Prince Tour
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| Tour by Prince | |
| Location | North America |
|---|---|
| Associated album | Prince |
| Start date | November 26, 1979 |
| End date | May 3, 1980 |
| Legs | 2 |
| No. of shows | 14 club dates 42 as opening act 57 in total (64 scheduled) |
| Prince concert chronology | |
The Prince Tour was the first concert tour by American recording artist Prince, and supported his second album Prince. The tour started as a headlining club act and played 13 dates before joining Rick James' Fire It Up Tour as a supporting act for 38 more dates in the United States. The tour lasted from late November 1979 [1] through April 1980.[2]
History
The tour focused on material from Prince's first two albums. As a support act, the set usually contained 7-8 songs, but most extended out so the concert would last about 40 minutes. Towards the end of the tour, Prince sometimes incorporated a newly written song, "Head" into the act. The lewd number conflicted with keyboardist Gayle Chapman's religious beliefs, as she was a member of The Way[clarification needed] and caused her to leave the band. She was later replaced by Lisa Coleman, who provided additional vocals for the song in the studio and in concert and later became a close collaborator with Prince.
The Prince Tour stayed within the United States, but prior to Prince's next tour, he would venture to Europe for the first time for three club dates.
Matt Fink started in this tour wearing a jailbird, black and white striped outfit. It would not be until the next tour for Dirty Mind that he would adopt the Doctor Fink persona.
When Prince joined Rick James' Fire It Up Tour, within the industry it was billed as the Battle of Funk. However it quickly became evident that Prince was winning over the crowd with his short, lively set and bringing more energy than the two hour set by the headliner. Animosity between the two groups developed as they tended not to socialize after the show, plus Rick James and his crew were heavy into drinking and doing drugs, something Prince avoided.
Set list
- "Soft and Wet"
- "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"
- "Still Waiting"
- "I Feel for You"
- "Sexy Dancer"
- "Just as Long as We're Together"
- "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
Additionally, "Head" debuted on this tour and was worked into some shows.
"Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" was the second song played in these concerts, and would be the same for the next two concert tours. For some reason after that, it would never be played again except at a few one-off shows over the following years.
Tour dates
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue (2019 inflation estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America—Leg 1 | |||||
| November 26, 1979 | West Hollywood | United States | Roxy Theatre | 500/500 (100%)[3] | $10,758 |
| November 28, 1979 | Denver | Rainbow Music Hall | |||
| November 29, 1979 | Burleson | Western Place Club | |||
| December 1, 1979 | Houston | The Palace | |||
| December 2, 1979 | Avondale | Ole Man River | |||
| February 9, 1980 | Minneapolis | Orpheum Theatre | 1,000/2,579 (39%)[4] | $25,474 | |
| February 11, 1980 | Cincinnati | Bogart's | 450/1,300 (35%)[5] | $7,881 | |
| February 14, 1980 | Cherry Hill | Emerald City | 400/400 (100%)[6] | $10,508 | |
| February 15, 1980 | New York City | The Bottom Line | |||
| February 16, 1980 | |||||
| February 17, 1980 | Boston | Paradise Club | |||
| North America—Leg 2 (Opening act for Rick James' Fire It Up Tour) | |||||
| February 22, 1980 | Fort Worth | United States | Tarrant County Convention Center | ||
| February 23, 1980 | Shreveport | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum | |||
| February 24, 1980 | Houston | Sam Houston Coliseum | |||
| February 28, 1980 | Chicago | Uptown Theatre | |||
| February 29, 1980 | |||||
| March 1, 1980 | Pittsburgh | Stanley Theater | 5,904/5,904 (100%)[7][8] | ||
| March 2, 1980 | |||||
| March 5, 1980 | Greenville | Greenville Memorial Auditorium | |||
| March 6, 1980 | Atlanta | The Omni | |||
| March 7, 1980 | Jacksonville | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum | |||
| March 8, 1980 | Lakeland | Lakeland Civic Center | |||
| March 9, 1980 | Sunrise | Sunrise Musical Theater | |||
| March 14, 1980 | Hampton | Hampton Roads Coliseum | |||
| March 15, 1980 | Raleigh | Dorton Arena | |||
| March 16, 1980 | Columbia | Carolina Coliseum | |||
| March 20, 1980 | Rochester | Rochester Community War Memorial | |||
| March 21, 1980 | Cleveland | Cleveland Public Hall | |||
| March 22, 1980 | Louisville | Freedom Hall | |||
| March 23, 1980 | Detroit | Cobo Arena | |||
| March 27, 1980 | Columbus | Columbus Municipal Auditorium | |||
| March 28, 1980 | New Orleans | New Orleans Municipal Auditorium | |||
| March 29, 1980 | Jackson | Mississippi Coliseum | |||
| March 30, 1980 | Lake Charles | Lake Charles Civic Center | |||
| April 2, 1980 | Buffalo | Buffalo Memorial Auditorium | |||
| April 3, 1980 | Toledo | Toledo Sports Arena | |||
| April 4, 1980 | Saginaw | Saginaw Civic Center | |||
| April 5, 1980 | Indianapolis | Market Square Arena | |||
| April 6, 1980 | St. Louis | The Checkerdome | |||
| April 7, 1980 | Milwaukee | MECCA Arena | |||
| April 10, 1980 | Savannah | Savannah Civic Center | |||
| April 11, 1980 | Greensboro | Greensboro Coliseum | |||
| April 12, 1980 | Baltimore | Baltimore Civic Center | |||
| April 13, 1980 | Springfield | Springfield Civic Center | |||
| April 17, 1980 | Birmingham | Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center | |||
| April 18, 1980 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | 10,274/10,274 (100%)[9] | $263,636[9] | |
| April 19, 1980 | Huntsville | Von Braun Civic Center | |||
| April 20, 1980 | Dayton | University of Dayton Arena | |||
| April 24, 1980 | Richmond | Richmond Coliseum | |||
| April 25, 1980 | Charlotte | Charlotte Coliseum | |||
| April 26, 1980 | Macon | Macon Coliseum | |||
| April 27, 1980 | Nashville | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | |||
| May 3, 1980 | Landover | Capital Centre | |||
References
- ^ Nilsen, Per (2004-01-01). Prince: Dance Music Sex Romance: The First Decade. SAF Publishing Limited. ISBN 9780946719648.
- ^ Nilsen, Per (2004-01-01). Prince: Dance Music Sex Romance: The First Decade. SAF Publishing Limited. ISBN 9780946719648.
- ^ "26 November 1979 - Prince Vault". www.princevault.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "09 February 1980 - Prince Vault". www.princevault.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "11 February 1980-1 - Prince Vault". www.princevault.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "14 February 1980 - Prince Vault". www.princevault.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "01 March 1980 - Prince Vault". www.princevault.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ "02 March 1980 - Prince Vault". www.princevault.com. Retrieved 2019-01-23.
- ^ a b "Billboard Magazine- 05-03-1980" (PDF). Retrieved 2019-01-23.