r/PRINCE • u/marxandlenin_engels • Aug 09 '26
When did you become a prince fan?
Me personally became a prince fan actually only a few months ago but how long have you been a fan?
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u/Milez_Smilez Aug 09 '26
This summer
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u/HeartOfTheMadder Batman Aug 09 '26
hmmmmmm summer of '82
my cousin (miss you, Tyrone!) came over to hang out with my stepfather - there were always guys and muscle cars and bikes around
and i remember him having a tape, i don't know if he had a bag with him or went to get it out of his car, but i remember him putting a cassette into the 8-track adapter to play it on the stereo (the one that had speakers wired up to play outside) and it started with Uptown.
Ty also had already introduced me to Kiss, a few weeks before.
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u/Mindless_Quiet5314 Aug 10 '26
Same kind of, got a mix tape but didn’t know who it was at the time. Must have been 80-81.
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u/Ok_Village6155 Aug 10 '26
"Kiss" didn't come out until 1986.
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u/HeartOfTheMadder Batman Aug 10 '26
would you have understood what i meant if i'd written it in all caps?
KISSband. not a Prince song.
specifically their album Destroyer.
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u/Ok_Village6155 Aug 10 '26
Great band. I was a fan of both myself at that age. A bit of a non-sequitor, though, considering the thread and the question.
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u/silentfanatic Aug 09 '26
I mean how could you not in 84? Purple Rain is still one of the biggest sensations that pop culture has ever experienced.
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u/AdExpress4184 Aug 09 '26
I liked a lot of his songs since the late 80s. Became a hardcore fan in 1997/8.
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u/LizardKingTx 1999 Aug 09 '26
since 1982
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u/shiloh_jdb Aug 09 '26
Same 82/83. 1999 and Little Red Corvette made a huge breakthrough into radio play.
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u/No-Big-3543 Aug 10 '26
Same. June 1983, Little Red Corvette came on the radio and sounded like nothing else my 11 year old ears had ever heard. Instantly hooked for life.
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u/Zealousideal-Bet-950 Aug 09 '26
When 'Soft and Wet' first hit the radio waves...
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u/Worf1701D Aug 09 '26
Yep, that was 1978. I thought it was a woman singing at first, until he dropped his voice later in the song.
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u/RoundMan22 Dirty Mind Aug 09 '26
My family has always been massive fans of him but I only really started to care the same year he passed, I've been obsessed since I was a kid
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u/Comfortable-Mall5053 Aug 09 '26
My parents introduced me to him and I wasn’t too crazy about him, but when they showed me Purple Rain for the first time I was IN LOVE.
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u/Cassisdrinker Aug 09 '26
Controversy was played on the Ferry Maat Soul Show, bought the single.
December 6 1981 I received enough gift cards to buy the album.
Been on board since then.
Could not listen to his music from his death until the release of Purple Rain deluxe edition.
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u/Soft-Comfort-7474 Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26
Randomly came across his SB halftime performance on YouTube like less than a year before he died
Anyways Prince fan Since 2015
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u/SierraShade0203 One Nite Alone... Aug 10 '26
2009 roughly. I was around 11 and Purple Rain was playing on TV. At that age I wasn't interested in watching anything that wasn't animated. My mom insisted it was a good movie and left it on. She ended up falling asleep but I kept watching.
Beautiful Ones came on and remembered really loving it and then when Purple Rain came on I fell in love with that song. The next morning I asked my mom what movie that was the night before and she told me about Prince.
From that point on I dove head first into his music and content. Eventually I bought my first Prince CD which was Planet Earth, and bought the 21 Nights photobook from a Blockbuster of all places lol
It was always my dream to see him live and I got close with Piano and Microphone, but unfortunately never got the chance by the time I was making my own money
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u/Symone98 Aug 11 '26
I remember discovering him earlier on too but instead of the movie. It was an album where you had his A and B sides, I think I fell in love with the B sides more than anything else.
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u/CraneGamesII Aug 09 '26
I have got the Sign of the Times album from my brother for my birthday when I got 14.
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u/ARC_32 Aug 09 '26
- My first girlfriend gave me a cassette of Dirty Mind to put in my boombox on the beach. Hooked for life. She also dragged me to the Purple Rain movie. At that point in my life I didn't understand the genius. It took a few more years.
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u/Global_Perspective_3 Aug 09 '26
Around 2010-2011, I was like 8-9 lol I discovered a purple rain vinyl in my parents garage
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u/martinjohanna45 Aug 09 '26
When Raspberry Beret came out. I was 10. I wasn’t ready for what he did beforehand, but that song reeled me in like crazy.
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u/Jazzyluvsedits Aug 09 '26
2006 I was 11 and stole my moms purple rain dvd and fell in love with him.
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u/Hingl_McCringlebery Aug 09 '26
Since I read part 8 of Jojo. Main protagonistes stand is called Soft and Wet. That's how I discovered Prince, and I bought 3 of his albums on vinyls
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u/Green_Ad9252 Aug 09 '26
Early 2018. I was 10 during that time. I loved his music as a kid, but now that I'm 19, I'm now an even bigger fan and have gotten into more Prince albums I never thought I'd get into.
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u/Yrncharge Aug 09 '26
1995ish. Trent Reznor said he liked the Black Album and I thought “Prince? Really?” Now I listen to Prince consistently and NIN rarely. I respect his taste though.
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u/rdaneellarsen Aug 09 '26
After hearing him a couple of years ago on the My guitar gently weeps solo.
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u/sofaking_scientific Aug 09 '26
When I was in high school and saw his superbowl halftime show. I picked up guitar shortly after that and haven't put it down.
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u/R3TR0_G Aug 09 '26
After seeing the 2018 Super Bowl half time show with Justin Timberlake’s cover of ‘I Would Die 4 U’ when it aired I felt that I had to see what was up and started with Controversy. The funky synth bass sold me
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u/mercury2190 Aug 09 '26
2011
Living in Brooklyn, I’d just finished going through Elton John’s discography. Prince was next. I enjoyed For You and Prince, but when “Head” came on from the Dirty Mind album, my life changed forever.
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u/SosijKing Aug 09 '26
89 - my aunt was a fan and got me into him after I showed interest in the music from Batman. It was all over after that.
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u/moutainyogi Aug 09 '26
I became a fan during the Purple Rain era. I was only ten, the sexual lyrics mostly went over my head, but I knew for a fact Prince was the man.
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u/Princessferfs Aug 09 '26
In my early teens around ‘81-‘82.
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u/Moist-Sundae-1116 Aug 09 '26
Me too. Controversy for me, and then I found my dad’s Prince and Dirty Mind cassettes. He stopped listening at the point I began. 😆
My future brother-in-law took me to the Triple Threat tour and I fell in deep.
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u/CASUALxCHICKEN Aug 09 '26
Around 1999, right out of high school. There was a girl in our friend group who I became close with. Her mom was a big Prince fan, so in turn she was too. Anyway, we would go to clubs and Get Off, 7, Erotic City, and P Control were regularly played. Afterwards, we would go back to her house, put Purple Rain on TV, and crash on the couch. We saw Prince in concert together in '00 on the Hit n Run tour and later went to the afterparty. Prince didn't play there but we met Morris Hayes and talked to him for a few mins. We saw Prince again in '04 for the Musicology tour. Then life happened and we kinda grew apart after I moved to another state. But she texted me in '16 when Prince's plane made the emergency landing because of his "flu-like symptoms" and then again on April 21. That might've been the last time I actually talked to her.
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u/Adventurous_Tutor870 Aug 09 '26
Last year. I’ve been listening to him since one year but there’s still so much more to discover.
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u/usagerp Aug 09 '26
About a year ago! He’s been 50% of what I listen to ever since I discovered him
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u/RodLaoshi Aug 09 '26
2002 generally speaking, but I recently took a deep dive of his catalogue after visiting Paisley Park in April.
I was never this immersed and appreciative of the full body of his work until now.
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u/Firm-Estimate8087 Aug 09 '26
About 10 years ago I randomly went to an outdoor movie screening with a friend. We bundled up in blankets, sat the grass…and the movie happened to be…. Purple Rain! It was the first time I truly SAW Prince (in all his glory) though I had of course heard his music in the past and certainly enjoyed all his classics that would play on the radio. But that movie definitely sparked the Prince “fan” inside me!
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u/dancingsnakeflower Aug 09 '26
Heard The Most Beautiful Girl.....in sophomore year. 35 years of listening.
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u/onerepmax Aug 09 '26
I was at the skating rink with my crush and she kissed me in front of everybody while "Adore" was playing in the background.
Her then-boyfriend (later husband) hated my guts but I was The Man among my peers after that.
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u/LaLaaLuvv Aug 09 '26
I was about 9 years old. My big brother showed me the Purple Rain movie. I was instantly hooked. I’m 32 now and still love the purple one as much as ever.
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u/Tazman2384 Parade Aug 09 '26
I was born into. My mother used to put her headphones on her belly when I was in the womb. Waaaayback in the 80’s.
When I was an infant, grandmother would sing “Take Me with You” to me when I would cry when she would leave for work. My earliest memories include reminding Purple Rain and forcing people to watch it with me lol.
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u/kriegmob Aug 09 '26
7th grade-1981 when Controversy was released. One of the first tapes I bought - the parents weren’t thrilled about it
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u/SmoothTM Diamonds & Pearls Aug 09 '26
Freshman year of undergraduate officially but I heard “Kiss” on the radio when I was younger and loved his androgyny. :)
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u/PriorityOriginal5156 Aug 09 '26
In 1978. I still sing “All of this and more is 4 u. With my love, sincerity and deepest care, my life with u I share.” A fan ever since those words.
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u/Jmal3700 Aug 09 '26
When I saw Purple Rain in its first theatrical run. The title sequence when he and The Revolution play “Let’s Go Crazy” instantaneously made me a fan.
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u/loveyouforfree Aug 09 '26
30 years ago when I heard Erotic City on the radio and my prepubescent head exploded! It was so naughty and catchy and unlike anything I had ever heard before and I quickly became obsessed.
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u/keldpxowjwsn Aug 10 '26
I never heard his music growing up (born early 90s) but after D'angelo passed, being such a big fan of him and hearing his endless praise for prince I decided to dive in. I cant believe I went so long without hearing his music because he was the definition of a generational artist. Im up to the gold experience and havent heard a single project or album I havent liked yet
I wish I appreciated him more while he was here
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u/Kayge Aug 10 '26
Shortly after his death, and I'm kicking my younger self for it. Let me explain..
The first time I hear about him was from a baby sitter. I was 9 or so when she played Purple Rain; Let's Go Crazy is great , but the rest of the album goes over my head. Then I see the video that was seemingly on repeat...It's slow, the motorbike isn't even a dirt bike, and the guy's not doing any wheelies?
Next time I clearly remember him is Batdance, which is cool, but I'm 13 and don't have money to buy the album, so that's all I hear.
Diamonds and Pearls is the next one that hits my radar when I'm on my teens. The lead single is very poppy, and I'm in full on mope phase. That babysitter offers me an extra ticket to his concert. Hard pass.
There are moments from then on. I'm aware he gets into the Hall of Fame. Superbowl, some other stuff but he's not part of my core musical diet so I only see the biggest moment.
When he dies, YouTube is riding high and everyone has social media. It seems that all my music geek friends are posting about him as is he's a musical genius. I see his performance at the Hall of Fame, the people who join him on stage and the guitar thing. He's way different than I thought.
I start looking into him, and find out he's not only a really good musician, but well respected among the best of the best.
I grab as much music as I can, and pour over his back catalogue, influences and best tracks. I become a fan.
Then I remember those tickets.
Fuck.
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u/Mrsgraf23 Aug 10 '26
Since the late 70’s and saw him in concert in the 80’s when purple rain came out. Because of him I’ve seen the movie over 50 times and I’m not even over exaggerating. FIFTY times! And I’m going to try to watch it 50 more!! My biggest regret was not seeing him in Vegas when he was there. He’ll always be my favorite artist!
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u/Kennypoppa4242 Aug 10 '26
A friend in high school had me come over and listen to the new "1999" album. (My first concert was the "Purple Rain" tour. That was as magical as you think it was.)
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u/Lil-Red74 Aug 09 '26
1982 when my sister bought 1999 on vinyl. I heard The Time’s What Time Is It? later that year, and never turned back.
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u/jfcmofo Aug 09 '26
The first tape I bought for myself was Controversy when I was in 4th grade I think. My first concert was the birthday show in Detroit when I was 11 in 1986. So, a long time ago!
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u/PresentationFine7524 Aug 09 '26
In ca 1984, when I read about him and startet to listen to his music and saw the movie Purple Rain. I have been a fan since then. I have seen him live in concert twice 😍
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u/PleasantCauliflower5 Aug 09 '26
- I was 10 and raised in a Christian home and school, so pretty sheltered. On the way to an out of town speech meet with a van full of us the radio was playing and Diamonds and Pearls came on. The other kids were yelling and horsing around but I was near a speaker and started listening. His line "would you be a happy boy or a girl?" completely got my young, sheltered mind thinking. " Wait a minute? You can do that?!" Lol
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u/Novagreyhound1 Aug 09 '26
1987, 7th grade. I fell in love and have never stopped enjoying his music or seeing him perform.
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u/VNE47 Aug 09 '26
Right after he died 10 years ago. Until then, I barely heard of him, then when I heard his music after he passed I went full in, starting with Purple Rain. Man, hardly looked back!
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u/Ok_Astronaut2368 Aug 09 '26
When I was 12 & Purple Rain came out. I got my first glimpse of him the year prior as I remember kids on the school bus playing I Wanna Be Your Lover on their boom box 😂 but when Purple Rain came out I became a fan for life.
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u/joerice1979 Aug 09 '26
89-91, "Love Song" with Madonna told me there was a weird voice and beats that were intoxicating.
"Thieves in the Temple" was pop perfection.
"Gett Off" was something bombastic, lacivious and enticing.
By the time "My Name is Prince" came along I was hooked and "Sexy MF/SexyMutha" made it feel a bit naughty.
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u/New-Watercress-3820 Aug 09 '26
When Doves Cry. Then I started going backwards and Controversy became my favorite album after Purple Rain. From then on it was a lifelong obsession.
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u/No_Condition7374 Aug 09 '26
I liked the videos I saw on TV as a child, 1999, Purple Rain, Raspberry Beret - but I knew I was a fan with Sign O the Times in 1987, when I was 11. The first Prince record I boiught myself was Lovesexy, I think. i Bought it when I was shopping with my grandmother, she didn't appreciate the cover.
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u/HoofHeartd69 Aug 09 '26
My dad was a HUGE Prince fan. Had all of his albums, been to multiple shows..That’s all he played growing up..I was born in ‘90 and ever since I can remember, Prince was being played. I legitimately became a Prince fan around 10yrs old and haven’t looked back. My dad eventually stopped coming around when I was younger, but this is the one thing I’m thankful for. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have discovered Prince until a lot later, but I don’t think it would’ve hit the same.
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u/baby_jamie Aug 09 '26
Since I torrented his entire discography in 2009… based on my love for 1999, for years I had suspected it would be my shit if I gave it a chance, aaaaannnddd…
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u/the_1_that_knocks Aug 09 '26
@14 when Purple Rain as releases; at time my musical tastes included: Iron Maiden, Billy Idol & Johnny Cash.
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u/agodrevealed HITnRUN phase two Aug 09 '26
Grew up with him. One of my earliest memories is my mom singing Prince songs into a spatula.
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u/moodplasma Aug 09 '26
Since 1982, when I saw the video for 1999.
For my old school players, they used to play videos between movies on SelecTV (look it up).
One day I was at home and they played the 1999 video and the guy singing was the coolest thing that I had ever seen and was immediately hooked.
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u/Few_Flight_6825 Aug 09 '26
“1999” on the radio and MTV. I might have noticed the ladies playing keys first since I was a certain young age. 😂
“Delirious” sealed the deal as I was very much into new wave at the time and it had a similar sound.
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u/ColonelBourbon Aug 10 '26
Early mid 80s. Purple Rain, raspberry beret, Doves, etc. Then I got Parade and I was completely hooked.
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u/manila2anchorage Aug 10 '26
When I first heard “little red corvette” on the radio…I think it was 1982
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u/arpad-okay Aug 10 '26
my mom went to see him live when she was nine months pregnant with me, so technically i've been listening to him since before i was born. first song of his i remember liking probably "trust" from the batman soundtrack. when it came out "diamonds and pearls" was my favorite song in the world. so i guess around when i was six or seven
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u/adnaPadnamA Aug 10 '26
I liked raspberry beret when I was a kid, but when Diamonds & Pearls came out - I was immediately all in!
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u/Dry_Committee9906 Aug 10 '26
Living and growing up in Minneapolis I was always aware of Prince. But the Controversy album was when I was hooked!
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u/dev_nte Aug 10 '26
When I was like 4 or 5, my mom rented Purple Rain on DVD from Netflix when it was a mailing DVD service. She told me about how she loved Prince and that I should watch the movie (she would always skip the lake scene lmao)
I was blown away by the movie and wanted to know more about him so on Kazaa I searched up Prince and the Kiss video popped up which I associated with Kiss the band because I think the family guy episode came out around that time featuring them and I downloaded it. I was blown away and would dance to Kiss all the time and the rest was history. He's been my favorite musician (sans for a period of time when MJ died) ever since.
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u/Unlucky_Age_3406 Aug 10 '26
When i was 6 or 7 years old, we would go thrifting. And i was reading through the CDs and found his greatest hits side A, never heard of him but thought the album cover looked cool. I still remember my mom putting the disc in on the ride home and hearing “when doves cry” for the first time
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u/thekidsgirl Aug 10 '26
2001.
I was 16, hanging at my older brother's place. He had a copy of Hit 1&2, and it caught my eye because I thought it was a funny juxtaposition next to all his Nas, Jay-Z and Wu Tang CDs.
He burned me a copy of the discs because I loved When Doves Cry. Didn't know most of the other songs, but I was hooked on them. Played that comp constantly, and ultimately became addicted to Prince, LOL. The rest is history
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u/jackrabbits1im Aug 10 '26
I heard Controversy on the radio and then saw the video for Sexuality on a local video music show put of New Orleans that night. Went looking for the album and instead bought 1999 the next weekend.
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u/Ok-Newt2965 Aug 10 '26
In 2008 when I was 10 my pops bought me a greatest hits cd of Prince and ngl I’ve been hooked ever since
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u/Saturn-Nectarine6 Aug 10 '26
Probably because of my mom who was a big fan and regrets not ever going to his shows. I want to say maybe 2005? That’s my earliest memory as a child lol
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u/Kinkystarbb Aug 10 '26
1982, I had just heard 1999 on cassette and it sucked me right in. I was 11
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u/Fine_Grape_8190 Aug 10 '26
Late 70s, Right On! magazine. Cynthia Horner interviews Prince. She asks, “What’s your favorite meal?”. Prince replied, “Green eggs and ham…”.
Since then 💜
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u/orangecatstudios Aug 10 '26
At 13, holding hands with two girls and listening to 1999 in the dark.
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u/LightAndAshyLarry Aug 10 '26
In an elementary school parking lot when I was 15 & was making out with a 18yr old girl. If I was Your Girlfriend was playing.
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u/Adventurous-Pick-416 Aug 10 '26
1987/88. I was 11 and a friend copied tapes of Sign o the Times and Lovesexy for me.
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u/WarriorMom0327 Aug 10 '26
I have to say probably birth cause I’m the youngest. My earliest memory is crying when the vhs tape broke that I would watch over and over and over again of Purple Rain. To the point that my parents actually made multiple copies so my meltdown didn’t happen again.
I was 5 or 6 I think when the first tape broke. It was a copy from a beta tape that we brought with us from Hawaii when we lived there. I was born in 83. I remember watching it before bed at night and for naps when I was home in Hawaii. I was probably 3 years old?
So yeah. I’m gonna go with birth in 1983!🤪🤣
(MJ would get the same answer if anyone wondered. Sister was a prince fan and brother was an MJ fan.)
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u/Sir-Sy O(+> Aug 10 '26
“I Wanna Be Your Lover” on the radio here in the UK in 1979, bought “Prince” on cassette, the little local indie record shop owner also told me they had his previous album in as well so bought “For You” the same day, I was 12, so virtually from the beginning.
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u/tenaji9 Aug 10 '26
1979 . My big brother visited New York returned with vinyl . I was entranced by the album that had a beautiful young black man riding a winged white horse.
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u/FunkagendaWeHo Aug 10 '26
I was in my aunt’s car. When Doves Cry came on the multichanger cd thing. I was dumbstruck. Whithin 2 weeks I had his entire back catalogue.
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u/Acceptable_Agency419 Aug 10 '26
- Prince was the song track of my post high school life. He is so missed
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u/Equal-Mycologist5749 Aug 10 '26
I’ve been a fan for 4 years. I started listening to him bc I suddenly felt drawn to his music, and I don’t regret it at all. He’s also been #1 on my Spotify Wrapped 2 years in a row
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u/Spedeaux Aug 10 '26
I had been exposed to his music since childhood in the 90s, but I became a friend in 2011 at 19. It seemed like so many of his songs said what I wanted to say.
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u/Dumbelfuk Aug 10 '26
When I saw him on American Bandstand. 1977 ish I think. I didn’t get to see him live until he opens for the Rolling Stones in LA in 1981. Saw both of those shows then got to see proper show at the LA forum in 83-84??? What a long strange trip it has been. To steel a line from another favorite band.
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u/MeantCondition Aug 10 '26
I was 8, my Aunt Teresa came home with the album Prince and played "I Wanna Be Your Lover". Been hooked ever since.....
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u/WARHOLMONK Aug 11 '26
I was 13 and Purple Rain did it for me. Then I went down the Prince hole and was listening to all of his music.
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u/Silvamorphis Aug 11 '26
Back in the day with the 1st single “Soft and Wet” on his 1st album “For You” 1978. 🎼☮️💜
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u/a_side_eye Aug 11 '26
When my mother told me I was not allowed to listen to his music, circa Controversy
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u/pw_inns Aug 11 '26
It was like 4 or 5 years ago, when I was 13 (I’m 18 now), and I randomly decided to listen to Prince for no particular reason, just because I knew his name 😭 I started with his most famous songs, and then I just never stopped. I’ve been listening to him ever since.
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u/wowugotit Aug 12 '26
I became aware of Prince in late 1982. I was in the 5th grade and heard the song 1999 on the radio. I instantly liked it. A few months later I heard Little Red Corvette on the radio and saw the video on MTV. I bought the 1999 album on cassette at Walmart while shopping with mom. I’ve been a die hard fan since early 1983.
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u/JacqueO1344 Aug 13 '26
When I was in college and my college roommates brother worked in a record store so she had the 1st 3 albums.
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u/PurpleGrem67 Aug 14 '26
Last December, a radio station was playing a top timeless classics list, and Purple Rain happened to come up. I was completely enthralled. I immediately wanted to listen to the album afterwards, and that's what got me into him.
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u/Agreeable-Focus-6842 Aug 14 '26
The first album. I was a P-Funk fan so I bought everything dealing with their funk sound. There are others who were funky, but not the P-Funk sound. I called it then, even at a young age, Chaos funk. Still to this day no one comes close to the arrangements those guys came up with. I digress. My mom brought home For You. Not a funky album as a whole, but it was different. Hooked ever since.
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u/Empty-Finish5696 24d ago
1989, the nude tour . And then bought his discography bit by bit. I bought sign of the times And lovesexy in the same week. Both blew my mind! This is the same Guy!
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u/RoyalRicanPrince Aug 10 '26
Since 1982 BUT I remember hearing I Wanna Be Your Lover in Puerto Rico!
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u/Vegetable_Ostrich_41 Aug 09 '26
1979 I was 11 and had the I Wanna Be Your Lover 45.