Show Intros

Show intros

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


1981-1982: 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.

1982-1983: 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.

1988-1989 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 (aply titled Intermission) Had some comparable traits. See here for details.

1990: 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 if 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.

1992: 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

1997-1998: 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 straigt 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 and played on all shows after.

2000-2001: Hit N Run Tour The shows no the 2001 shows on the Hit N Run Tour 00-01 were 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. 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 O' 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

2004: 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!

'2007: 21 Nights In London: The_Earth_Tour The opening used for shows on the 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. 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! Some of the 21 Nights In London: The_Earth_Tour shows were 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.

'2015: 'HITANDRUN tour' Intro ' The HITANDRUN Tour intro 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.