Gold Tour (Prince)
Encyclopedia
The Gold Tour was a world concert tour by Prince
promoting The Gold Experience
album. The concerts featured mainly songs from the album, but also started adding prior Prince fan favorites.
tour presented Gold Experience prior to its release, the long overdue album had finally hit shelves in late 1995 and this tour was now a "proper" promotion. However, by this time, Prince had been playing some of the material for nearly two years and many of the songs were shortened to brief medleys. Conversely, Prince had formerly said he would not play "Prince" material anymore, but that idea was apparently tossed to the wind with this tour. Several fan-favorites such as "The Cross", "Do Me, Baby
" and "Sexy MF" were regulars, along with the Gold material. Also, Prince started performing a cover of Joan Osborne
's "One of Us
", which he would include on his next album, Emancipation
.
The band was exactly the previous year's Ultimate Live Experience tour, the last show in Hawaii would mark the final performance of Sonny T., Tommy Barbarella and Michael Bland as part of The New Power Generation.
Some songs that made occasional appearances were "Mary Don't You Weep", "The Ride", "Love... Thy Will Be Done", "Johnny", Girls & Boys
", "Race", "Funky Stuff" and "We March".
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
promoting The Gold Experience
The Gold Experience
The Gold Experience is the seventeenth studio album by Prince . It was released on September 26, 1995...
album. The concerts featured mainly songs from the album, but also started adding prior Prince fan favorites.
History
While the previous year's Ultimate Live ExperienceThe Ultimate Live Experience
The Ultimate Live Experience was a short European concert tour by Prince promoting his then-unreleased The Gold Experience album. The concerts were notable for containing very little prior Prince material; only new material and cover songs were featured. Some exceptions were "7" and newer songs...
tour presented Gold Experience prior to its release, the long overdue album had finally hit shelves in late 1995 and this tour was now a "proper" promotion. However, by this time, Prince had been playing some of the material for nearly two years and many of the songs were shortened to brief medleys. Conversely, Prince had formerly said he would not play "Prince" material anymore, but that idea was apparently tossed to the wind with this tour. Several fan-favorites such as "The Cross", "Do Me, Baby
Do Me, Baby
"Do Me, Baby" is a Prince ballad, the third and final U.S. single from his 1981 album, Controversy. With a running time of almost eight minutes, it is the longest track on the album. The song was written by André Cymone, but credited to Prince....
" and "Sexy MF" were regulars, along with the Gold material. Also, Prince started performing a cover of Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us". She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.-Biography:Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb...
's "One of Us
One of Us (Joan Osborne song)
"One of Us" is a song written by Eric Bazilian and originally released by Joan Osborne. Released in March 1995 on the album Relish and produced by Rick Chertoff, it became a top 40 hit in November of that year.- History :...
", which he would include on his next album, Emancipation
Emancipation (album)
Emancipation is the nineteenth studio album by Prince . The title refers to Prince's freedom from his contract with Warner Bros. Records after 18 years, with whom he had a contentious relationship...
.
Band
- PrincePrince (musician)Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
— vocals, piano and guitar - Sonny T. — bass guitar and vocals
- Morris Hayes — keyboards, organ and vocals
- Tommy BarbarellaTommy BarbarellaTommy Barbarella is an American keyboardist. He was a member of The New Power Generation, Prince's recording and stage band, from 1991–1996.In 2010, Barbarella became a member of Nick Jonas and the Administration along with other former members of The New Power Generation, drummer Michael Bland...
— keyboards - Michael BlandMichael BlandMichael Bland is best known as a drummer for Prince starting in 1989. He was with Prince during The New Power Generation era and played with him live and on albums for 7 years....
— drums, percussion and vocals - Mayte — dancing and vocals
The band was exactly the previous year's Ultimate Live Experience tour, the last show in Hawaii would mark the final performance of Sonny T., Tommy Barbarella and Michael Bland as part of The New Power Generation.
Typical set list
- Intro music from "19991999 (song)"1999" is a song by Prince, the title track from his 1982 album of the same name. The song is one of Prince's best-known, and a defining moment in his rise to superstar status....
"/"Endorphinmachine" - "Shhh"
- "Days of WildDays of Wild"Days of Wild" is a song by Prince and The New Power Generation. It was written by Prince in early 1994 after his name change to an unpronounceable symbol. The song is regarded as one of Prince's first legitimate successes at rapping and is both an ode to, and criticises gangsta rap...
" - "Now"/"Babies Makin’ Babies"
- "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex MachineGet Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine"Get Up Sex Machine" is a funk song recorded by James Brown in 1970 and released as a two-part single on King Records....
" (James Brown cover) - "The Most Beautiful Girl in the WorldThe Most Beautiful Girl in the World (Prince song)"The Most Beautiful Girl in the World" is a song by Prince from his 1995 album The Gold Experience It was his first release since changing his stage name to an unpronounceable symbol. With the consent of Prince's usual record distributor Warner Bros...
" - "Pussy Control"
- "LetitgoLetitgo"Letitgo" is a song by Prince from his 1994 album Come. Despite statements that the album consisted entirely of "old" material, "Letitgo" was actually newly composed for the album. The mid-tempo song relies heavily on a drum machine pattern and bass guitar with synthesizers in the refrain. A...
" - "Starfish & Coffee"
- "The Cross"
- "The Jam" (Graham Central StationGraham Central StationGraham Central Station is a funk band named after founder Larry Graham . The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often incorrectly called Grand Central Station....
cover) - "One of UsOne of Us (Joan Osborne song)"One of Us" is a song written by Eric Bazilian and originally released by Joan Osborne. Released in March 1995 on the album Relish and produced by Rick Chertoff, it became a top 40 hit in November of that year.- History :...
" (Joan OsborneJoan OsborneJoan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us". She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.-Biography:Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb...
cover) - "Do Me, BabyDo Me, Baby"Do Me, Baby" is a Prince ballad, the third and final U.S. single from his 1981 album, Controversy. With a running time of almost eight minutes, it is the longest track on the album. The song was written by André Cymone, but credited to Prince....
" - "Sexy MF
- "If I Was Your GirlfriendIf I Was Your Girlfriend"If I Was Your Girlfriend" was the second single off Prince's widely-acclaimed 1987 double album Sign “☮” the Times. While it is today considered one of his most notable songs, at the time of its release the song did not chart well in the U.S....
" - "Vicky Waiting
- "Purple Medley
- "77 (song)"7" is a song by Prince and The New Power Generation, from the 1992 Love Symbol Album. It features a sample of the 1967 Otis Redding and Carla Thomas duet, "Tramp".-Music video:...
" - Medley of "Billy Jack Bitch", "I Hate UI Hate U"I Hate U" is a song by Prince from his 1995 album The Gold Experience. The track was the lead single in support of the album, released on September 12, 1995...
" and "319" - "GoldGold (Prince song)"Gold" is a song by Prince from his 1995 album The Gold Experience. Obviously proud of the number, Prince was touting the song as the next "Purple Rain" to reporters before the album's release....
"
Some songs that made occasional appearances were "Mary Don't You Weep", "The Ride", "Love... Thy Will Be Done", "Johnny", Girls & Boys
Girls & Boys (Prince song)
"Girls & Boys" is a 1986 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Parade, the soundtrack to the film Under the Cherry Moon. The song was released as a single in the U.K., and as the B-side to "Anotherloverholenyohead" in the U.S.....
", "Race", "Funky Stuff" and "We March".
Tour dates
- 1/8/1996 TokyoTokyo, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
– Nippon BudokanNippon BudokanThe , often shortened to simply Budokan, is an indoor arena in central Tokyo, Japan.This is the location where many "Live at the Budokan" albums were recorded... - 1/9/1996 Tokyo, Japan – Nippon Budokan
- 1/11/1996 OsakaOsakais a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan – Osaka-jo HallOsaka-jo Hall, or Osaka Castle Hall, is a multi-purpose arena, in the Kyōbashi area, of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people... - 1/13/1996 FukuokaFukuokaFukuoka most often refers to the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture.It can also refer to:-Locations:* Fukuoka, Gifu, a town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan* Fukuoka, Toyama, a town in Toyama Prefecture, Japan...
, Japan – Fukuoka Kokusai Center - 1/16/1996 Tokyo, Japan – Nippon Budokan
- 1/17/1996 Tokyo, Japan – Nippon Budokan
- 1/20/1996 YokohamaYokohamais the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
, Japan – Yokohama ArenaYokohama Arenais an indoor sporting arena located in Yokohama, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five minute walk from the closest subway station, Shin-Yokohama Station on the JR/Yokohama... - 2/16/1996 Honolulu, HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
– Eurasia Club - 2/17/1996 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States – Neil S. Blaisdell Arena
- 2/18/1996 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States – Neil S. Blaisdell Arena
- 2/19/1996 Honolulu, Hawaii, United States – Neil S. Blaisdell Arena