1999 Tour

History

This tour saw the debut of Vanity 6 as a live act to go along with The Time as opening act. Even with the release of The Time's second album, What Time Is It?, tension between Prince and The Time escalated as the band was forced to play as Vanity 6's band during their 40-minute set with only a small increase in pay. They were further slighted by having to play behind a curtain, while the sultry girl group performed out front on stage. Eventually, the heat between the bands and the fact that Prince was getting increasingly insecure at The Time's nightly great performances, led to Prince dropping them from the tour completely.

This marked the end of guitarist Dez Dickerson's tenure as a member of Prince's band. In the prior year, Dez became a born-again Christian and found himself conflicted playing music that contained Prince's racy lyrics. He was further upset when prior to 1982's Homecoming Tour stop in Minneapolis, he expressed his desire to omit "Head" from that night's set, that often ended with Prince simulating masturbating with his guitar. Dez gathered support from the rest of the members in the band to show a united front requesting they didn’t play the song in front of Dez's family, but when Prince was confronted and called for a vote, all but Dez sided with Prince, angering Dez.

With Dez's impending departure, Prince had already found a replacement in Lisa Coleman's childhood friend Wendy Melvoin, who had already been participating in soundchecks with the band and would even stand in for Dez when he wasn't available. By the last leg of the tour, Wendy was officially the backup guitarist.

Initially, Prince had planned on playing at London's Dominion Theatre but opted out at the last minute, in order to continue gaining status across America

Opening acts

Set list

The typical 1999 Tour setlist started with the "Don't worry..." intro from "1999" before an instrumental buildup to "Controversy", which segued into "Let's Work". "Do Me, Baby" was another staple from the Controversy album. Although some occasional older material was played, the remainder of the concert focused on new material. A keyboard interlude by Lisa introduced the new "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?". An extended "Lady Cab Driver" was a highlight and the slow jam "International Lover" were always played, as well as "Little Red Corvette" and "1999" (which often closed the show). "D.M.S.R." was usually worked in, sometimes as an encore. Occasionally some older material included "Head", "Uptown" and "Dirty Mind". "Still Waiting" sometimes segued into "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?". Between acts, songs from Joni Mitchell's "Court And Spark" were played.

Setlist of November 30 – December 3, 1982, at the Masonic Temple Auditorium, Detroit, Michigan

1. "Controversy" (Includes "1999" 'don't worry...' intro)
2. "Let's Work"
3. "Little Red Corvette"
4. "Do Me, Baby"
5. "Head"
6. "Uptown"
7. Keyboard Interlude by Lisa Coleman
8. "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?"
9. "Lady Cab Driver" (New version with additional lyrics)
10. "International Lover"
11. "1999"
12. "D.M.S.R."

Setlist of March 8, 1983, at the Norfolk Scope, Norfolk, Virginia

1. "Controversy" (Includes "1999" 'don't worry...' intro)
2. "Let's Work"
3. "Do Me, Baby"
4. "D.M.S.R."
5. Keyboard Interlude by Lisa Coleman
6. "With You" (Instrumental)
7. "Still Waiting"
8. "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?"
9. "Lady Cab Driver" (New version with additional lyrics)
10. "Little Red Corvette"
11. "Dirty Mind"
12. "International Lover"
13. "1999"

The Band