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The Revolution was '', '' Around The World In A Day '' and '' Parade ''. In the film '' Purple Rain '', Prince (as "The Kid") ''and'' the band are identified as "The Revolution". FORMATION (PRE-REVOLUTION) When Prince formed his backing band after the release of his first album, he followed in the footsteps of one of his idols, Sly Stone by creating a multi-racial, multi-gendered Musical Ensemble . The band initially consisted of:
Though officially unnamed, Prince experimented with the band acting as a Side Project known as ''The Rebels'', recording material in 1979 in Colorado, just as a side project to get more music out. The recordings were a group effort with lead vocals by Cymone, Dickerson or Chapman. The project was shelved for unknown reasons, however two of the tracks would later be re-recorded and given away by Prince. "You", became "U", and was released on Paula Abdul 's '' Spellbound '' album while "If I Love You Tonight" was released by both Mica Paris and Prince's later wife, Mayte Garcia . Gayle Chapman quit the band in 1980 due to Religious conflicts and was replaced by Lisa Coleman . Coleman was usually only identified by her first name, while Fink started wearing Surgical Scrubs on stage and became known as "Doctor" Fink. Wanting more creative control, André Cymone left the next year and was replaced by Mark Brown, renamed Brown Mark by Prince. In 1982 , when the band was almost identified as The Revolution, it consisted of:
Prince had held back from fully calling the group The Revolution partly because of Dez Dickerson's wishes to leave the band. When the '' 1999 '' Tour ended, Dez Dickerson finally left the band for religious reasons and was replaced by Lisa's childhood friend Wendy Melvoin . Wendy And Lisa shortly thereafter formed a special bond with Prince and greatly influenced his output during the rest of their tenure in the band. Prince's former mostly R&B / Funk offerings would be more diversified with Rock , Pop and Classical Music elements. DISSOLUTION Prince and The Revolution officially appeared on 1984's ''Purple Rain'' album. They lasted as such through 1986's ''Parade'' set. In 1985, The Family (the funk group made up of left over members of the now-disbanded The Time , and Wendy's twin sister Susannah) joined The Revolution, along with people from Sheila E.'s band. The new members were:
For the '' Parade '' Tour, the augmented The Revolution with its several new members began to perform the complex and Jazz y arrangements from the album, including the Horn Section from the album. (Blistan was a friend and former bandmate of Eric Leeds.) Despite the stellar performance of the band on tour, discontent in The Revolution had been brewing and was about to reach a boiling point. Wendy And Lisa were unhappy with their lack of credit and creativity, and the additions to the band, and left the band shortly after the ''Parade'' tour in 1986 to perform as a duo. They had wanted to leave before, but Bobby Z. literally caught them at the airport and talked them into staying for the Parade tour. Wendy was even bothered with the fact that Susannah, her twin, was in the band, saying "I shared a womb with this person, do I have to share a stage?" With the partial-nucleus of the band gone, Prince decided to make several changes. Susannah left, following a hurtful breakup with Prince. Bobby Z. was replaced by the more versatile Sheila E. (although he was kept on payroll for quite a few years after the fact.) Brownmark was asked to stay, but decided to pursue a solo career. Brownmark was promised "a lot of money" by Prince to stay on the Parade tour, but ended up earing about $3000 a week, which is a very low amount considering his time in the band, and the popularity of the group. He had turned down much more profitable gigs with people like Stevie Nicks. Dr. Fink decided to remain with Prince. The fragmented former-Revolution retained many of the newer members (Weaver, Brooks, Safford, Bliss and Leeds) while Prince added Sheila E. associates Levi Seacer, Jr. on bass and Boni Boyer on keyboards/vocals. The new incarnation of the band was unnamed, though some members of the new band referred to the group as the "Counter-Revolution", and fans came to dub it as "The Lovesexy Band". Prince may have been toying with a new band name in 1988, when on the album '' Lovesexy '', Prince states, "Welcome to the New Power Generation " on the track " No". It was in 1991 when Diamonds and Pearls was released that Prince called his band The New Power Generation, and despite the numerous personnel changes since, the name has remained. Fans have long since wanted a Revolution reunion and in 2000 during Prince's "A Celebration" week at Paisley Park, they got it. Dr. Fink, Bobby Z, and Brownmark all joined Prince onstage for "America". Wendy and Lisa didn't show up for various reasons. A few years later, Wendy did play guitar with Prince on The Tavis Smiley Show for "Reflection", a single from Prince's Musicology album. In 2006, Wendy, Lisa, and Sheila E. all appeared on stage with Prince (as well as former NPG member Morris Hayes who is now back in the band) and played "Te Amo Corazon" (from Prince's 3121 album), "Fury" (also from 3121), "Purple Rain", and "Let's Go Crazy". It's generally regarded as the highlight performance of the evening and left fans wagging their tongues for more. LEGACY Fans have long since wanted a reunion of The Revolution, and mini-reunions have taken place in several forms over the past decade. In 2000 , Prince had a celebration concert in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota and asked if any former bandmates wished to perform. Dr. Fink, Bobby Z. and Brownmark jammed with Prince on the song " America ." In 2004 , a concert for Charity known as the Family Jamm featured several of Prince's protégés, including the entire Revolution, minus Prince. Later the same year, Wendy Melvoin performed a live rendition of '' Musicology '' track "Reflection" with Prince on Tavis Smiley 's Cable Television program. At the 2006 BRIT Awards , a somewhat reformed Revolution once again backed Prince, as he reunited with Wendy, Lisa and Sheila E., while also featuring former New Power Generation member Morris Hayes . SEE ALSO
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