PRINCE
Coronation Night
A hit film and soundtrack album, Purple Rain represented Prince’s breakthrough moment. But it was the tour that followed – and one show in particular – that made him a superstar. His band the Revolution’s Wendy, Lisa and Bobby Z look back…
Words: Bill DeMain
It’s 30 March, 1985. A single low organ note rumbles in the cavernous, lighter-lit dark of the Carrier Dome, as a voice says: “Hello Syracuse and the world… my name is Prince, and I’ve come to play with you!”
Thousands of purple flower petals tumble from the ceiling, laser-sharp beams sweep through plumes of smoke, and the curtain rises to reveal Prince And The Revolution in comic-book-hero silhouette, kicking into the opening bars of Let’s Go Crazy. And the fans are doing just that. Not just the 38,000 in the venue, but millions more around the world who have tuned in to one of the first ever pay-per-view concerts.
Released recently as a live album and Blu-ray, Prince And The Revolution: Live can still plug the members of the Revolution right back into the visceral thrill of it all.
“After not seeing it for a really long time, I thought: ‘Wow, what a great band that was!’” says guitarist Wendy Melvoin. “Syracuse was a ‘hit it and quit it’ kind of show. Basically, we were following the contours of the movie on stage. But the full force of it is pretty evident when you watch. The energy level is on eleven the entire time, from the beginning to the very end.”
“There’s a kind of sweet spot when you’re touring and you’ve been out for a couple months and you really have it down,” says keyboard player Lisa Coleman. “That’s what you’re seeing. On top of that, it was a special occasion with its own allure, being one of the first concerts beamed worldwide.”