Show Intros

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Show intros

This page is an introduction to the various pre-recorded intros Prince used in concert over the years.

Controversy Tour


The tour intro used for Controversy Tour shows is an acapella song recorded by Prince in mid 1981 titled The Second Coming.

The recording is reminiscent of a church hymn and references the biblical idea of a 'second coming'. Its lyrics announce that: "It won't be long", saying "All of God's children must learn how to love" and asks "How many more good men must die before there's gun control".

The song itself was never utilized in another context and remains unreleased.

1999 Tour


The intro for shows on the 1999 Tour was the famous line lifted from beginning of the song 1999: "Don't worry, I won't hurt you, I only want you to have some fun".

Instead of the beat kicking in at the "I only..." part it has an auditorium audience screaming mixed in underneath. After the word "fun" there is the sound of an explosion to cue of the beat (played live) to the shows first song Controversy.

The song 1999 was played later in the show, but without the 'Don't worry' intro.

Lovesexy Tour


The Lovesexy Tour that went to Europe and the USA in 1988 and to Japan in early 1989 didn't have a show intro as such. Its intermission had some comparable traits. For description of the first part see Intermission.

After it Marie France's French dialogue from Girls & Boys is played, along with sampled instruments from Positivity, Lovesexy and Condition Of The Heart and Eye No No, with the sample from the last track used to begin the next live track which is that song.

Nude Tour


The intro used on the Nude Tour is also known as the "DAT Intro" as it was listed like that on setlists, presumably simply because it was played from a digital audio tape (DAT) cassette, a relatively new, now defunct type of cassette in 1990.

It starts of with a very low bass-tone, easily confused with the electric buzz (or so-called mains' hum), a sound associated with alternating current at the frequency of the mains electricity.

The intro then features clips from the following Prince songs: For You, Partyup, Controversy, 1999, Let's Go Crazy, Around The World In A Day, Girls & Boys and Housequake.

Under the Let's Go Crazy part there are some synth chords reminiscent to those in the unreleased Standing In The Rain but not identical.

Diamonds And Pearls Tour


The pre-taped intro used to begin all shows on the Diamonds And Pearls Tour begins with ominous sounding synth notes, after which there is a rendition of Take My Hand, Precious Lord, sung by Rosie Gaines accompanied by an organ.

Meanwhile there are also rolls of Thunder heard, leading straight into the first song of the show Thunder.

Jam Of The Year World Tour


The tour intro to the shows on the Jam Of The Year World Tour begins with a repeated message of: "Please take your seats, this experience is about to begin" in different voices over some synth notes and short samples from Controversy / Get Off / Kiss / Alphabet St. / When Doves Cry / 7 / Eye No / Let's Go Crazy / 1999 before going straight into the first song of the show Jam Of The Year.

It was introduced a few shows in the tour on 1 August 1997 when the tour reached Landover, MD, USA and played on all shows after.

Hit N Run Tour 00-01


The shows on the Hit N Run Tour 00-01 were usually opened with some live saxophone playing by Najee followed by random notes on synths and drum rolls, also played live, seemingly mimicking the tuning of a symphony orchestra. The live played intro was often left off towards the end of the tour.

For the real pre-taped intro there is an underlying booming synth tone underneath this going into samples taken from the stems of 1999 / Alphabet St. / Around The World In A Day / Poom Poom / Batdance / Billy Jack Bitch / My Name Is Prince / Endorphinmachine / Days Of Wild / Sexy M.F. / Erotic City.

After that there a siren can be heard and a countdown from 9 to 1 after which the first song of the show Uptown is started by the band.

Musicology Live 2004ever


The intro used for the Musicology Live 2004ever tour has samples of various Prince hits that are played over Alicia Keys speech inducting Prince into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on 15 March 2004.

Apart from the speech parts of the following songs can be heard: Let's Go Crazy, My Name Is Prince, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Endorphinmachine, Kiss, Purple Rain and Let's Go Crazy (coda) ending in Keys speaking the final words from her induction speech: "Ladies and gentlemen I want you to get on your feet and I want you to pay homage to the one and only Prince!"

Támar Tour


The intro used for the Támar Tour is a pre-recorded piece called The Journey To The Hanamachi. It was composed by John Williams for the Memoirs of A Geisha soundtrack. In 2016 Prince used another piece from that soundtrack for the Piano & A Microphone Tour (see below).

Per4ming Live 3121 & 21 Nights In London: The Earth Tour


The opening used for some shows on the Per4ming Live 3121 residency and most 21 Nights In London: The Earth Tour residency is similar to the opening of the Musicology Live 2004ever tour but uses a different speech; the one Beyonce gave when inducting Prince in the UK Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Alexandra Palace in London, UK on 14 November 2006. It was debuted on 18 November 2006, four nights after it was originally delivered in London. Unlike the previous induction ceremony speech intro this one has the musical clips of Prince hits as integral part of the introduction speech.

It also features clips of the following songs: Kiss, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Raspberry Beret, Sign O' The Times, Alphabet St. (in both studio and live rendition), 1999 and Let's Go Crazy culminating in Beyonce speaking the last words from her introduction: "Ladies and gentlemen please welcome to the stage, the incomparable Prince!"

One night of the 21 Nights In London: The Earth Tour was also started with a concert clip of the song D.M.S.R. filmed live in Houston, TX, USA on the Musicology Live 2004ever tour instead of the 'induction speech' intro, while others had no intro as such.

HitnRun Tour '15


The HitnRun Tour intro (besides being used for shows billed as 'HitnRun', but not part of a tour as such) is different from other tour intros as the sampled parts from For You, 1999, Let's Go Crazy featured in it are integral parts of the song intro to Million $ Show as it was released.

The version played before concerts differs from the released version in that Prince sings the "fear the fro" verse in this version, where Judith Hill's voice is heard on the version released on Hitnrun Phase One.

Piano & A Microphone Tour


The intro used for the Piano & A Microphone Tour is a pre-recorded piece called Confluence. It was composed by John Williams for the Memoirs of A Geisha soundtrack. Previously Prince used another piece from that soundtrack for the Támar Tour in 2006 (see above).