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Thunder is the first track on Prince’s 13th album Diamonds And Pearls, the first album to be credited to Prince and the New Power Generation. Eight months after the album’s release, Thunder was released as a 12" single in the UK, as the album’s sixth and final single.
A tape photographed in Prince’s vault at Paisley Park Studios lists it as 24 January 1991, suggesting the exact date for the recording at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota. This can not be correct, however, as Prince and the New Power Generation performed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the Rock In Rio II festival that same day. However the song was apparently mislabled and actually recorded on 26 January 1991, after his return.
It was included as the first track on 1 March 1991, and 8 May 1991, configurations of Diamonds And Pearls, where it remained for release. However some keyboard- and vocal overdubs were added on 22 April 1991 before its release.
On 3 October 1991 (two days after the release of Diamonds And Pearls), Prince took the song to turn it into a suite suitable for ballet. This version, known as The Thunder Ballet was given to the Joffrey Ballet company for use in their Billboards production (which exclusively used Prince music), released on home video in 1994.
This version was released in October 2023, on the Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition
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Recording Information
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Recording Sessions
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| Date
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Studio
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Additional info
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| 26 January 1991
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Paisley Park Studios,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Tracking
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| 22 April 1991
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Paisley Park Studios,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Keyboard and vocal overdubs
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| 3 October 1991
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Paisley Park Studios,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Thunder Ballet
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| 6 October 1991
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Paisley Park Studios,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
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Mixing Thunder Ballet
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Recording Personnel
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Prince - all vocals and instruments (listed in liner notes as ‘Insatiable’)
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Versions
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Released Versions
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| Title
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Length
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Released
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Version
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Additional info
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| Thunder
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5:45
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Diamonds And Pearls
Thunder single
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Studio
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| Thunder
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5:45
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Diamonds And Pearls (Super) Deluxe Edition
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Studio
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Remastered 2023
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| Thunder (DJ Fade)
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3:20
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Thunder promo
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Edit
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| Thunder (DJ Fade)
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3:20
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Diamonds And Pearls - The Singles (collection)
Diamonds And Pearls (Super) Deluxe Edition
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Edit
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Remastered 2023
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| X-cerpts From The Songs: Thunder, Daddy Pop, Strollin’, Jughead, Money Don’t Matter 2 Night, Push, Live 4 Love
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5:04
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Diamonds And Pearls single
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Edits
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Edits of each song; Thunder edit is 0:15
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| Thunder (Live At Glam Slam 1992)
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4:18
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Diamonds And Pearls Super Deluxe Edition
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Live
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11 January 1992, Glam Slam, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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| The Thunder Ballet
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10:56
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Diamonds And Pearls (Super) Deluxe Edition
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Studio
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Video Versions
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Broadcasts/streaming (only)
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| Title
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Length
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Released
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Version
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Additional info
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| The Thunder Ballet
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??
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Act I TV-special
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Studio
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Excerpts used as background music
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| The Thunder Ballet
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10:50
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NPG Music Club Reflection Room stream
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Studio
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Taken directly from the Billboards video, including audience clapping and other noise
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