Draft:Lovesexy Tour

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Lovesexy Tour
Tour by Prince
Location
  • Europe
  • North America
  • Asia
Associated albumLovesexy
Start dateJuly 8, 1988 (1988-07-08)
End dateFebruary 13, 1989 (1989-02-13)
Legs3
No. of shows
  • 31 dates in Europe
  • 38 dates in North America
  • 8 dates in Asia
  • 77 in total
Prince concert chronology

The Lovesexy Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince promoting his 1988 album Lovesexy. [ Like several of his then-recent tours, Prince chose not to tour the United States, the exception being the Lovesexy Tour in 1988 ].

Background

[edit]

Planning the Lovesexy Tour began in April 1988 and was less sporadic compared to his previous two tours, with the Parade Tour being hit and run, and the Sign o' the Times Tour had respective annulled and cancelled all USA and UK tour dates.[1][2][3] However, Prince did decide one month before the start of the tour to do the Europe leg first, infuriating promoters.[1]

Rehearsals for the tour were held throughout May to June 1988 at the newly constructed Paisley Park studios. The intermission music was also recorded during this period.[4]

Show overview

[edit]
  • [Has info about stage layout][4]
  • The stage was made up of multiple layers, with parts moving hydraulically. The piano, for instance, could go way up in the air. During Anna Stesia it enhanced the message Prince was trying to convey. But the stage also had a swing and a basketball hoop. Prince entered the stage every night in a (replica of) a Thunderbird. At some time there even was a plan for a fountain, that would pump gallons of water. For security reasons the idea was scrapped.[1]
  • A round stage placed at the center of the venue. This meant every member in the audience had a good view of the stage, but for Prince and the band it was challenging, because they were clearly visible at all times.[1]
  • https://www.housequake.com/leroy-bennett-interview/

Setlist

[edit]

This setlist is based on an average setlist of the entire, it does not represent the entire tour.[5]

Act One

  1. "Escape (Free You Mind From This Rat Race)" (from Glam Slam B-side)
  2. "Erotic City" (from Let's Go Crazy B-side)
  3. "Housequake" (from Sign o' the Times)
  4. "Slow Love" (from Sign o' the Times)
  5. "Adore" (from Sign o' the Times)
  6. "It's Gonna Be a Beautiful Night" (from Sign o' the Times)
  7. "Delirious" (from 1999)
  8. "Jack U Off" (from Controversy)
  9. "Sister" (from Dirty Mind)
  10. "Adore" (Coda)
  11. "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (from Prince)
  12. "Head" (from Dirty Mind)
  13. "A Love Bizarre" (from Romance 1600 by Sheila E.)
  14. "When You Were Mine" (from Dirty Mind)
  15. "Blues in C (If I Had a Harem)" (Unreleased)
  16. "Little Red Corvette" (from 1999)
  17. "U Got the Look" (from Sign o' the Times)
  18. "Controversy" (from Controversy)
  19. "Dirty Mind" (from Dirty Mind)
  20. "Superfunkycalifragisexy" (from The Black Album[a])
  21. "Controversy" (Coda)
  22. "Bob George" (from The Black Album)
  23. "Anna Stesia" (from Lovesexy)

Act Two

  2. "Intermission" (contains samples of "Crystal Ball", "Cosmic Day", "Lovesexy", "Girls & Boys", "Positivity", "Condition of the Heart", and "Cross the Line" by Ingrid Chavez)
  3. "Eye No" (from Lovesexy)
  4. "Lovesexy" (from Lovesexy)
  5. "Glam Slam" (from Lovesexy)
  6. "The Cross" (from Sign o' the Times)
  7. "I Wish U Heaven" (from Lovesexy)
  8. "I Wish U Heaven (Pt. 2)" (from I Wish U Heaven B-side)
  9. "Kiss" (from Parade)
  10. "Dance On" (from Lovesexy)
  11. "When 2 R In Love" (from Lovesexy and The Black Album)
  12. "Venus de Milo" (from Parade)
  13. "Starfish and Coffee" (from Sign o' the Times)
  14. "Raspberry Beret" (from Around the World in a Day)
  15. "Strange Relationship" (from Sign o' the Times)
  16. "When 2 R In Love" (Reprise/Coda)

Encore 1

  2. "Let's Go Crazy" (from Purple Rain) (includes Shave and a Haircut)
  3. "When Doves Cry" (from Purple Rain)
  4. "Purple Rain" (from Purple Rain)
  5. "1999" (from 1999)

Encore 2

  2. "Alphabet St." (from Lovesexy)

Additional notes

[edit]

Reception

[edit]
  • Critical reception was positive, with the NYT saying "The concert touches all of Prince's musical bases, from be-bop and swing tunes played by the horn section to 12-bar blues (with a plunky, T-Bone Walker-style guitar solo) to rock, funk, falsetto ballads and raps; there's some Coplandesque string-orchestra music between sets. Especially in the first half of the concert, it sometimes seems as if Prince wants to play every song he's ever written, as he zooms through barely a verse of each title in quick-cutting, montage-like medleys."[6]

[Sales]

  • Despite being completely sold out of its entire 500,000 allocation of tickets across its 32 date European run, and a further 600,000 tickets in the USA, the massive $2 million production cost of Lovesexy Tour and the 50 trucks and two 747s required to transport it and crew of 90 found the tour barely break even. It would become the driver behind Prince accepting Batman OST as his next project.[4]
  • When Prince got home to Minneapolis, he commenced work on the ‘Batman’ soundtrack, another project about the duality of man.[7]

[concert film]

  • The costs involving the design and building of the stage were approximately $ 2,000,000.-. But now the set had to be transported. It was a very costly venture, costing Prince more than he earned. The tour seemed to end up in the red. By adding a Japanese leg to the tour Prince was able to break even[1]
  • Taped on the last night of the European tour – 9 September 1988, at the Westfalenhalle in Dortmund, Germany[7]
  • https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5656122/

Band

[edit]

The band line-up is the same as the previous tour's, however Wally Safford and Greg Brooks, dancers and Prince's bodyguards, had quit in February that year.[4]

Tour dates

[edit]
List of 1988 concerts[5]
Date City Country Venue Attendance Revenue
July 8, 1988 Paris France Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy 16,065 / 16,065
July 9, 1988
July 10, 1988
July 12, 1988
July 15, 1988 Milan Italy Palatrussardi 8,479 / 8,479
July 16, 1988
July 17, 1988
July 19, 1988
July 23, 1988 Antwerp Belgium Sportpaleis ~14,500 / 17,000
July 25, 1988 London England, UK Wembley Arena —
July 26, 1988 —
July 28, 1988 —
July 29, 1988 —
August 1, 1988 —
August 2, 1988 —
August 3, 1988 —
August 5, 1988 Birmingham National Exhibition Centre —
August 6, 1988 —
August 10, 1988 Johanneshov Sweden Isstadion 9,800 / 9,800
August 11, 1988 12,000 / 12,000
August 14, 1988 Oslo Norway Valle Hovin 35,000 / 35,000
August 17, 1988 Rotterdam Netherlands Stadion Feijenoord 32,603 / 32,603
August 18, 1988 32,602 / 32,602
August 19, 1988 32,602 / 32,602
August 21, 1988 Copenhagen Denmark Idrætsparken 25,000 / 25,000
August 27, 1988 Frankfurt West Germany Waldstadion —
August 30, 1988 Hamburg Wilhelm-Koch Stadion 20,000 / 20,000
August 31, 1988 20,000 / 20,000
September 3, 1988 Modena Italy Stadio Comunale Alberto Braglia <15,000 / 30,000
September 8, 1988 Dortmund West Germany Westfalenhallen (Halle 1) 14,000 / 14,000
September 9, 1988 14,000 / 14,000
September 14, 1988 Bloomington, MN USA Met Center 14,682 / 16,211
September 15, 1988 16,211 / 16,211
September 17, 1988 Rosemont, IL Rosemont Horizon 17,378 / 17,378
September 18, 1988 17,378 / 17,378
September 19, 1988 4,714 / 17,350
September 22, 1988 Cincinnati, OH Riverfront Coliseum 12,666 / 16,336
September 24, 1988 Charlotte, NC Charlotte Coliseum 16,432 / 20,012
September 27, 1988 Richmond, VA Richmond Coliseum 8,870 / 12,500
September 30, 1988 Hartford, CT Hartford Civic Center ~13,000 / 16,500
October 2, 1988 New York City, NY Madison Square Garden 19,220 / 19,220
October 3, 1988 19,220 / 19,220
October 5, 1988 Toronto Canada Maple Leaf Gardens 13,252 / 14,500
October 8, 1988 Hampton, VA USA Hampton Coliseum ~9,900 / 10,000
October 10, 1988 Landover, MD Capital Centre 17,500 / 17,500
October 11, 1988 7,022 / 17,500
October 13, 1988 Atlanta, GA The Omni 16,378 / 16,378
October 14, 1988 16,378 / 16,378
October 15, 1988 Greensboro, NC Greensboro Coliseum 9,869 / 14,073
October 18, 1988 Philadelphia, PA Spectrum 17,352 / 17,352
October 20, 1988 Worcester, MA Worcester Centrum 11,986 / 11,986
October 21, 1988 11,986 / 11,986
October 22, 1988 11,986 / 11,986
October 24, 1988 Uniondale, NY Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum 15,764 / 16,700
October 28, 1988 Pittsburgh, PA Pittsburgh Civic Arena 14,611 / 14,611
October 30, 1988 Detroit, MI Joe Louis Arena 18,438 / 18,438
October 31, 1988 18,438 / 18,438
November 3, 1988 Denver, CO McNichols Arena 13,900 / 15,637
November 6, 1988 Los Angeles, CA Memorial Sports Arena 16,075 / 16,075
November 7, 1988 16,075 / 16,075
November 10, 1988 Oakland, CA Oakland Coliseum Arena 13,443 / 13,443
November 11, 1988 13,443 / 13,443
November 15, 1988 Seattle, WA Seattle Center Coliseum 12,362 / 14,100
November 17, 1988 Vancouver Canada Pacific Coliseum 12,072 / 13,000
November 21, 1988 Ames, IA USA Hilton Coliseum 10,009 / 10,707
November 23, 1988 Memphis, TN Mid-South Coliseum 10,085 / 11,200
November 25, 1988 New Orleans, LA Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena 9,124 / 9,124
November 27, 1988 Houston, TX The Summit 13,574 / 13,574
November 29, 1988 Dallas, TX Reunion Arena 13,062 / 15,874
List of 1989 concerts[5]
Date City Country Venue Attendance Revenue
February 1, 1989 Sendai Japan Sendai Gymnasium —
February 4, 1989 Tokyo Tokyo Dome —
February 5, 1989 —
February 7, 1989 Nagoya Rainbow Hall —
February 8, 1989 —
February 10, 1989 Kitakyushu Kitakyushu City Gymnasium —
February 12, 1989 Osaka Osaka-jō Hall —
February 13, 1989 —

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The album being unreleased at the time.
  2. ^ Notable keyboards used by Boni Boyer in this tour includes the E-mu Emax, Ensoniq ESQ-1, Fairlight CMI, Hammond B3, Roland D-50, and the Yamaha DX7.
  3. ^ Notable keyboards used by Dr Fink in this tour includes the Ensoniq SQ-80, Fairlight CMI, Prophet VS, Roland D-550, and the Yamaha DX7.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Barendregt, Erwin (May 10, 2018). "Lovesexy: Prince's crowning achievement". A Pop Life. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  2. ^ "Prince - Parade Tour / Hit N Run Tour (1986)". Goldies Parade. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  3. ^ Hall, James (September 27, 2020). "Sign O' The Times: how Prince created a masterpiece – and ruined his career". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d "Lovesexy Tour". Goldies Parade. Retrieved October 6, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c "Lovesexy Tour". PrinceVault.com. Retrieved October 4, 2025.
  6. ^ Pareles, Jon (September 16, 1988). "Review/Rock; Prince's New Show Combines Sex and Piety, Mist and Motion". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 20, 2025. Retrieved October 9, 2025.
  7. ^ a b P, Matt (July 15, 2018). "Prince: The Lovesexy Tour @ 30". movingtheriver.com. Retrieved October 8, 2025.
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