I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

All Prince Songs

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man

Song details
from the album Sign O’ The Times from the album Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition		single art for I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man
Performer:	Prince
First Released:	30 March 1987 - Sign O’ The Times album 16 July 2020 - '’streaming & download platforms (1979 Version)
Album(s):	Sign O’ The Times The Hits 1 The Hits / The B-Sides Ultimate 4Ever Sign O’ The Times Deluxe Edition and Super Deluxe Edition
Writer(s):	Prince
Producer(s):	Prince
Live Appearances
First and last live appearance:
8 May 1987: Isstadion, Johanneshov, Stockholm, Sweden 14 April 2016 (show 1): Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA, USA
Performed regularly on tour:
Sign O’ The Times Tour (including horn interpolation of Rockhard In A Funky Place) Jam Of The Year World Tour New Power Soul Tour New Power Soul Festival Tour Hit N Run Tour (including interpolation of Summertime) A Celebration Musicology Live 2004ever Welcome 2 Australia Tour Live Out Loud Tour
Performed occasionally in shows:
1987, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man is the fourth track on the second disc of Prince’s ninth album Sign O’ The Times, and, seven months after the album’s release, I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man was released as the album’s fourth single.

A live version was also included in the concert movie Sign O’ The Times.

In 1993, the single edit was included as the tenth track on Prince’s first compilation album The Hits 1 (also included as the first disc of The Hits / The B-Sides).

Basic tracking took place on 23 May 1979, at Hollywood Sound Recorders in Los Angeles, California, during sessions which focused on overdubs and mixing the Prince album. On 3 June 1986 the track was taken out of the vault and reviewed, for possible use on the Dream Factory album Prince was compiling. The song was then re-recorded from scratch on 16 July 1986 at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, California, and was included as the the tenth track on the 18 July 1986 configuration of Dream Factory.

When the album developed into the triple-album Crystal Ball, the song was included as the seventh and final track on the second disc on the 30 November 1986 configuration, which was eventually pared down and became Sign O’ The Times.

The original 1979 Version was released in September 2020 as the first track of Vault Tracks part 1, one of the discs with previously unreleased tracks included with the Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition. It was released as a preview for the album on 16 July 2020 (on the 34th anniversary of the re-recording), along with a photo of Prince’s original handwritten lyrics, written on a 12" record sleeve.

Recording Information

Recording Sessions
Date	Studio	Additional info
23 May 1979	Hollywood Sound Recorders - Studio A, Los Angeles, CA, USA	Tracking, mix
16 July 1986	Sunset Sound - Studio 3, Hollywood, CA, USA	Tracking, overdubs, mix, including instrumental (Version 2)
Recording Personnel
Prince - all vocals and instruments (on both versions)

Versions

Released Versions

Title	Length	Released	Version	Additional info
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	6:31	Sign O’ The Times I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man single Nothing Compares 2 Him promotional album	Studio
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	6:31	Sign O’ The Times Deluxe Edition and Super Deluxe Edition	Studio	Remastered in 2020
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Edit)	3:39	I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man single The Crown Jewels promotional album The Hits 1 The Hits / The B-Sides Ultimate 4Ever	Edit
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Fade)	3:39	Sign O’ The Times Deluxe Edition and Super Deluxe Edition Sign O’ The Times - The Singles‎	Studio	Remastered in 2020
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (1979 Version)	3:12	Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition	Studio
Take The "A" Train / Pacemaker / I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man*	10:16	Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition	Live	20 June 1987: Stadion de Galgenwaard, Utrecht, The Netherlands * Take The "A" Train / Pacemaker incorrectly listed. Take The "A" Train is not in the song and Pacemaker is at the end of the song, not in the intro

Video Versions

Title	Length	Released	Version	Additional info
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	3:57	Sign O’ The Times DVD	Live promo video	See I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man video for details
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	8:27	Sign O’ The Times VHS/DVD	Live	See Sign O’ The Times for details
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	6:37	NPG Music Club Edition # 4 .mov download	Live	8 December 2000, San Jose State University - Event Center Arena, San Jose, CA, USA; includes interpolation of Summertime (uncredited)
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	T.B.C.	Sign O’ The Times ‘‘Super Deluxe Edition’’ DVD	Live	31 December 1987: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA

Broadcasts/streaming (only)

Title	Length	Released	Version	Additional info
Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	3:37	Love4OneAnother.com Real Audio stream	Live	28 December 1998, Flanders Expo, Ghent, Belgium
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	T.B.C.	The Art Of Musicology performance broadcast	Live	20 April 2004, Webster Hall, New York, NY, USA
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	7:56	3rd Eye Girl YouTube Stream	Live	25 September 2012, United Center, Chicago, IL, USA
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	5:42	3rd Eye Girl YouTube Stream	Live	25 May 2014, Ziggo Dome, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

Unreleased Versions

Title	Version	Additional Info
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man	Studio	1986 version for Dream Factory, slightly longer than released version
I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man (Instrumental)	Studio	1986 version instrumental mix

Additional Information

	See also	Trivia

	Sign O’ The Times album I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man single Dream Factory unreleased album Crystal Ball unreleased album	The 1986 re-recording of this song uses the LinnDrum, the successor of the Linn LM-1 usually used by Prince. The released mix of the May 1979 version was done by Niko Bolas specifically for the Sign O’ The Times Super Deluxe Edition release. It was made to replicate an original mix from 1979, as much as possible. So even when a slightly different mix of this track might exist, the now released version is not considered a true alternate mix of the track. Prince’s handwritten lyrics, posted on the official Prince social media channels on 16 July 2020:

	References
	The Vault: The Definitive Guide to the Musical World of Prince (2004) Prince and the Parade/Sign O’ The Times Era Studio Sessions 1985 and 1986, Duane Tudahl (2021)