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Artist
Prince & The Revolution
12+ albums
funkpoprocksoul80s
about
Prince formed The Revolution in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1979 as his backing band for his first concert tour. The original lineup consisted of Gayle Chapman on keyboards, André Cymone on bass, Dez Dickerson on guitar, Doctor Fink on keyboards and Bobby Z. on drums & percussion. The band went nameless for almost three years while supporting Prince live and appearing in his music videos. Chapman and Cymone left in the early 1980's and were replaced by Lisa Coleman on keyboards and Brownmark on bass. The first album on which The Revolution performed was the 1982 Prince release, 1999, which has the band's moniker written in reverse on the back cover. When the 1999 Tour ended in 1983, Dez Dickerson left the band for religious reasons and was replaced by Lisa's childhood friend and soon-to-be lover Wendy Melvoin on guitar. The first album officially released as Prince & The Revolution was Purple Rain in 1984, which sold over 16 million copies in the United States alone. The band's sound incorporated heavy metal, pop, funk, R&B and hard rock elements. Wendy Melvoin & Lisa Coleman formed a particular creative bond with Prince and greatly influenced the band's output during the rest of their tenure. The band achieved two number-one Billboard 200 albums (Purple Rain & Around The World In A Day), six top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and won three Grammy Awards. In 1985, members of the soon-to-be-defunct group The Family (which, in turn, included former members of
