Prince Parade
Here are some “deleted scenes” that, due to time constraints, didn’t manage to find their way into the original documentary…
“I think that Parade is a fusion of the influences that Prince had and you know he was creating an original style all of his own, still continuing forward to grow as an artist… Years later, I feel that Parade still holds up really well as one of Prince’s best albums. I’d say it’s right up there with Purple Rain and maybe Sign of the Times. All his records have great merits to them but Parade was just… a really great milestone for him. His music will hold up forever, much like the Beatles, you know… just because it’s timeless, and just a really wonderful piece of work. Very creative.”
Matt Fink, Keyboards for Prince and the Revolution, NPG
Prince was in imperious form on his eighth studio album, which was also the soundtrack to his second film Under the Cherry Moon. Many hardcore fans maintain that Parade stands out as a highlight of his career. Recordings began in Studio 3 of Sunset Sound, Los Angeles, on 17 April 1985 — just days before the release of Around the World in a Day. Musicians from his band the Revolution featured prominently, including Wendy & Lisa, Mark Brown, Matt Fink, Bobby Z, and Sheila E.
Parade was Prince's first album to use a full orchestra, guided by the arrangements of the late Clare Fischer — who had previously worked with Sergio Mendes, The Jacksons, and Paul McCartney — giving the record a lush orchestral backdrop unlike anything in his previous catalogue. With a blend of jazz and soul alongside distinctly French influences, Parade was a singular achievement: exploratory and inventive, it featured multi-layered funk and scorching falsettos over sizzling grooves, electric licks, and honking horns, fully utilising Prince's talents as singer, producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and arranger.
Parade was Prince's final album with the Revolution, and pointed toward a bold new direction that Sign O' the Timeswould go on to build upon — a renewed ambition and musical dexterity, cherry-picking the finest elements of funk, jazz, pop, soul, and R&B and fusing them into something entirely his own.
The documentary informed two subsequent academic publications. Prince Is on the Radio appeared in American Music Perspectives in 2022, and À la Recherche de Nouveaux Sons — which considers Parade's use of the French language specifically — was published in Spectrum: A Journal on Black Men (Vol. 7, No. 2, Indiana University Press, Spring 2020),
Contributors:
Matt Fink, Prince and the Revolution, NPG / Brett Anderson, Suede / Bill Oddie, broadcaster / S Endz, Swami / Bobby Friction, broadcaster / Dr Simon Barber, Birmingham Centre for Media & Cultural Research / Brent Fischer, son of Clare Fisher, arranger / Presenter; Ian Camfield /Assistant Producers; S-Endz, Simon Barber / Exec. Producers; Andy Ashton, Mike Walsh
