The track that made me sit up and listen. I was not actually a fan of 1999 and Little Red Corvette (I was going through a very left wing hatred of anything American and they were so nuts over him after 1999 actually and Jonathan King was raving about him and I always thought he was appalling and very, very creepy) but then I heard this track and it stopped me dead.
The opening is a real calling card, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT FOLLOWS it screams. Musically it is adventurous too, which is one of the things I love about Prince. He is never afraid to try something different. This track was originally recorded with much more instrumentation but he stripped so much out and then realised it was infinitely better, hence the almost skeletal structure. It became one of his favourite tricks and has worked on a number of tracks (“Kiss”, “Sign O’ the Times”, “Black Sweat” to name but three). The video was on constant play in my local bar in Rugby and we all knew how to sing the counter harmony parts, all the wailing and the yips. Oh to be 19 again!
