Scandalous is the eighth track on Prince’s eleventh album Batman (the motion picture soundtrack to the Tim Burton movie Batman), and, five months after the album’s release, Scandalous! (the title containing an exclamation point) was released as the album’s fourth single. Prince's father, John L. Nelson, is credited as a co-writer, but his input into the track is unknown. The vocals on the album are credited to a character from the movie, as if Prince is singing on their behalf. Scandalous, like The Future, is attributed to Batman.
Basic tracking took place on 17 October 1988 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota (on a day off from the Lovesexy Tour, between stops in Greensboro, North Carolina and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania). On 1 October 1989, three and a half months after the track was first released, the track was re-worked to a three-part version called The Scandalous Sex Suite; the three parts were titled The Crime, The Passion and The Rapture. Actress Kim Basinger, who played the character Vicki Vale in the movie, took part in these sessions, which were released on the Scandalous! maxi-single, also known as the The Scandalous Sex Suite EP.
In 2000, Scandalous was planned for inclusion on When 2 R In Love: The Ballads Of Prince (likely in re-recorded form, although it is possible this was planned but not executed). The album did not receive many votes by visitors at Prince: A Celebration, however, and was ultimately abandoned.
|