|
America is a Prince and the Revolution video released for broadcast and to promote the single. It is the fourth live recording used for a Prince video, but the first live performance video shot at a show staged especially for the project. There have been no audio-only releases of this performance.
On a day off from filming Under The Cherry Moon (27 October 1985), Prince hired the Théâtre de Verdure in Nice, France and had it announced on local radio that 2,000 free tickets would be available for the shoot.
Members of The Revolution, including Eric Leeds who was a Revolution regular by now, augmented by Eddie M. from Sheila E.’s band, were flown in for the shoot. The performance shows Prince wearing black pants with white buttons down the legs and a long overcoat. On his head he wears a red bandanna. By the end of the video Prince takes this coat off and is shown to be bare-chested. Band members are dressed predominantly in black and white.
From the outset Prince is playing the blue floral airbrushed Fender Telecaster guitar. Prince leads the band through the song as he would normally do with a live performance. By the end of the song he takes over the drums from Bobby Z., playing a beat that's somewhat reminiscnent of Tamborine.
The music of the video is that of the actual live performance, rather than overdubbed with a studio recording of the song. The only graphic element of the song is a forerunner of the Prince symbol, the amalgam of the male and female symbol incorporating the peace sign, presented diagonally beneath the word, 'PEACE', and projected on screen with Prince cueing 'Peace' for the song to begin. The stage is minimally dressed with two small face images in front of the drum kit. Above the stage is a red background with an arrangement of 8 white 5-pointed stars.
| 
