1975–1980: Beginnings and breakthrough 's family In 1975, Pepe Willie, the husband of one of Prince's cousins, formed the band
94 East with Marcy Ingvoldstad and Kristie Lazenberry, hiring André Cymone and Prince to record tracks. Willie wrote the songs, with Prince contributing guitar tracks, both of them co-writing "Just Another Sucker". The band recorded tracks which later appeared in the album
Minneapolis Genius – The Historic 1977 Recordings. Unable to secure a recording contract, Moon brought the tape to
Owen Husney, a Minneapolis businessman. Husney signed Prince, then aged 19, to a management contract, and helped him create a demo at
Sound 80 Studios in Minneapolis, with producer/engineer David Z. The demo recording, along with a
press kit produced at Husney's ad agency, resulted in interest from several record companies, including
Warner Bros. Records,
A&M Records, and
Columbia Records. With the help of Husney, Prince signed a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1977. The record company agreed to give Prince creative control for three albums and retain his publishing rights. Husney and Prince then left Minneapolis and moved to
Sausalito, California, where Prince's first album,
For You, was recorded at
Record Plant Studios. The album was mixed in Los Angeles and released on April 7, 1978. According to the
For You album notes, Prince wrote, produced, arranged, composed, and played all 27 instruments on the recording, except for the song "
Soft and Wet", whose lyrics were co-written by Chris Moon. Prince used the ''Prince's Music Co.
to publish his songs. In the United States, "Soft and Wet" reached No. 12 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and No. 92 on the Billboard'' Hot 100. The song "
Just as Long as We're Together" reached No. 91 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Around this time, a side enterprise that Prince began to pursue involved a then-teenage singer
Sue Ann Carwell, where Prince hoped to mold her career as a solo artist after hearing her talented performances in the Minneapolis R&B scene. However, Carwell resisted his suggestion that she use the name "Susie Stone". Recordings he had been working on with her for a projected 1978 album, including "I'm Saving It Up", "Make It Through the Storm", "Since We've Been Together" and "Wouldn't You Love To Love Me?", went unreleased. Carwell was subsequently signed by Warner Bros. Records. and then on
American Bandstand on January 26.
1980–1983: Dirty Mind, Controversy and 1999 " in 1981|upright=0.75 In 1980, Prince released the album
Dirty Mind, which contained sexually explicit material, including the songs "Head" and "Sister", and was described by
Stephen Thomas Erlewine as a "stunning, audacious amalgam of funk,
new wave, R&B, and pop, fueled by grinningly salacious sex and the desire to shock". Recorded in Prince's studio, this album was certified
gold, with the single "
Uptown" reaching No. 5 on the
Billboard Dance chart and No. 5 on the Hot Soul Singles chart. Prince was also the opening act for
Rick James' 1980
Fire It Up tour. In February 1981, Prince made his first appearance on
Saturday Night Live, performing "
Partyup". In October 1981, Prince released the album
Controversy. He played several dates in support of it, as the first of three opening acts for
the Rolling Stones, on their United States
tour. In Los Angeles, Prince, who appeared in a trench coat and black bikini briefs, was forced off the stage after just three songs by audience members throwing trash at him. The songs on
Controversy were published by
Controversy Music –
ASCAP, a practice he continued until the
Emancipation album in 1996.
Controversy also marked the introduction of Prince's use of
sensational spelling, such as writing the words "
you" as "
U", "
to" as "
2", and "
for" as "
4". By 2002, MTV News noted that "now all of his titles, liner notes, and Web postings are written in his own shorthand spelling, as seen on 1999's
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, which featured 'Hot Wit U. In 1981, Prince formed a side project band called
The Time. The band released four albums between 1981 and 1990, with Prince writing and performing most of the instrumentation and backing vocals—sometimes being credited under the pseudonyms "Jamie Starr" or "The Starr Company"—with lead vocals by
Morris Day. In late 1982, Prince released a double album,
1999, which sold more than four million copies. The
title track was a protest against
nuclear proliferation and became Prince's first top 10 hit in countries outside the United States. Prince's "
Little Red Corvette" was one of the first two videos by black artists—along with
Michael Jackson's "
Billie Jean"—played in heavy rotation on
MTV, which had been perceived as against "black music" until
CBS President
Walter Yetnikoff threatened to pull all CBS videos. Prince and Jackson had a competitive rivalry which lasted for many years. The song "
Delirious" also placed in the top ten on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart. "
International Lover" earned Prince his first
Grammy Award nomination at the
26th Annual Grammy Awards.
1984–1987: Purple Rain, Around the World in a Day and Parade in 1984, which solely took place in the United States|left|259x259px Starting with the release of
1999, the backing band for Prince would be referred to as
the Revolution. The band's name was printed in reverse on the cover of
1999 inside the letter "I" of the word "Prince". The band consisted of
Lisa Coleman and
Doctor Fink on keyboards,
Bobby Z. on drums,
Brown Mark on bass, and
Dez Dickerson on guitar.
Jill Jones, a backing singer, was also part of the lineup for the
1999 album and tour. Following the tour, Dickerson left the group for religious reasons. In the book
Possessed: The Rise and Fall of Prince (2003), author Alex Hahn says that Dickerson was reluctant to sign a three-year contract and wanted to pursue other musical ventures. Dickerson was replaced by Coleman's friend
Wendy Melvoin. and grossed more than $68 million in the US, or $ million in dollars. It is regarded as one of the greatest
musical films of all time. Songs from the film were hits on pop charts around the world; "
When Doves Cry" and "
Let's Go Crazy" reached No. 1 on the
Billboard Hot 100, with the
title track reaching No. 2. and is also included on the list of
Time's All-Time 100 Albums. The album also produced two of Prince's first three Grammy Awards earned at the
27th Annual Grammy Awards: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, and Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media. Four of these paintings are now in the collection of
The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. In November 1984,
Vanity Fair published Warhol's portrait to accompany the article
Purple Fame by Tristan Fox, and claimed that Warhol's silkscreen image of Prince with its pop colors captured Prince "at the height of his powers". for the premiere of
Purple Rain on July 26, 1984After
Tipper Gore heard her 11-year-old daughter
Karenna listening to Prince's song "
Darling Nikki"—which gained wide notoriety for its sexual lyrics and a reference to masturbation—she founded the
Parents Music Resource Center. The center advocated the mandatory use of a warning label, now known as
Parental Advisory, on the covers of records that have been judged to contain language or lyrical content unsuitable for minors. The recording industry later voluntarily complied with this request. In 1985, Prince released
Around the World in a Day, which held the No. 1 spot on the
Billboard 200 for three weeks. From that album, the single "
Raspberry Beret" reached No. 2 on the
Billboard Hot 100, and "
Pop Life" reached No. 7. '' in 1986|342x342px In 1986, his album
Parade, the soundtrack for the movie
Under the Cherry Moon released in the same year, reached No. 3 on the
Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the R&B charts. The first single, "
Kiss", reached No. 1 on the
Billboard Hot 100. the film received a
Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Picture, tied with
Howard the Duck, and Prince received Golden Raspberry Awards for Worst Director, Worst Actor, and Worst Original Song for the song "Love or Money". Some critics later re-evaluated
Under the Cherry Moon after Prince's death and declared it a
cult classic, comparing it to films such as
8½,
Casablanca and
It Happened One Night. In 1986, Prince began a series of live performances called the
Parade Tour. After the tour, Prince disbanded the Revolution and fired Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. The album peaked at No. 6 on the
Billboard 200 albums chart. The follow-up single, "
If I Was Your Girlfriend", charted at No. 67 on the Hot 100 and reached No. 12 on R&B chart. The Sign o' the Times tour was a success overseas, with Warner Bros. and Prince's managers wanting to bring it to the United States to promote sales of the album. Prince did not approve of a full United States tour, as he was ready to produce a new album. As a compromise, the last two nights of the tour were filmed for release in movie theaters. The film quality was deemed subpar, and reshoots were performed at Prince's
Paisley Park studios. The film ''
Sign o' the Times was released on November 20, 1987. The film got better reviews than Under the Cherry Moon'', but its box-office receipts were minimal, and it quickly left theaters. The next album intended for release was
The Black Album. More instrumental and funk- and R&B-themed than previous albums,
The Black Album also saw Prince experiment with
hip hop on the songs "Bob George" and "Dead on It". Prince was set to release the album with a monochromatic black cover with only the catalog number printed, but after 500,000 copies had been pressed, Prince had a spiritual epiphany that the album was "evil" and had it recalled. Surviving vinyl copies of the album have sold for upwards of $10 thousand.
The Black Album was re-released in 1994. Prince went back in the studio for eight weeks and recorded
Lovesexy. Released on May 10, 1988,
Lovesexy serves as a spiritual opposite to the dark
The Black Album. Every song is a solo effort by Prince, except "
Eye No", which was recorded with his backing band.
Lovesexy reached No. 11 on the
Billboard 200 and No. 5 on the R&B albums chart. The lead single, "
Alphabet St.", peaked at No. 8 on the Hot 100 and No. 3 on the R&B chart, selling 4.3 million copies. The single "
Batdance" topped the
Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts. In 1990, Prince went back on tour with a revamped band for his back-to-basics
Nude Tour. With the departures of Boni Boyer, Sheila E., the Horns, and Cat, Prince brought in keyboardist
Rosie Gaines, drummer
Michael Bland, and dancing trio
the Game Boyz (
Tony M., Kirky J., and Damon Dickson). The European and Japanese tour was a financial success with a short, greatest hits setlist. In 1990, Prince finished production on his fourth film,
Graffiti Bridge, and its
eponymous soundtrack. Initially, Warner Bros. was reluctant to fund the film, but with Prince's assurances it would be a sequel to
Purple Rain, as well as the involvement of the original members of the Time, the studio greenlit the project. Released on August 20, 1990, the album reached No. 6 on the
Billboard 200 and R&B albums chart. The single "
Thieves in the Temple" reached No. 6 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the R&B chart,
1991–1996: Name change, Diamonds and Pearls and The Gold Experience 1991 began with a performance in
Rock in Rio II, marking the debut of Prince's new band,
the New Power Generation. With guitarist Miko Weaver and long-time keyboardist Doctor Fink leaving, Prince added bass player
Sonny T., keyboard player
Tommy Barbarella, and a brass section known as
the Hornheads to the band, to go along with
Levi Seacer, who would be taking over on guitar,
Rosie Gaines,
Michael Bland, and
the Game Boyz. With significant input from his band members,
Diamonds and Pearls was released on October 1, 1991. Reaching No. 3 on the
Billboard 200 album chart,
Diamonds and Pearls saw four hit singles released in the United States. "
Gett Off" peaked at No. 21 on the Hot 100 and No. 6 on the R&B charts, followed by "
Cream", which gave Prince his fifth United States No. 1 single. The title track "
Diamonds and Pearls" became the album's third single, reaching No. 3 on the Hot 100 and the top spot on the R&B charts. "
Money Don't Matter 2 Night" peaked at No. 23 and No. 14 on the Hot 100 and R&B charts respectively. The album
Diamonds and Pearls would sell more than 2 million copies in the United States. In 1992, following the success of
Diamonds and Pearls, Prince renewed his contract with Warner Bros., agreeing to what was reportedly a $100 million deal to release six more albums with the label. In October, Prince released his
14th studio album, being the second to feature the New Power Generation. It bore only an unpronounceable symbol on the cover, which would later be copyrighted under the title "Love Symbol #2". It was preceded by the releases of the singles "
Sexy MF" and "
My Name Is Prince", which reached No. 66 and No. 36 respectively on the
Billboard Hot 100. The third single, "
7", would peak at No. 7 on the
Billboard Hot 100. and went on to sell 2.8 million copies worldwide, falling short of expectations. in 1993 In 1993, in rebellion against Warner Bros., which insisted upon releasing Prince's enormous backlog of music at a steady pace, Prince formally adopted the symbol as his stage name. At this time, Prince was often referred to as "the Artist Formerly Known as Prince", or simply "the Artist". though the album would not be released until 1999.
1996–2000: Emancipation, Crystal Ball and Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic Free of any further contractual obligations to Warner Bros., Prince attempted a major comeback later that year with the release of
Emancipation, a 36-song, three-CD set, with each disc being exactly 60 minutes long. The album was released via his own label, named
NPG Records, with distribution through
EMI.
Emancipation was certified
Platinum by the
RIAA. It is the first Prince record featuring
covers of other artists' songs. Prince covered
Joan Osborne's top ten hit song of 1995 "
One of Us",
Thom Bell and
Linda Creed's "
Betcha by Golly Wow!", James Allen Shamblin II and Michael Barry Reid's "
I Can't Make You Love Me", and Thom Bell and
William Hart's "
La-La (Means I Love You)". Prince released
Crystal Ball, a five-CD collection of unreleased material, in 1998. The distribution of this album was disorderly, with some fans pre-ordering the album on his website up to a year before it was shipped; these pre-orders were delivered months after the record had gone on sale in retail stores. The retail edition has only four discs, as it is missing the
Kamasutra disc.
Newpower Soul was released three months later. In 1999, Prince once again signed with a major label,
Arista Records, to release a new record,
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic. The pay-per-view concert,
Rave Un2 the Year 2000, was broadcast on December 31, 1999, and consisted of footage from the December 17 and 18 concerts of his 1999 tour. The concert featured appearances by guest musicians, including
Lenny Kravitz,
George Clinton, Jimmy Russell, and the Time. It was released to home video the following year. For several years following the release of
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, Prince primarily released new music through his Internet subscription service, NPGOnlineLtd.com, which later became NPGMusicClub.com. The albums released during this period include remix album
Rave In2 the Joy Fantastic and
The Rainbow Children in 2001,
One Nite Alone... in 2002, and
Xpectation in 2003. In 2001, Warner Bros. released a second compilation album,
The Very Best of Prince, containing most of his commercially successful singles from the 1980s. In 2002, Prince released his first live album,
One Nite Alone... Live!, which features performances from the One Nite Alone...Tour. The three-CD box set also includes a disc of "aftershow" music entitled ''It Ain't Over!''. On February 8, 2004, Prince appeared at the
46th Annual Grammy Awards with
Beyoncé. In a performance that opened the show, they performed a medley of "Purple Rain", "Let's Go Crazy", "
Baby I'm a Star", and Beyoncé's "
Crazy in Love". The following month, Prince was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The award was presented to him by
Alicia Keys along with
Big Boi and
André 3000 of
OutKast. As well as performing a trio of his own hits during the ceremony, Prince also participated in a tribute to fellow inductee
George Harrison in a rendering of Harrison's "
While My Guitar Gently Weeps", playing a two-minute guitar solo that ended the song. He also performed the song "
Red House" as "Purple House" on the album
Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. In April 2004, Prince released
Musicology through a one-album agreement with Columbia. The album rose as high as the top five on some international charts, including the US, UK, Germany, and Australia. The United States chart success was assisted by the CDs being included as part of the concert ticket purchase, thereby qualifying each CD to count toward United States chart placement. Three months later,
Spin named him the greatest
frontman of all time. That same year,
Rolling Stone magazine named Prince as the highest-earning musician in the world, with an annual income of $56.5 million, largely due to his
Musicology Tour, which
Pollstar named as the top concert draw among musicians in the US. He played 96 concerts; the average ticket price for a show was US$61 ().
Musicology went on to receive two Grammy wins, for
Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "
Call My Name" and Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance for the
title track.
Musicology was also nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Album, and "
Cinnamon Girl" was nominated for
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
Rolling Stone ranked Prince No. 27 on their
list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
2005–2007: 3121 In April 2005, Prince played guitar, along with
En Vogue singing backing vocals, on
Stevie Wonder's single "
So What the Fuss", Wonder's first since 1999. In late 2005, Prince signed with
Universal Music Group to release his album,
3121, on March 21, 2006. The first single was "
Te Amo Corazón", the video for which was directed by actress
Salma Hayek and filmed in
Marrakesh, Morocco, with the video featuring Argentine actress and singer
Mía Maestro. The video for the second single, "
Black Sweat", was nominated at the
MTV VMAs for Best Cinematography. The immediate success of
3121 gave Prince his first No. 1 debut on the
Billboard 200 with the album. To promote the new album, Prince was the musical guest on
Saturday Night Live on February 4, 2006, 17 years after his last
SNL appearance on the 15th-anniversary special, and nearly 25 years since his first appearance on a regular episode in 1981. At the
2006 Webby Awards on June 12, Prince received a
Webby Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his "visionary use of the Internet to distribute music and connect with audiences", exemplified by his decision to release his album
Crystal Ball (1998) exclusively online. In July 2006, weeks after winning a Webby Award, Prince shut down his NPG Music Club website, after more than five years of operation. On the day of the music club's shutdown, a lawsuit was filed against Prince by the British company HM Publishing, who were the then-owners of the
Nature Publishing Group, which was also abbreviated as NPG. Despite these events occurring on the same day, Prince's attorney stated that the site did not close due to the trademark dispute. and on June 27, Prince appeared at the
2006 BET Awards, where he was awarded Best Male R&B Artist. Prince performed a medley of Chaka Khan songs for Khan's BET Lifetime Achievement Award. In November 2006, Prince was inducted into the
UK Music Hall of Fame; On August 22, 2006, Prince released
Ultimate, a greatest-hits album. The double-disc set contains one CD of previous hits, and another of extended versions and mixes of material that had largely only previously been available on B-sides. That same year, Prince wrote and performed a song for the hit animated film
Happy Feet (2006). The song, "
The Song of the Heart", appears on the film's
soundtrack, which also features a cover of Prince's earlier hit "Kiss", sung by
Nicole Kidman and
Hugh Jackman. In January 2007, "The Song of the Heart" won a
Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
2007–2010: Super Bowl XLI show, Planet Earth and Lotusflower On February 4, 2007, Prince played at the
Super Bowl XLI halftime show in Miami, on a large stage shaped like his symbol. The event was carried to 140 million television viewers, his biggest-ever audience. His 12-minute performance in the rain began with an intro of the Queen song "
We Will Rock You" and concluded with "Purple Rain". In 2015,
Billboard ranked it the greatest Super Bowl performance ever. Prince played 21 concerts at
the O2 Arena in London during the
Earth Tour in mid-2007. Tickets for the 20,000-capacity venue were capped by Prince at £31.21 ($48.66). Featuring
Maceo Parker in his band, Prince's residency at the O2 Arena was increased to 15 nights after all 140,000 tickets for the original seven sold out in 20 minutes, before it was then further extended to 21 nights. Prince performed with Sheila E. at the 2007
ALMA Awards. On June 28, 2007, the
Mail on Sunday stated that it had made a deal to give Prince's new album,
Planet Earth, away for free with the paper, being the first to publish it. This sparked controversy among music distributors and also led the UK arm of Prince's distributor,
Sony BMG, to withdraw from distributing the album in UK stores. The UK's largest high street music retailer,
HMV, stocked the paper on release day due to the giveaway. On July 7, 2007, Prince returned to Minneapolis to perform three shows. He performed concerts at the
Macy's Auditorium on
Nicollet Mall, the
Target Center arena, and
First Avenue. in 2008 On April 25, 2008, Prince performed on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he debuted a new song, "Turn Me Loose". Days after, he headlined the 2008
Coachella Festival. Prince was paid more than $5 million for his performance at Coachella, according to
Reuters. Prince canceled a concert, planned at Dublin's
Croke Park on June 16, 2008, at 10 days' notice. In October 2009 promoters
MCD Productions went to court to sue him for €1.6 million to refund 55,126 tickets. Prince settled the case out of court in February 2010 for $2.95 million. During the trial, it was said that Prince had been offered $22 million for seven concerts as part of a proposed 2008 European tour. In October 2008, Prince released a live album entitled
Indigo Nights, a collection of songs performed live at aftershows in the
O2 Arena. Prince premiered four songs from his new album on LA's Indie rock radio station
Indie 103.1 on December 18, 2008. The radio station's programmers Max Tolkoff and
Mark Sovel had been invited to Prince's home to hear the new rock-oriented music. Prince gave them a CD with four songs to premiere on their radio station. The music debuted the next day on Jonesy's Jukebox, hosted by former
Sex Pistol Steve Jones. On January 3, 2009, the new website LotusFlow3r.com was launched; streaming and selling some of the recently aired material and concert tickets. On January 31, Prince released two more songs on LotusFlow3r.com: "Disco Jellyfish", and "Another Boy". "Chocolate Box", "Colonized Mind", and "All This Love" were later released on the website. Prince released a triple album set containing the album
Lotusflow3r,
MPLSoUND, and an album credited to
Bria Valente, called
Elixer, on March 24, 2009, followed by a physical release on March 29. On July 18, 2009, Prince performed two shows at the
Montreux Jazz Festival, backed by the New Power Generation, including Rhonda Smith, Renato Neto and
John Blackwell. On October 11, 2009, he gave two surprise concerts at the
Grand Palais in Paris. On October 12, he gave another surprise performance at
La Cigale. On October 24, Prince played a concert at Paisley Park.
2010–2016: Final albums In January 2010, Prince wrote a new song, "Purple and Gold", inspired by his visit to a
Minnesota Vikings football game against the
Dallas Cowboys. The following month, he let
Minneapolis-St. Paul public radio station
89.3 The Current premiere his new song "Cause and Effect" as a gesture in support of
independent radio. In 2010, Prince was listed in
Times annual ranking of the "100 Most Influential People in the World". He released a new single on
Minneapolis-St. Paul radio station
89.3 The Current called "Hot Summer" on June 7, his 52nd birthday. The same month, Prince appeared on the cover of the July 2010 issue of
Ebony magazine, and he received the
Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2010
BET Awards. Prince released his album
20Ten in July 2010 as a free
covermount with publications in the UK, Belgium, Germany, and France. He refused album access to digital download services and closed LotusFlow3r.com. On July 4, 2010, Prince began his
20Ten Tour, a concert tour in two legs, with shows in Europe. The second leg began on October 15 and ended with a concert following that year's
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 14. The second half of the tour had a new band, with John Blackwell,
Ida Kristine Nielsen, and previous band member Sheila E. Prince let radio station
Europe 1 debut the snippet of his new song "Rich Friends" from the new album
20Ten Deluxe on October 8, 2010. He embarked on the
Welcome 2 Tour on December 15, 2010. Prince was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame on December 7, 2010. Prince presented
Barbra Streisand with an award and donated $1.5 million to charities on February 12, 2011. On the same day, it was reported that he had not authorized the television show
Glee to cover his hit "Kiss", in an episode that had already been filmed. Prince headlined the
Hop Farm Festival on July 3, 2011, marking his first UK show since 2007 and his first-ever UK festival appearance. Despite having previously rejected the Internet for music distribution, on November 24, 2011, he released a reworked version of the previously unreleased song "Extraloveable" through both
iTunes and
Spotify. Purple Music, a Switzerland-based record label, released a CD single titled "Dance 4 Me" on December 12, 2011, as part of a club remixes package including the Bria Valente CD single "2 Nite" released on February 23, 2012. The CD features club remixes by Jamie Lewis and David Alexander, produced by Prince. In January 2013, Prince released a
lyric video for a new song called "Screwdriver". In April 2013, Prince announced a West Coast tour titled
Live Out Loud Tour with
3rdeyegirl as his backing band. The final two dates of the first leg of the tour were in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where former Revolution drummer Bobby Z. sat in as guest drummer on both shows. In May, Prince announced a deal with Kobalt Music to market and distribute his music. On August 14, 2013, Prince released a new solo single for download through the 3rdeyegirl.com website. The single "Breakfast Can Wait" had cover art featuring comedian
Dave Chappelle's impersonation of him, from a 2004 second-season ''
Chappelle's Show'' comedy sketch on
Comedy Central. In February 2014, he performed concerts with 3rdeyegirl in London titled the
Hit and Run Tour. Beginning with intimate shows, the first was held at the London home of singer
Lianne La Havas, followed by two performances of what Prince described as a "sound check" at the
Electric Ballroom in
Camden, and another at
Shepherd's Bush Empire. On April 18, 2014, Prince released a new single entitled "The Breakdown". He re-signed with his former label, Warner Bros. Records after an 18-year split. Warner announced that Prince would release a remastered deluxe edition of
Purple Rain in 2014 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the album. In return, Warner gave Prince ownership of the master recordings of his recordings with the company. In February 2014, Prince began what was billed as his "Hit N Run Part One" tour. This involved Prince's Twitter followers keeping an avid eye on second-by-second information as to the whereabouts of his shows. Many of these shows would only be announced on the day of the concert, and many of these concerts involved two performances: a
matinée and an evening show. These shows began at
Camden's Electric Ballroom, billed as "Soundchecks", and spread throughout the UK capital to KoKo Club, in Camden, Shepherd's Bush Empire and various other small venues. After his London dates, he moved on to other European cities. In May 2014, Prince began his "Hit N Run Part Two" shows, which followed a more normal style of purchasing tickets online and being held in music arenas. In Spring 2014, he launched NPG Publishing, a music company to administer his own music and that of other artists without the restrictions of mainstream record companies. In May 2015, following the
killing of Freddie Gray in police custody and the subsequent
riots, Prince released a song, "Baltimore", in tribute to Gray and in support of the protesters in that city. He also held a tribute concert for Gray at his Paisley Park estate called "Dance Rally 4 Peace" in which he encouraged fans to wear the color gray in honor of Freddie Gray. On May 10, he performed a special concert at the
Royal Farms Arena in
Baltimore called "Rally 4 Peace", which featured a special appearance by
Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn Mosby, and one set performed by Prince alone at a keyboard. Prince's
penultimate album,
Hit n Run Phase One, was first made available on September 7, 2015, on the music streaming service
Tidal before being released on CD and for download on September 14. His final album,
Hit n Run Phase Two, was meant as a continuation of this, and was released on Tidal for streaming and download on December 12, 2015. In February 2016, Prince embarked on the
Piano & A Microphone Tour, a tour that saw his show stripped back to only him and a custom piano on stage. He performed a series of warm-up shows at Paisley Park in late January 2016 and the tour commenced in
Melbourne, Australia, on February 16, 2016, to critical acclaim. The Australian and New Zealand legs of the tour were played in small-capacity venues, including the
Sydney Opera House.
Hit n Run Phase Two CDs were distributed to every attendee after each performance. The tour continued to the United States but was abruptly cut short by illness in April 2016. == Death ==