WNPG Radio
WNPG Radio Show
Broadcast on BBC Radio One - no official artwork created | ||||
Show Details | ||||
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Broadcast: | 7 April 1995 | |||
Length: | 26:00 (approx.) | |||
Radio Show Chronology | ||||
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WNPG Radio, sometimes dubbed the WNPG Radio Show, was broadcast on British BBC Radio One on 7 April 1995. The 26-minute show features Prince (then )'s character Tora Tora, with a manipulated voice similar to the one used for The New Power Generation Radio Show, as the host of the funkiest station of the new gold nation. He was joined by The NPG members for interviews and jokes between tracks.
Unlike previous and following radio or ahdio shows, the WPNG Radio playlist focus was on songs written by . Songs from the then to be released The Gold Experience, The New Power Generation's Exodus (which has been released a week prior to the radio show in the U.K.), and Mayte's If Love U 2night (released the previous year on the 1-800 New Funk compilation were aired in full or partially. It is unknown when and where the show was recorded but it was broadcast the week following the end of The Ultimate Live Experience Tour and was tied in with the release of Exodus. The Get Wild single was released the same week as was the first airing of The Beautiful Experience TV Special in the U.K..
The talkings focused on the Exodus album songs, the non-release of The Gold Experience, the artists 'struggles with record companies (although Tora Tora introduces Now as a song by the wealthiest slave in the world) and the name change.
Track Listing
Timings are not given, as several of the tracks overlap or feature spoken segues in the format of a radio DJ speaking over a song's introduction.
- Tora Tora introduction over Get Wild (Money Maker Funky Jazz Mix) – The New Power Generation
- Get Wild (Get Wild In The House) - The New Power Generation
- Tora Tora segue
- Now -
- Tora Tora and The NPG segue
- The Good Life - The New Power Generation
- Tora Tora and The NPG segue over an Exodus album Segue, Return Of The Bump Squad and Big Fun excerpts - The New Power Generation
- Cherry, Cherry - The New Power Generation
- Tora Tora and The NPG segue over Billy Jack Bitch by and If Love U 2night by Mayte
- The Exodus Has Begun - The New Power Generation
- Tora Tora and The NPG outro
Personnel
- See individual tracks for musical personnel and production credits.
Quotations and trivia
- The WNPG acronym was chosen to make it look like an Eastern United States radio station whose names starts with a ‘’W’’.
- The WNPG radio was already used in 1994 as the name of the fictitious station where works as a DJ in the Love Sign video. This station is also cited by Sonny T. on an unreleased version of Acknowledge Me.
- During many One Nite Alone... Tour shows, Prince complained about what was playing on the radio and WNPG was cited as an example of a radio that plays what he likes to hear. This speech was usually followed by Strange Relationship and some covers of songs by other artists.
- A typical playlist dubbed The WNPG Origin Playlist (xcerpt) was included in the booklet of the One Nite Alone... Live! album. The list contains 55 songs, mostly from the mid-60’s to 70’s : five by Stevie Wonder (Superstition, Make Sure You're Sure, Living For The City, Sir Duke and Send One Your Love), four by Sly And The Family Stone (Sing A Simple Song, Higher, In Time and (You Caught Me) Smilin' ), three by Graham Central Station (The Jam, Hair and Can You Handle It) and Parliament or George Clinton (Atomic Dog, Do That Stuff and Mothership Connection (Star Child) ), James Brown/The J.B.’s (Cold Sweat (Pts. 1 & 2) and I Know You Got Soul and Pass The Peas), two by Aretha Franklin (Young, Gifted And Black and Do Right Woman, Do Right Man), Earth, Wind & Fire (Mighty Mighty and That's The Way Of The World), The Beatles (A Day In The Life and Something), Marvin Gaye (What's Going On and Let's Get It On), Caetano Veloso (No Dia Em Que Eu Vim-Me Embora and Se Eu Quiser Falar Com Deus) and Miles Davis (So What and 'Round Midnight). Interestingly, Joni Mitchell, that Prince was known to be a fan of, is cited only once with A Case Of You, a song he has played live numerous times over the years and covered on the One Nite Alone... album. Three other songs covered by Prince/ in the studio included on this playlist are The Delphonics’ La, La, La Means Love U, The Stylistics’ Betcha By Golly, Wow and Public Enemy’s Fight The Power. Live favorites (Bustin' Loose by Chuck Brown & The Soul Searchers, Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me) by The Temptations) are also featured on the list as well as I Want To Be Free by The Ohio Players, Billy Cobham’s Red Baron, Bob Dylan’s Like A Rolling Stone, Cameo’s Flirt, Cannonball Adderley’s Lillie (listed as For Lilly by Nat Adderlay & Joe Zawinol), Donny Hathaway’s Someday We'll All Be Free, Eddie Floyd’s Knock On Wood, Freddie Hubbard’s Red Clay, George Gershwin’s Lullaby, James Taylor’s You've Got A Friend, John Coltrane’s Alabama, Led Zeppelin’s Black Dog, Mandrill’s Fencewalk, Quincy Jones’ Killer Joe, Ray Charles’ Georgia On My Mind, The Gap band’s Oops Up Side Your Head and Weather Report’s Birdland. Prince cited himself with two songs: Family Name and The Time’s The Walk.
- During the show, Prince quotes George Clinton by saying if you radio is not on the funk your radio ain't on. This line will later be used in the song Funk Radio.