahead of the movie’s premiere. In this film, The Revolution were quite literally left to watch from the sidelines and only appear to play Mountains (the final track recorded for the soundtrack during the movie’s 1986 reshoots) in the closing credits. Parade was also supported by what would see Prince’s first world tour, which hit the road a month before the release of the album, but would inadvertently bring the demise of The Revolution.

Expanded line-up

Having met Prince in the summer of 1984 and introduced Prince to jazz, that November, Eric Leeds became the newest member to the band’s line-up, playing saxophone on the Purple Rain Tour. The Revolution‘s line-up remained that way throughout the tour, but with its next tour the line-up underwent radical expansion. The Parade Tour launched at First Avenue on 3 March 1986. Its concerts were announced at short notice and hence the US leg became dubbed Hit And Run Tour. For these shows, the band’s line-up was widened to bring in Sheila E’s guitarist Miko Weaver to free up Prince on guitar in the show. Matthew Blistan – Leeds’ music school pal from Pittsburgh – was recruited on trumpet to incorporate a horn section; living at that time in Atlanta he received the stage name Atlanta Bliss. Prince’s desire to incorporate a horn section came when watching a concert by Bruce Springsteen and his E-Street band, inspiring Prince to do the same. But internal divisions sparked at the introduction of a dance trio, boosting The Revolution’s line-up to eleven members.

Jerome Benton, who remained loyal to Prince since The Time went their separate ways, was also absorbed into The Revolution’s Parade Tour extended line-up in the wake of the abandonment of Prince’s replacement side project The Family. Additionally, Greg Brooks and Wally Safford, who were employed as security guards during the Purple Rain Tour and for comic value put in appearances in the shows, were likewise enlisted as fully fledged members of The Revolution in 1986 to introduce a dance and backing trio. Wendy’s sister Susannah Melvoin was also brought into the line-up as backing singer. This rapid expansion, which became known within the band as ‘the Counter Revolution’ triggered disquiet amongst the original members, particularly Wendy due to the inclusion of her sister. After Hit And Run tour, which was more for Prince to test audience reception, the shows followed a more conventional schedule on the Europe leg, which was accordingly named Parade Tour.

Disbanding

He’d never smashed guitars before

The Revolution enjoyed playing the Parade Tour. It adopted a far more improvised format than the previous Purple Rain Tour fixed to rigid set lists. Parade Tour also introduced the aftershow into Prince’s touring routine, thus permeating the sense of spontaneity. Although, as the tour progressed tensions in the band developed. The inclusion of Benton, Brooks and Safford as a comedic dance trio caused frustration among the instrument-playing members, feeling the dancers were a distraction from the live performance. BrownMark grew unhappy with Lisa, believing she was pushing the creative in a direction away from the band’s electro-funk roots. Wendy was having rising frustration with her sister being part of the band and Prince getting increasingly infatuated with her. Prince spoke to the band less in result. As the tour wound on, his frustration boiled over in the Japan leg, publicly so on the closing date on 9 September 1986. Following his solo in the song Purple Rain, Prince smashed his two white Cloud guitars onstage. It was a charged moment in which left no false impressions on the band that their four-year tenure with Prince was at its end. Unbeknownst to the band, the encore to their 25 August Paris show would produced their final recording together with Prince. Back in the US a few days after, Prince invited Wendy and Lisa to dinner at his rented house in Beverly Hills and informed them he was letting them go. Partly in solidarity with his bandmates and wishing to pursue a solo career, BrownMark took the decision to quit. With that, on 17 October 1986, Prince issued a short announcement in the printed press confirming: “Rock star Prince is disbanding The Revolution, his band of the last four years, and is exploring a new direction.” That December, his engagement to Susannah had also ended and she returned to LA to join her sister Wendy.

Following the dissolution of The Revolution, Matt Fink who featured in every incarnation of Prince’s backing bands was denied a role in the Graffiti Bridge movie, leading him to quit in December 1990 to work as a producer for a Minneapolis firm named K-Tel creating soundtracks for documentaries and video games. Prince’s drummer of 11 years, Bobby Z, was fired along with Wendy and Lisa in October 1986, to be replaced on drums by Sheila E to create a funkier backing band for the following Sign O The Times Tour, Prince’s first outing as a solo artist again. In 1988, Bobby produced for Boy George and launched his own label Copycats Media. Lisa and Wendy formed a duo and signed with Virgin Records; releasing their self-titled album in 1987 which charted at 88 in the Hot 200, followed by Fruit At The Bottom in 1988, Eroica 1990, and Girl Bros., the latter independently released in 1998. They afterwards wrote soundtracks for TV and film, which won them an Emmy for the show Nurse Jackie, and for the movie Dangerous Minds in 1995 won the ASCAP award for Composers of the Year. In March 1986, Brown Mark produced a record for the band Mazarati just prior to leaving The Revolution. The release received writing contribution from Prince, initially offering Brown a track named Kiss, realising the song’s potential the offer was quickly retracted and replaced with 100 MPH, the LP was published under Paisley Park Records. Post The Revolution, Brown did a stint as record producer for Motown through which he issued his second album Good Feeling in 1989, then took a break from the industry which continued until 2002 when returning newly written material.

Dream Factory (1986)

Once filming wrapped on Under The Cherry Moon, Prince returned from France to work on The Revolution’s fourth studio album. Completed by April 1986 the material was configured into a double LP named Dream Factory. The Revolution joined these sessions which Christened Prince’s newly fitted out home studio on Galpin Blvd, Minnesota, a short distance from where construction had began on Paisley Park Studios. These sessions laid down the tracks Power Fantastic, Witness 4 The Prosecution, The Ballard Of Dorothy Parker, Play In The Sunshine, Strange Relationship and Starfish And Coffee. Wendy also provided writing contribution for Colors and Lisa Visions. But the disagreements that broke out on tour famously caused Prince to abandon the project, and that autumn he set to work to produce his first solo album since 1982, an 8-track LP named Camille. For that record, he adopted a whole new persona and by that December was complete. Yet that too was abandoned to rework Camille and the material from Dream Factory to form a triple album named Crystal Ball – Prince completely re-recording all The Revolution’s previous input. Fearing the commercial viability to release a triple LP with 22-tracks, Warner Brothers asked Prince to reduce the configuration to a double LP. That record evolved into Sign O’ The Times and was released in March 1987 to universal acclaim, widely regarded as the best in his career. The sole surviving inclusion of The Revolution’s work on that album was their Paris live recording It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night.

In later years, Prince would concede Wendy and Lisa were two of the best musicians he ever worked with. Fans longed for a reunion, which in 2004 they got of sorts, on the Tavis Smiley Show that 12 February. Prince and Wendy Melvoin performed a live acoustic version of his latest song Reflection, in what was a tender public demonstration that their past differences were behind them.