The Revolution (band)
| Prince and the Revolution | |
|---|---|
 The Revolution, 2018 |
|
| General information | |
| origin | Minneapolis ( Minnesota ), United States |
| Genre (s) | Funk , pop music , R&B , rock music |
| founding | 1982, 2016 |
| resolution | 1986 |
| Website | www.therevolution.com |
| Founding members | |
| Prince († 2016) | |
Drums |
Bobby Z. |
Electric bass, vocals |
Brown mark |
| Dec Dickerson (1982-1983) |
|
Keyboard |
Dr. finch |
Keyboard, vocals |
Lisa Coleman |
| Current occupation | |
Drums |
Bobby Z. |
Electric bass, vocals |
Brown mark |
Keyboard |
Dr. finch |
Keyboard, vocals |
Lisa Coleman |
Acoustic guitar, vocals |
Wendy Melvoin |
The Revolution is an American funk and rock band . They were formed in 1982 by Prince in Minneapolis , Minnesota and were his backing band up to and including 1986 . During the period mentioned, the musician appeared as Prince and the Revolution . In collaboration with The Revolution, Prince released Purple Rain , Around the World in a Day and Parade, three studio albums that are among the most commercially successful of his career. In addition, the three singles When Doves Cry , Let's Go Crazy and Kiss reached number one in the US charts. Prince and the Revolution also won an Oscar and three Grammy Awards . 1986 Prince disbanded his backing band and the members devoted themselves to other music projects.
After Prince's death in April 2016, The Revolution reunited; The lead singer is Wendy Melvoin and the other four band members are Bobby Z., Brown Mark, Dr. Fink and Lisa Coleman . The band has not released their own studio album and the setlist for live concerts consists mainly of songs composed by Prince from 1980 to 1986.
Band history
Origin (1982–1983)
The name "The Revolution" first appeared in October 1982 on the cover of the 1999 double album . At that time, guitarist Dez Dickerson (* 1955) was a member of Prince's backing band. But in mid-May 1983 Dickerson left the backing band and started a solo career. He was replaced by Wendy Melvoin , and on August 3, 1983, The Revolution made their live debut in Minneapolis at the First Avenue music club. Prince played a benefit concert for the Minnesota Dance Theater and Melvoin performed live in his backing band for the first time. Prince had the concert recorded; he played the then unreleased songs Let's Go Crazy , Computer Blue , I Would Die 4 U , Baby I'm a Star and Purple Rain for the first time . The aforementioned songs were released in June 1984 on the album Purple Rain .
The line-up of The Revolution in 2020 is identical to that from 1983 to 1985 and consists of the following five members:
- Bobby Z. (real name: Robert B. Rivkin; born January 9, 1956 in St. Louis Park , Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area) - drums
- Brown Mark (real name: Mark Brown; born March 8, 1962 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) - electric bass
- Dr. Fink (real name: Matthew Robert Fink; born February 8, 1957 in St. Louis Park, Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area) - Keyboard
- Lisa Coleman (born August 17, 1960 in San Fernando Valley , California) - keyboard
- Wendy Melvoin (real name: Wendy Ann Melvoin; born January 26, 1964 in San Fernando Valley, California) - acoustic guitar
Success (1984–1985)
When Doves Cry is Prince's most commercially successful single in his home country. The song was released in May 1984 and stayed at number one on the US hit parade for five weeks; over two million singles were sold in the US at the time. In June 1984 the album Purple Rain was released , which stayed at number one on the US album charts for 24 weeks. It was only on 19 January 1985, the album sparked Born in the USA by Bruce Springsteen Purple Rain on the first place of the US album charts. The second single, Let's Go Crazy , reachednumber one on the US hit paradelike When Doves Cry .
On July 26, 1984, the music film Purple Rain premiered in Hollywood , California at Grauman's Chinese Theater and one day later the film was shown in 917 cinemas across the country. In the second week, 100 more US cinemas presented the film. Purple Rain grossed nearly $ 70 million and was the tenth highest-grossing film of the year in the United States in 1984. In addition, Prince and the Revolution were awarded an Oscar in 1985 in the category "Best Film Music".
The third single was the song Purple Rain in September 1984 , which reached number two in the US singles charts. Internationally, the single was Prince's first top ten hit in many countries. In November, I Would Die 4 U was released as the fourth single and was eighth in the US singles hit parade, the sixth top ten hit for Prince within the previous year and a half.
The Purple Rain Tour started on November 4, 1984 in Detroit , Michigan at the Joe Louis Arena and ended on April 7, 1985 in Miami , Florida at Orange Bowl Stadium . The 98 concerts were attended by a total of 1.75 million people. Before that, Prince had never done more concerts on a tour and the Purple Rain tour became the most successful tour of his career. Sheila E. played the opening act with her backing band. She and members of her band also performed live with Prince during the song Baby I'm a Star , but Sheila E. was never officially a member of The Revolution. The Purple Rain concert on March 30, 1985 in Syracuse , New York in the Carrier Dome was broadcast live on European television, as Prince and the Revolution did not make a guest tour in Europe. The concert was later released on videocassette worldwide under the name Prince and the Revolution - Live .
Immediately after the Purple Rain tour ended, Prince shot a music video for the song 4 the Tears in Your Eyes in Los Angeles , California, at Instrument Rentals (SIR) in April 1985 . Besides Prince, only Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman were involved in the video. The song 4 the Tears in Your Eyes was released on April 12, 1985 on the album We Are the World by the music project USA for Africa and the music video premiered on July 13, 1985, Live Aid Day. In 1993, 4 the Tears in Your Eyes was also released on the Prince compilation The Hits / The B-Sides .
The second Prince-and-the-Revolution album called Around the World in a Day was released on April 22, 1985. On June 1, 1985, it was number one on the US album hit parade for three weeks, displacing No Jacket Required by then Phil Collins from the top spot. Around the World in a Day sold 2.5 million albums in the US at the time.
The Break Up (1986)
In February 1986, the song Kiss was released as a pre-release of the album Parade and reached number one on the US hit parade. After When Doves Cry and Let's Go Crazy Prince and the Revolution landed their third and last number one single hit in the USA.
On March 3, 1986, Prince and the Revolution embarked on a tour that Prince called "Hit - & - Run Tour". The tour started in Minneapolis at the First Avenue music club and ended on August 3, 1986 in New York City at Madison Square Garden . The Hit & Run tours were live concerts that were announced spontaneously, sometimes even on the day of the concert itself. The Revolution consisted of the following eleven members in 1986:
- Bobby Z. - drums
- Brown Mark - electric bass
- Dr. Fink - keyboard
- Lisa Coleman - keyboard
- Wendy Melvoin - acoustic guitar
- Atlanta Bliss (real name: Matthew Blistan, born December 14, 1952 in Atlanta , Georgia, school friend of Eric Leeds) - trumpet
- Eric Leeds (real name: Eric Jeffrey Leeds, born January 19, 1952 in Milwaukee , Wisconsin) - saxophone and flute
- Greg Brooks (real name Gregory Allen Brooks, * Detroit , Michigan) - dancer and background singer
- Jerome Benton (born September 19, 1962 in Omaha , Nebraska) - dancer and background singer
- Miko Weaver (born March 11, 1957 in Berkeley , California) - guitar
- Wally Safford (real name: Wallace Anthony Safford, born November 10, 1959 in Detroit, Michigan) - dancer and background singer
Susannah Melvoin , the twin sister of Wendy Melvoin, appeared occasionally as a background singer on the Hit & Run tour until April 1986.
Parade , the last album that Prince recorded in collaboration with The Revolution, was released on March 31, 1986. It reached number three on the US album hit parade and sold 1.6 million times nationally at the time. On July 1, 1986, the Prince film Under the Cherry Moon celebrated its premiere in the small town of Sheridan , Wyoming. One day later, the black and white film was shown in 941 US cinemas nationwide. The budget of Under the Cherry Moon was USD twelve million, but the film played only ten million US dollars in the US. In addition, the film received very bad reviews and was "honored" several times with the anti- Golden Raspberry Prize. The members of The Revolution play - unlike in the movie Purple Rain - only small supporting roles in Under the Cherry Moon .
On July 2, 1986, Parade's third single was released with Anotherloverhabenyohead , which was the last single release in the USA. In Europe, however, the song Girls & Boys was selected as the fourth and final single at the start of the parade tour in August 1986 . Girls & Boys was the last single from Prince and the Revolution.
The parade tour began on August 12, 1986 in London in the Wembley Arena and ended on August 31 in Hamburg in the Alsterdorfer Sporthalle . At the concert in Paris on August 25th at the Zénith , Prince recorded the song It's Gonna Be A Beautiful Night live and released it in March 1987 on his album Sign "☮" the Times . After the final concert in Hamburg, Prince flew to Japan with The Revolution to perform live there for the first time in his career.
The tour started in Japan on September 5, 1986 in Osaka in the Festival Hall and the opening act was again Sheila E. with her band. The parade tour ended on September 9th in Yokohama at Yokohama Stadium. This was the last live concert of Prince and the Revolution and on October 17, 1986, the then management of Prince announced the dissolution of The Revolution. In 1990 Prince founded The New Power Generation and in 2012 with 3rdEyeGirl two additional backing bands, in which however no members of The Revolution played.
On February 19, 2012, The Revolution made a comeback - back then without Prince . After drummer Bobby Z. suffered a myocardial infarction in 2010 , the band played a benefit concert in Minneapolis on First Avenue as part of the American Heart Association . In addition to the founding members, Dez Dickerson and saxophonist Eric Leeds also appeared as musical guests at The Revolution. In November 2016, Bobby Z. suffered a second myocardial infarction.
Start-up (2016)
| The Revolution setlist on September 1st and 2nd, 2016 |
|
|---|---|
|
|
| Prince is the author of all songs |
After Prince's death in April 2016, The Revolution announced the formation of the band. The first three concerts took place in early September 2016 in Minneapolis at the music club First Avenue, which were all sold out with a total of 4,650 spectators. The main organizer of these live concerts was Bobby Z. and The Revolution were supported by guitarist Dez Dickerson and Prince's former school friend and musician André Cymone (born June 27, 1958). Also worked Bilal and Kimbra as a guest singer with. Maya Rudolph also performed and Apollonia Kotero gave a short speech before the song Kiss .
Prince's former fiancée Susannah Melvoin , his two former wives Mayte Garcia and Manuela Testolini and his half-brother Omarr Baker were also present. In addition, his first music manager Owen Husney, his former stage designer Roy Bennett, Questlove and Britt Daniel from the band Spoon were in the auditorium.
Current creative phase (since 2017)
The Revolution have been playing live concerts regularly since 2017, with the band also traveling in Europe in 2019. The Revolution has not yet made a guest appearance in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Wendy Melvoin emphasized in an interview that nobody will try to be Prince. This “simply won't happen”. But it "would make sense" for guest vocalists to support tours.
The set list of live concerts of The Revolution consists mainly of songs of the six Prince albums Dirty Mind (1980) Controversy (1981), 1999 (1982), Purple Rain (1984), Around the World in a Day (1985) and Parade (1986). Occasionally, the band also plays songs from Prince's posthumous album Purple Rain Deluxe (2017), which was recorded between 1983 and 1984. In 2019, Stokley Williams (* 1967) was a guest singer, who is the lead singer of the US radio band Mint Condition .
On the occasion of the Grammy Awards 2020 , a tribute concert for Prince took place on January 28, 2020 in the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles under the motto "Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince", at which The Revolution performed with Mavis Staples, among others and Maya Rudolph performed. The concert was broadcast on US television on the fourth anniversary of Prince's death on April 21, 2020.
Awards (selection)
Grammy Awards
- 1985: Best Album of Original Score written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special: Purple Rain (Composition: Prince, John L. Nelson, Lisa Coleman and Wendy Melvoin )
- 1985: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or a Group with Vocal: Purple Rain by Prince and the Revolution
- 1987: Best performance by a duo or group with vocals - R&B (Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal): Kiss by Prince and the Revolution
Oscar
- 1985: Best Original Song Score: Purple Rain
Discography
Studio albums
| year | Title music label |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, music label , placements, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1984 |
Purple Rain / Purple Rain Deluxe Warner Bros. Records |
DE5  × 3
(54 weeks)DE |
AT8 (28 weeks) AT |
CH7th  (39 weeks)CH |
UK4¹ × 2
(107 weeks)UK |
US1 (24)  × 3
(129 weeks)US |
First release: June 25, 1984
Soundtrack for the film Purple Rain ¹ highest ranking posthumously in May 2016, 1984 on # 7 CH: 1989: platinum (50,000+) UK: May 1, 1990: double platinum (600,000+) US: May 16, 1996: Diamond (10,000,000+) and triple platinum (3,000,000+) DE: May 25, 2016: Triple gold (750,000+) |
| 1985 |
Around the World in a Day Warner Bros. Records / Paisley Park |
DE10 (24 weeks) DE |
AT7 (6 weeks) AT |
CH8 (11 weeks) CH |
UK5 (21 weeks)UK |
US1 (3) × 2
(44 weeks)US |
First published: April 22, 1985
UK: April 22, 1985: Gold (100,000+) US: July 2, 1985: Double platinum (2,000,000+) |
| 1986 |
Parade Warner Bros. Records / Paisley Park |
DE6th (28 weeks)DE |
AT7th (14 weeks)AT |
CH2 (17 weeks)CH |
UK4th (28 weeks)UK |
US3 (29 weeks)US |
First published: March 31, 1986
Soundtrack for the film Under the Cherry Moon US: June 3, 1986: Platinum (1,000,000+) UK: March 1, 1992: Platinum (300,000+) DE: 1993: Gold (250,000+) AT: November 10, 1994: Gold (25,000+) |
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placementsSources = (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
DE
|
AT
|
CH
|
UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1984 |
When Doves Cry Purple Rain |
DE16 (18 weeks) DE |
AT19 (2 weeks) AT |
CH17 (9 weeks) CH |
UK4th (15 weeks)UK |
US1 (5) (21 weeks)US |
First published: May 16, 1984
B-Side : 17 Days US: August 21, 1984: Platinum (2,000,000+) UK: June 26, 2020: Gold (400,000+) |
|
Let's Go Crazy Purple Rain |
- | - | - |
UK7 (10 weeks) UK |
US1 (2) (19 weeks)US |
First published: July 18, 1984
B-side: Erotic City US: November 7, 1984: Gold (1,000,000+) |
|
|
Purple Rain Purple Rain |
DE5 (16 weeks) DE |
AT4 (12 weeks) AT |
CH5 (11 weeks) CH |
UK8th (16 weeks)UK |
US2 (16 weeks)US |
First published: September 10, 1984
B-Side: God US: December 5, 1984: Gold (1,000,000+) UK: January 25, 2019: Platinum (600,000+) |
|
|
I Would Die 4 U Purple Rain |
- | - | - |
UK58 (8 weeks) UK |
US8 (15 weeks) US |
First published: November 26, 1984
B-side: Another Lonely Christmas |
|
| 1985 |
Take Me with U (Duet with Apollonia Kotero ) Purple Rain |
DEnvDE | ATnvAT | CHnvCH | UKnvUK |
US25 (12 weeks) US |
First published: January 25, 1985
B-side: Baby I'm A Star Not released in Europe |
|
Raspberry Beret Around the World in a Day |
DE35 (10 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK25th  (9 weeks)UK |
US2 (17 weeks) US |
First published: May 15, 1985
B-side: She's Always in My Hair UK: June 29, 2018: Silver (200,000+) |
|
| Paisley Park Around the World in a Day |
- | - | - |
UK18 (12 weeks) UK |
USnvUS |
First published: May 24, 1985
B-side: She's Always in My Hair Only released in Europe, Australia and New Zealand |
|
| Pop Life Around the World in a Day |
DE65 (4 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK60 (2 weeks) UK |
US7 (14 weeks) US |
First published: July 10, 1985
B-side: Hello |
|
| America Around the World in a Day |
- | - | - | UKnvUK |
US46 (7 weeks) US |
First published: October 2nd, 1985
B-side: Girl Not released worldwide |
|
| 1986 |
Kiss Parade |
DE4 (17 weeks) DE |
AT8 (12 weeks) AT |
CH3 (11 weeks) CH |
UK6th (10 weeks)UK |
US1 (2) (18 weeks)US |
First published: February 5, 1986
B-Side: Love or Money US: May 5, 1986: Gold (1,000,000+) UK: December 13, 2019: Gold (400,000+) |
| Mountains Parade |
DE32 (8 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK45 (6 weeks) UK |
US23 (11 weeks) US |
First published: May 7, 1986
B-side: Alexa de Paris |
|
| Anotherloverhabenyohead parade |
- | - | - |
UK36 (3 weeks) UK |
US63 (10 weeks) US |
First published: July 2nd, 1986
B-side: Girls & Boys |
|
| Girls & Boys Parade |
DE27 (7 weeks) DE |
- | - |
UK11 (9 weeks) UK |
USnvUS |
First published: August 4th, 1986
B-side: Under the Cherry Moon Only released in Europe |
|
| 2016 | Purple Rain Purple Rain |
DE13 (1 week) DE |
AT7 (2 weeks) AT |
CH4¹ (3 weeks) CH |
UK6¹ (3 weeks) UK |
US4 (2 weeks) US |
Posthumous
re-entry : April 22nd, 2016
¹ Highest ranking in CH and UK |
| When Doves Cry Purple Rain |
DE49 (1 week) DE |
AT59 (1 week) AT |
CH34 (1 week) CH |
UK26 (1 week) UK |
US8 (2 weeks) US |
Posthumous re-entry: April 29, 2016
|
|
| Raspberry Beret Around the World in a Day |
- | - | - |
UK47 (1 week) UK |
US33 (2 weeks) US |
Posthumous re-entry: April 29, 2016
|
|
| Kiss Parade |
DE29 (1 week) DE |
AT21 (1 week) AT |
CH11 (1 week) CH |
UK38 (1 week) UK |
US23 (2 weeks) US |
Posthumous re-entry: April 29, 2016
|
|
| Sometimes It Snows in April Parade |
- |
AT69 (1 week) AT |
CH64 (1 week) CH |
- | - |
Posthumous re-entry: May 1st, 2016
No single release, placed as a download |
|
| Let's Go Crazy Purple Rain |
- | - | - | - |
US25 (2 weeks) US |
Posthumous re-entry: May 7, 2016
|
|
| I Would Die 4 U Purple Rain |
- | - | - | - |
US39 (1 week) US |
Posthumous re-entry: May 14, 2016
|
|
literature
- Jason Draper: Chaos, Disorder, and Revolution. Backbeat Books, New York 2011, ISBN 978-0-87930-961-9 , OCLC 664668943 .
- Liz Jones: Slave to the Rhythm - The Artist Formerly Known As Prince. Warner Books, Little Brown and Company 1997, ISBN 0-7515-2393-3 , OCLC 41314165 .
- Per Nilsen: DanceMusicSexRomance - Prince: The First Decade. Firefly Publishing, London 1999, ISBN 0-946719-23-3 , OCLC 40610683 .
- Steve Parke: Picturing Prince. Cassell Octopus Publishing Group Ltd, London 2017, ISBN 978-1-84403-959-3 .
- Uptown: The Vault - The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince. Nilsen Publishing, Linköping 2004, ISBN 91-631-5482-X , OCLC 186521364 .
- Wally Safford: Wally, Where'd You Get Those Glasses ?. Lil Gater's Publishing, Detroit, Michigan 2019, ISBN 978-1-7336451-1-9
Web links
- Princevault , information on Prince and The Revolution
Individual evidence
- ↑ Uptown (2004), p. 44.
- ↑ Uptown (2004), pp. 44-45.
- ↑ a b Uptown (2004), p. 21.
- ↑ March 8. In: Princevault.com. March 8, 2017, accessed March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ Dr. Finch. In: Princevault.com. March 28, 2016, accessed March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ Nilsen (1999), p. 256.
- ↑ Nilsen (1999), p. 258.
- ↑ Wendy Melvoin - Biography. In: IMDB.com. 2017, accessed on March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ Uptown (2004), p. 67.
- ↑ Nilsen (1999), p. 257.
- ↑ Ligonier Township man who toured with Prince calls him 'quiet lion'. In: triblive.com. April 21, 2016, accessed December 21, 2019 .
- ↑ Gregory Allen Brooks. In: IMDB.com. 2017, accessed on March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ Uptown (2004), p. 60.
- ↑ September 19. In: Princevault.com. June 19, 2016, accessed March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ Safford (2019), p. 3.
- ^ Susannah Melvoin - Biography. In: IMDB.com. 2017, accessed on March 10, 2017 .
- ^ Uptown (2004), p. 75.
- ^ A b Jon Bream: Revolution puts heart in reunion. In: startribune.com. February 20, 2012, accessed January 26, 2019 .
- ↑ a b American Heart Association News: Revolution drummer Bobby Z. had a heart attack soon after bidding farewell to Prince. In: heart.org. March 27, 2017, accessed January 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Keith Harris: Prince's Revolution Reunites for Tribute on 'Purple Rain' Stage. In: Rollingstone.com. September 2, 2016, accessed March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ Ross Raihala: Prince's band the Revolution lights up First Avenue with an emotional tribute show. In: Twincities.com. September 3, 2016, accessed March 10, 2017 .
- ^ Jon Bream: Three nights of Revolution: Reflecting on Prince tribute concerts at First Avenue. In: Startribune.com. September 4, 2016, accessed March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ David Browne: The Revolution's Wendy Melvoin Talks Grieving for Prince, Spring Tour. In: Rollingstone.com. March 6, 2017, accessed March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ Sarah Grant: Prince's Revolution Expand North American Tour. In: Rollingstone.com. March 6, 2017, accessed March 10, 2017 .
- ↑ a b The Revolution. In: setlist.fm. 2019, accessed on January 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Booklet of the CD Purple Rain Deluxe by Prince, Warner Bros. Records / NPG Records, 2017
- ↑ Chuck Arnold: Grammy salute 'Let's Go Crazy' proves nothing compares 2 Prince. In: nypost.com. April 21, 2020, accessed April 24, 2020 .
- ↑ admin: The Best Moments From 'Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute To Prince' [Videos]. In: liveforlivemusic.com. April 21, 2020, accessed April 24, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Uptown (2004), p. 57.
- ^ Jones (1997), p. 236
- ↑ Draper (2008), p. 52.
- ↑ a b Chart sources: DE AT CH US
- ↑ The Revolution (band) in the Official UK Charts (English)
- ↑ a b c Parke (2017), p. 214.
- ^ Edelmetall 1989. In: Hitparade.ch. 2017, Retrieved April 17, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Draper (2016), p. 45.
- ↑ a b gold / platinum database. In: Musikindustrie.de. 2017, Retrieved April 17, 2017 .
- ^ Uptown (2004), p. 59.
- ↑ Uptown (2004), p. 68.
- ↑ IFPI - Gold & Platinum. In: ifpi.at. 2017, Retrieved April 17, 2017 .
- ^ Uptown (2004), p. 48.
- ^ Uptown (2004), p. 50.
- ^ Uptown (2004), p. 52.
- ^ Uptown (2004), p. 66.