What else you didn't know about The Revolution - Prince's legendary band

The Revolution - the legendary musical group founded Prinsom at the end of the 70s. Already in the mid-80s the band earned a huge popularity - largely thanks to the album "Purple Rain"which went on to sell millions of copies, becoming a classic of its time and genre.

The band ceased to exist at the height of their fame, in 1986. This despite their enormous commercial success, chart topping positions and 3 Grammy Awards! After the death of their founder, The Revolution reunited to form reopen concerts Prince is gone, but his team sounds so powerful and skilful, as if its leader never left. Here are some curious facts about this band...

Personality matters

Wendy Melvoin - guitarist and performer who joined the line-up in 1984, taking the place of the Desa Dickinson. According to the woman, Prince was "great at picking the right ingredients," and this is by no means about the dishes, but about the band.

"We just turned out to be a magical combination! I was the last piece of the puzzle - this iconic line-up that he put together..."

The others had already been playing with him for some years, when the young The 19-year-old Wendy was selected for the role of guitarist.

"When I arrived, I knew right away that he was 'building' something. It was hard to tell exactly what he wanted to end up with, but he knew exactly what he was doing..."

According to Melvoin, Prince emphasised not only talent, but also the personality:

"What was important to him was the chemistry between the participants, the passion and charisma. And that's what he's a genius at!"

Dreaming of my own Fleetwood Mac

Prince stayed the leader and chief ideological inspirer The Revolution, yet his mates never felt left out either.

"At some point, the atmosphere within the collective became less dictatorial and more cohesive. We were more often able to hear him say, 'What do you guys think about this?" recalled Brown bassist Mark Brown.

Prince really wanted to form close-knit groupHe wanted everyone to contribute and be directly involved creatively. But Mark was sure: this guy had dreamed of his own Fleetwood Mac.

"I think he wanted to create his own Fleetwood Mac."

"Aquarium Effect."

When fame descended on the band, everyone started to feel like "like a fishbowl.".

"When such great fame comes to you, you become isolated from the world around you. Popularity creates a fishbowl effect. We were very disciplined. We were like surgeons and the music was our patient," Melvoin reasoned.

Nobody liked Purple Rain.

Everyone, including Prince, knew ahead of time. "Purple Rain" is going to be an epic record! As they embarked on the studio sessions, each member felt they were doing something special...

"We knew right away that it was going to be huge. Everyone who was around - management, the label - no one interfered or stuck their neck out," Wendy recalls.

However film of the same name didn't like everyone.

"I was initially sure the film would fail. I never liked it. I still don't like it to this day!", Mark shares his memories.

Nevertheless, the film "Purple Rain" has collected over $80 million around the world and even won an Academy Award.

"Lived the music."

At the height of Prince and The Revolution's path to fame separated. According to Mark - their mastermind "realised early on the collapse of the music business".

"I noticed a drastic change. This hip-hop subculture was developing fast. It was developing too fast, and then I remember how everything changed. Even in the way we started making records: budgets changed, everything... The value and quality of the music was going down. And Prince was acutely aware of that more than anyone else..."

According to Brown, Prince "lived the music.".

"Other musicians can take their minds off their work and go about their normal day-to-day business. Prince didn't know how to do that. He was a quiet and funny guy. But the best way he could connect with those around him was by playing music. His world was a musical world. He didn't know how to go to Disneyland or go fishing. He didn't know how to go camping. Other than music, he had nothing..."