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Prince · S4 E7
First Avenue
A Minneapolis nightclub that becomes Prince's laboratory. The stage where Purple Rain will be born, tested, and perfected
August 3, 1983, First Avenue nightclub, Minneapolis. Prince takes the stage for a charity concert and records a performance so powerful that it will become the backbone of the biggest album of 1984.
"Take Me with U" (Prince, live 1985). The romantic side of what Prince built at First Avenue, performed live during the Purple Rain tour. This song captures the lighter energy of a venue where Prince tested every track before it reached a studio.
Take Me with U, Prince and the Revolution (1984)
"Take Me with U" is the softest moment on the Purple Rain album: acoustic guitar arpeggios, a sing-along chorus, and a vocal duet that gives the song a warmth Prince's solo material rarely allows. Listen for how the production gradually builds from sparse to lush, adding strings and keyboards as the song progresses. Prince tested dozens of songs at First Avenue before choosing which ones made the final album. This one survived because it worked on a stage in front of a real crowd.
Sources
Thorne, Matt. "Prince: The Man and His Music." Faber & Faber, 2012.
Hahn, Alex. "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince." Billboard Books, 2003.
The Laboratory
First Avenue starts as a Greyhound bus depot, becomes a nightclub called Sam's, and by the early 1980s is the center of the Minneapolis music scene. Prince plays there regularly, using the venue as a laboratory for new material. The audience at First Avenue hears songs months before they appear on any album, and their reaction determines what makes the cut.
Sources
Hahn, Alex. "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince." Billboard Books, 2003.
Nilsen, Per. "DanceMusicSexRomance: Prince, the First Decade." Firefly Publishing, 1999.
TAP TO REVEAL: What happened at First Avenue on August 3, 1983?
First Avenue
701 1st Avenue N, Minneapolis. The nightclub where Prince tested new material, recorded parts of the Purple Rain album live, and filmed the Purple Rain movie. The exterior wall still features stars honoring artists who have sold out the venue, and Prince's star is among them.
The Testing Ground
First Avenue is where Prince works out the kinks. New songs get their first live run here, sometimes months before they're recorded in the studio. If a song doesn't connect at First Avenue, it doesn't make the album. The crowd becomes part of the creative process without knowing it.
Sources
Thorne, Matt. "Prince: The Man and His Music." Faber & Faber, 2012.
Hahn, Alex. "Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince." Billboard Books, 2003.
First Avenue: The File
Computer Blue, Prince and the Revolution (1984)
One of the most intense tracks on the Purple Rain album, "Computer Blue" was born on the First Avenue stage and refined over multiple live performances. The album version is heavily edited from its original fourteen-minute form, but even at four minutes it's a showcase for the Revolution as a live unit: Wendy Melvoin's guitar, Lisa Coleman's keyboards, and Prince tying it all together.
Computer Blue, Prince and the Revolution (1984)
The lyrics open with a spoken dialogue between Wendy and Lisa that sets the scene for everything that follows: confusion, desire, and the search for something real in a digital world. Prince builds the tension through the verses before unleashing a guitar solo that sounds like frustration given a voice. It's the Revolution at their most raw.
What was parked outside First Avenue during the August 3, 1983 benefit concert?
First Avenue has given Prince a stage, an audience, and the raw material for his next album. Next season: a teenage guitarist named Wendy Melvoin walks into rehearsal, the classic lineup falls into place, and the Purple Rain era begins.
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