"Gotta Stop" was the follow-up single in the UK

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 to support Prince

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...

's third album, Dirty Mind

Dirty Mind

Dirty Mind is the third studio album by American musician Prince, released October 8, 1980 on Warner Bros. Records. Produced, arranged and composed primarily by Prince, it contains prominently sexual lyrics and incorporates musical elements of funk, dance and rock music. The album debuted at number...

. The single was not an album track, though it was written at the same time, and possessed a similar sound. This was the first time Prince released a non-album track, and would start a long tradition of releasing them throughout the 1980s.

The song is keyboard dominated, and the lyrics speak of a woman who's constantly "messin' about" with other men. The song contains familiar Prince themes of sexual frustration, masturbation

Masturbation

Masturbation refers to sexual stimulation of a person's own genitals, usually to the point of orgasm. The stimulation can be performed manually, by use of objects or tools, or by some combination of these methods. Masturbation is a common form of autoeroticism...

 and sexual metaphors. The track consists of two verses and multiple repeats of the chorus

Refrain

A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...

. It was played live on the Dirty Mind Tour

Dirty Mind Tour

The Dirty Mind Tour was the second concert tour by Prince, and supported his third album Dirty Mind. The tour lasted from late December 1980 through April 1981.-History:...

 with an extended instrumental section at the end.

"Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" was released in the UK as two separate 7" singles, one with the Dirty Mind track "Uptown

Uptown (song)

"Uptown" was the lead single in the U.S. to Prince's third album, Dirty Mind. Beginning with a lone drum intro, the track explodes into the keyboards of the chorus. The verses feature a more prominent funk guitar. The song breaks down to a more instrumental section toward the end that is mainly...

" as a B-side

A-side and B-side

A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...

, and the other with "I Wanna Be Your Lover

I Wanna Be Your Lover

"I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a song by Prince from his second album Prince, released in 1979. It was his first successful single, gaining radio airplay and chart success: the song scored two weeks at number one on the R&B singles chart during December 1979, and peaked at number eleven on the...

", from Prince

Prince (album)

Prince is the second studio album by Prince, released on October 19, 1979. It was a quickly written album in reaction to his debut For You. It took seven weeks to complete. The album needed to have hits and sell well to make up for the blown budget on his first release...

. Each single also had an accompanying 12" single

12-inch single

The 12-inch single is a type of gramophone record that has wider groove spacing compared to other types of records. This allows for louder levels to be cut on the disc by the cutting engineer, which in turn gives a wider dynamic range, and thus better sound quality...

, both with the same tracks as the 7" and both including the song "Head", from Dirty Mind. Despite an extensive advertising campaign and promotion, and coinciding with Prince's first UK gig, neither issue of the single charted. The track would later be released in the U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 as the B-side of the 12" single for "Let's Work

Let's Work

"Let's Work" was the second single from the 1981 album, Controversy, by Prince. The song originates from a dance called "the Rock" that local kids were doing at the time in Minneapolis. Prince responded quickly with a track called "Let's Rock", and wished to quickly release it as a single. Warner...

", and become a highly sought after collector's item. "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" was also later released on The Hits/The B-Sides

The Hits/The B-Sides

-Disc 2 :-Disc 3 :...

.