Video: Partyman

1988: Batdance ◄

Music Videos (Prince)

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► 1989: Scandalous!

Partyman

Music Video details First aired: September 1989 Producer(s): Tim Clawson & Scott Flor Director: Albert Magnoli Related home video/DVD: Batman (SE DVD release) First (Commercially) Released: 18 October 2005 Awards Date Institution, Country Award This music video has not received any awards in the USA

Partyman is a Prince video released for broadcast and to promote the single. It features Prince again as a 'Gemini'-like person, as in the video for Batdance, only this time his left half is Prince while the right is The Joker, making up Partyman. Partyman arrives at a party where like him all the guest have half white faces, most of them wearing a masks rather than face paint. There is also a band playing in tuxedos, also with their faces painted half white. The beginning of the video shows two big doors opening atop of a wide staircase and four purple suited valets walking in. One of unrolls a scroll and announces: All Hail to the new king... Partyman! Partyman then comes walking in casually whistling the melody of The Arms Of Orion. With a nod of his head he cues to band to begin the song. At first Partyman dances at the top of the staircase, but then he descends into the crowd swinging from a long rope and proceeds to empty a bottle of fluid in a large fish tank, saving the final sip for himself. Party-goers rush to the tank to fill up their glasses. Partyman uses a big silver plate to reflect the flashes of the cameras of a bunch of paparazzi. He then interacts with two women (one blond, Vicki Vale like character and a dark haired one). He also plays a short piano solo lying first under and than on top of the piano. The full version of the video also has some scenes with a chimpanzee, wearing a Batman logo t-shirt, seemingly a dig at Michael Jackson, who famously had his chimp 'bubbles' at the time. Partyman gives the chimp a banana and when he peals it, it reads 'psyche'. Prince also approaches a third woman whom he asks what she is smoking. When she answers 'baloney' he offers to light her up, but does this with such an enormous flame that it sets her hair on fire in the process. Three policemen arrive at the party, trying to end the whole thing. More and more people now start falling over. By the end of the video it appears Partyman had poisoned the tank of fluid and all party-goers are dead. The video was again directed by Albert Magnoli, director of Purple Rain and Sign O’ The Times, whom by 1989 also acted as Prince’s manager. Of note, the video features Michael B.'s first appearance in a Prince video. Shooting Information Shooting Sessions Date Location Additional info week of 14 August 1989 Culver Studios, Culver City, CA, USA Cast Prince Dr. Fink Miko Weaver Levi Seacer, Jr. Michael B. Candy Dulfer Unidentified blond woman Unidentified dark haired woman Unidentified smoking woman Philip Carreon - Partyman valet three unidentified Partyman valets three police men a number of dancers (posing as horn section) 200 party guests. Crew Tim Clawson -producer (Propaganda Films) Scott Flor -producer (Propaganda Films) Albert Magnoli - director Mark Reshovsky - director of photography Roy Bennett - assistant lighting designer Steve Purcell - editing Barry Lather - choreography Helen Horatio - costume design Sarah Daubney - costume design Jim Bienke - cake-up and masks more information needed Versions Released Versions Title Length Released Version Additional info Partyman 3:53 Batman 2-DVD '’special edition (2005) Prince streaming video platforms (2017) (edit, uncredited as such) Partyman (The Video Mix) a.k.a. Extended Version 7:15 Prince streaming video platforms (2017, before that promo only) Released for sale as separate track on iTunes (2017) full length version

Additional Information See Also Quotation & triva Partyman Partyman (single) The beginning sequence of (the extended version of) this video with the band playing Jazz, then approaching chants of 'yo we rock this party, yo we rock this house. We rock the whole world north east and south,' a valet announcing 'All hail to the new king... Partyman' , and then Partyman coming in, whistling the melody of The Arms Of Orion, before cueing the song to start was also acted out live on Nude Tour. Beginning 4 August 1990 this was even done with the band playing a jazz tune as in the full Video Mix version of the song References The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004)

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1988 Batdance

Music Videos (Prince)

Music Videos (Related Artists)

1989 Scandalous!

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