Act I Tour - Prince 1993

1993

Concert tour

Y’all make me sorry I stayed away so long!

Act I Tour was the name given to the US leg of a wider world tour staged in promotion of Prince’s Love Symbol Album, his second LP jointly credited to Prince and the New Power Generation.

The US Act I Tour preceded the Europe leg of the tour so named Act II. The first half of the usually 130-minute show focussed on songs from NPG’s Love Symbol Album, with the closing half centring on the established hits. The tour got its theatrically inspired name through the musical Prince was planning to work on in 1993, for which the tracks for his next album Come was due to feature. That musical evolved into a dance show named Glam Slam Ulysses.

Significantly, Act I Tour marked Prince’s first full scale shows of the USA since Lovesexy Tour of 1988. Since 1986, Prince’s music had been experiencing better success in Europe where he had a string of albums perform better than on home soil, and because of his confidence rattled by dwindling audiences in the US, Act I Tour staged just 25 dates and at modest to medium sized venues to ensure the shows sold out. The tour’s promotion was spearheaded with a 30-min appearance of Prince and the NPG performing a preview of the tour in a takeover special episode on the Arsenio Hall Show, which aired on 25 February 1993 two days after tickets for Act I Tour went on sale ahead of its 8 March opening date.

The two legs were essentially very different tours, which, intentionally or not, bookended Prince’s transition from giving co-billing with New Power Generation to becoming a solo act once again. NPG’s Tony Mosley, Damon Dickson and Kirk Johnson (known collectively as TDK) who received prominent roles on Act I Tour would be dropped from the lineup prior to the Act II phase of the tour following poor feedback. With Rosie Gaines having quit after the Diamonds And Pearls Tour, Morris Hayes was enlisted to her role on keyboards and would become Prince’s longest serving band member.

Act I Tour also yielded Prince’s final collaboration with his long-term production designer LeRoy Bennett. The key feature of the set was a giant lighting rig in the shape of Prince’s Love Symbol mark 1, reused from the previous tour. Suspended almost face-on to the audience it gave a dramatic stage backdrop. Being performed in theatres, the show began with the raising of a curtain bearing the Prince Prince Love Symbol symbol, opening the performance with My Name Is Prince. The horn section occupied a large central riser, with Michael B on drums and Morris Hayes on keyboards on lower risers stage right, and with Tommy Barbarella’s keyboards stage left. Prince’s blue grand piano was located stage left for the piano set, complete with reinforced lid to dance atop. Act I Tour also featured dancers Kelly Konno and Indrani Desouza who got the introduction via Janet Jackson’s choreographer Tina Landon, and Mayte.

Whereas the setlist of Act I focused on Love Symbol Album, released the previous October, Act II was a bigger affair and drew on Prince’s greatest hits. Act I Tour was documented for posterity in Prince’s first printed publication, the photo book The Sacrifice Of Victor. Because the venues were small, averaging 4,000 capacity, demand was high and shows sold out. The Canada dates offering 12,000 nightly capacity likewise sold out. Act I Tour ran until 17 April 1993, significantly a matter of weeks before Prince announced on his 7 June birthday that he had changed his name to Prince Love Symbol. This was due to a deepening dispute with his label Warner Bros Records, the name he would remain known as until 16 May 2000. Despite this the following Act II Tour phase, which commenced on 26 July was confusingly promoted under the name of Prince.

Act I Tour | Prince (1993) — Photography by Jeffrey Mayer

The Ryde Dyvine (tour preview TV special)

Ahead of Act I Tour, in December 1992 Prince and the NPG recorded a live performance for two-day TV-special which was broadcast on ABC on the 18th and 19th of that month as part of its Concert Series. For this two-parter, the first instalment was entitled Act I and comprised a story featuring Prince and Mayte – the basis of 3 Chains O’ Gold – promotional videos created in promotion of Love Symbol interwoven into an outline of a story of Prince courting a fictional Egyptian princess, played by Mayte.

The second part was the live show, recorded at Paisley Park on the 17th and entitled The Ryde Dyvine. The show was hosted by Sexy MF video costar Troy Beyer, who trawls Paisley Park in search of Prince. Using Act I Tour stage as a preview to the upcoming tour and to promote the new album, the show was opened by spin-off band The Crayons – fronted by Sonny Thompson and members of the NPG performing the titular The Ryde Dyvine. The 45-min show proceeded with other artists then signed to Paisley Park Records. Carmen Electra is up next, performing Get On Up from her self-titled debut album which would be released in February 1993. Performing Get Satisfied backed with the P-Funk All Stars was George Clinton. Rosie Gaines was fourth, and sung My Tender Heart – although her solo album would never transpire under the Paisley Park label. Finally, Mavis Staples, accompanied by The Steeles sung You Will Be Moved. Then at the show’s midpoint Prince finally arrives, pulling into the soundstage in his yellow BMW and delivers his rousing set backed by the full touring band. He starts with Sexy MF and the mini-set continues with Love 2 The 9’s, Damn U, Eye Wanna Melt With U then ends with The Sacrifice Of Victor in a show that was full of fire and energy. Little wonder Act I Tour was a terrific success.