Prince in Paris, barely dressed, fully iconic. This is musical seduction caught on tape.
On June 4, 1981 Prince staged a concert at Théâtre Le Palace in the City Of Lights. The show featured seven of the eight songs that appeared on the 1980 LP Dirty Mind as well as a few off his 1979 self-titled LP. The lineup in Paris included André Cymone on bass, Dez Dickerson on guitar, Bobby Z on drums and Doctor Fink and Lisa Coleman on keyboards, as well as Prince, in various stages of undress, playing guitar and handling lead vocals.
Acting
Prince's stage presence is pure controlled chaos.
Sound
That band is TIGHT. Funk-rock fusion at its peak.
Costume
Bikini briefs, trench coat, thigh-high boots. Icon status: earned.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This 1981 Paris show came just months after Dirty Mind's release, when Prince was still fighting for rock radio acceptance as a Black artist playing 'white' music.
The band here is pre-Revolution, pre-Purple Rain—this is raw Prince before superstardom polished his edges. Wendy Melvoin hadn't even joined yet.
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