Severin

32nd Fallinlove2nite Points 45 - King Rollo (17) JulianT (16) HausofKubrick (12) Artist - Prince ft Zooey Deschanel Released - 2014 Album – Hit N Run Phase One UK Chart Peak - DNC cEzoIApsmt4 Fallinlove2nite is that rare thing in Prince's body of work - a duet with a co-credit. This time it's Zooey Deschanel from the TV sitcom New Girl in which Prince appeared in one episode. Prince was apparently a huge fan on the show and his part required a duet with Zooey in his scenes. For this reason her vocals were recorded and the song came out as a download single in 2014. The song would appear on his 2015 album Hit N Run Phase One albeit without Zooey's vocals, although it is believed this version is the original version and hers were added for the single rather than removed for the album.

33rd New Power Generation Points 42 - Bjork (18) dandy* (17) Popchartfreak (7) Artist - Prince Released - 1990 Album – Graffiti Bridge UK Chart Peak - #26 _Hd_EkQo9gg New Power Generation was the second single from the album Graffiti Bridge - a soundtrack album to Prince's third theatrically released motion picture. Despite the critical mauling and commercial failure of his previous film Under the Cherry Moon, Prince was given another chance to make a movie, this time a sequel to his 1984 box office smash Purple Rain. The film was panned even harder than the previous effort and earned a total of five nominations at the Golden Raspberries, although unlike Under the Cherry Moon, Prince didn't actually win any this time. The album received generally positive reviews and takes its title from a now demolished Minneapolis landmark.

34th I Wanna Be Your Lover Points 40 - HausofKubrick (23) Jimwatts (10) Chartjack2 (6) Severin (1) Artist - Prince Released - 1979 Album – Prince UK Chart Peak - #41 Rp8WL621uGM A bit of a jump in points now as the songs begin to have more voters, four again this time. This also marks the second and final song in the countdown from the 1970s. All the rest are from the '80s, '90s and '10s. Black Sweat was the highest from the '00s. Prince’s first UK charting single and the first release from his second album. The subject of the song is the singer Patrice Rushen who iPrince had become enamoured with. She is most famous in the UK for her 1982 top ten hit Forget me Nots, which was later used as inspiration by both Will Smith and George Michael. To promote the song Prince announced shows in London but they were cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

35th Delirious Points 32 - JulianT (24) Jimwatts (5) HausofKubrick (2) dandy* (1) Artist – Prince Released – 1983 Album - 1999 UK Chart peak – DNC Fyms8opV8LQ Only the second song to receive marks from four voters, this earned a large amount of its total from JulianT who entered it as his wildcard. Prince’s second straight US top ten hit following the success of Little Red Corvette. It was not released as single in the UK. Similar in lyrical content to Little Red Corvette it again uses cars and racing as a sexual innuendo over a Rockabilly inspired bassline. Prince would later perform it live with a brass section, giving it a more Swing based style.

36th Glam Slam Points 31 - King Rollo (14) Bjork (12) Severin (5) Artist – Prince Released – 1988 Album – Lovesexy UK Chart Peak – #31 n-qK5MNSwoE The second single from the Lovesexy album highlights the albums themes of sex and God over a complex arrangement that includes a string coda and Funk breakdown. In 1991 Prince re-recorded the song, although it remains unreleased. The lyrics were changed and after he messed around with the arrangement some more it later became known as Gett Off.

=37th Mountains Points 29 - JulianT (20) Jimwatts (8) Popchartfreak (1) Artist – Prince and the Revolution Released – 1986 Album – Parade UK Chart Peak – #45 _WmPeLOLDnA And in a bizarre quirk Mountains scores exactly the same number of points as Girls & Boys, perhaps suggesting that maybe the decision to pick this over that was the right one - at least in terms of fan reaction, if not chart sales.

=37th Girls & Boys Points 29 - Chartjack2 (16) JulianT (11) Severin (2) Artist – Prince and the Revolution Released – 1986 Album – Parade UK Chart Peak – #11 gQcKgAsQHzs Released as the second single from Parade in the UK but not chosen in the US, with Mountains being preferred there. The Revolution's drummer Bobby Z suggest this decision was an odd one an contributed to a lower than expected level of success for the album. He may have had a point as when Mountains did get a single release in the UK, it performed poorly, not breaking the Top 40 at all.

=39th Dirty Mind Points 26 - Chartjack2 (12) Jimwatts (7) HausofKubrick (7) Artist – Prince Released – 1980 Album – Dirty Mind UK Chart Peak – DNC c3GPPnVz1fw Dirty Mind is the title track and second single from Prince’s third album. The song is a notable departure from the smooth R&B sound of his first two albums towards a more US New Wave style and features a distinctive synth riff throughout, Eddie van Halen later admitted to having copied this part for his own song Jump.

=39th Sexy MF Points 26 - Bjork (16) King Rollo (10) Artist – Prince and the New Power Generation Released – 1992 Album – LoveSymbol UK Chart Peak - #4 bfHsF6FKgb4 As we enter the Top 40 we have one of Prince's bigger '90s hits, the unsurprisingly controversially titled, Sexy MF. Prince had insisted this was the opening single despite label reservations, the upshot of which was that the track Strollin', from Diamonds & Pearls was added to the release as a double A-side. Radio stations in the UK however, preferred to play the censored version of the newer song meaning it reached that chart position on its own merits.

I'm not a fan of the Batman stuff either. I like Patyman as a throwaway piece of silliness but the rest leaves me cold. I love the film but I would never listen to the album out of choice

=41st Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad? Points 25 - Severin (11) Jimwatts (9) HausofKubrick (5) Artist – Prince Released – 1980 Album – Prince UK Chart Peak - DNC fPaYtVJouYA The second single of Prince’s second album was not a hit either in the US or UK but still managed to pick up enough points here to graze the boundary of our Top 40. Nearly but not quite once again.

=41st Come On Points 25 - JulianT (25) Artist – The New Power Generation Released – 1998 Album – Newpower Soul UK Chart Peak - #65 _ITpmILKap4 The second song to receive over 25, this time a hefty 25 from JulianT. Despite being credited to the New Power Generation, the Newpower Soul album is considered a de facto Prince record as the man himslef is front and centre on every track on the album. This song features the vocal talents of Chaka Khan, who had taken Prince's early single I Feel 4 U to #1 in the UK 14 years earlier.

43rd The Arms of Orion Points 24 - Bjork (21) King Rollo (3) Artist – Prince Feat. Sheena Easton Released – 1989 Album – Batman UK Chart Peak - #27 ZYS6yJ_csq4 The 3rd song released as a single from the Batman Soundtrack also features Sheena Easton, one of two in the countdown that does. However, this track, unlike U Got the Look, was a co-write with Prince as Sheena provided the lyrics. It is the firt song in our countdown that received over 20pts from a single voter, receiving a healthy 21 from Bjork.

44th Pop Life Points 19 - Severin (8) HauseofKubrick (6) King Rollo (5) Artist – Prince and the Revolution Released – 1985 Album – Around the World in a Day UK Chart Peak - #60 56Hvoqgdlfk The second entry in our countdown to feature The Revolution, this time from his 7th studio album, the Psychedelic Pop collection known as Around the World in a Day. This song was actually recorded before Purple Rain was completed but held back for the following album. The bizarre audio sample near the end is taken from the film Alone in The Dark and apparently, when asked, even Prince had no recollection of why it appears in the track.

45th Black Sweat Points 17 - Chartjack2 (17) Artist – Prince Released – 2006 Album – 3121 UK Chart Peak - #43 vG-e00c6uT0 This Crunk style Hip Hip track was the second single of his 3121 album. It didn't quite crack the UK Top 40 and peaked no higher than #60 in the US making it something of a commercial disappointment for him. It did however, fair beter in mainland Europe, making the Top 20s of Belgium and Spain.

=46th Partyman Points 16 - Severin (13) Bjork (3) Artist – Prince Released – 1989 Album – Batman UK Chart Peak - #14 AjY8HvpNu6o Back to the Batman soundtrack for a track that accompanied one of the films goofier moments. Partyman continued the late 80s trend where his singles tended to be more successful in the UK than his home country. Partyman was inspired by Prince meeting Jack Nicholson and again features his 'Camille' vocal style and a few lines from Anna Fantastic, who was one of Prince's many muses and the subject of a number of songs - Vicki Waiting, Pink Cashmere and Lemon Crush, to name a few. The video and extended versions feature Candy Dulfer on saxophone. In the video Prince is dressed as Gemini, another character which is half Prince/half Joker.

=46th Get Wild Points 16 - Severin (16) Artist – The New Power Generation Released – 1995 Album – Exodus UK Chart Peak - #19 GWGo4XKjrjc During the ‘90s Prince released two albums officially credited with the New Power Generation (The NPG) as his backing band, although the members appeared on many more than that. As well as these he also featured as a member of the NPG under the name of Tora Tora, which translate from the Japanese as Tiger Tiger. This phrase has been used in many variations in Japan as a war cry of sorts and may have informed Prince’s decision to adopt the moniker given his ongoing fight with Warner Brothers at this time. Tora Tora had a distinct personality separate from Prince or LoveSymbol, seen as his combative side. As opposed to his other personality Camille, TT’s vocals were downpitched and his face was always covered by a veil, even if it was always clearly him it was never admitted. This was the only UK hit to feature this personality, reaching #19 in 1995 and garnering several UK TV performances including Top of the Pops. There also exists an unreleased version which is likely a demo and with only Prince's vocal on the track.

=48th The Morning Papers Points 15 - dandy* (6) JulianT (5) King Rollo (4) Artist – Prince and the New Power Generation Released – 1993 Album – LoveSymbol UK Chart Peak - #52 6Ub0cMp0uPc The fourth and final single from the album LoveSymbol was perhaps a case of one too many as it broke his run of UK Top 40 hits, which stood at 23 in a row until this point. Despite this the delicate sounding piano led Pop Rock ballad received good reviews and showcased his ability to switch between genres at ease and that perhaps none were beyond his talent. The album was a conceptual piece and this song is part of the section that details the protagonist (Prince) falling in love with an Egyptian princess (Mayte) whose father has just been murdered by seven assassins. It is the first song in this countdown to be credited as Prince and the New Power Generation, although the band did appear on several previous tracks without official credit.

=48th Pretzelbodylogic Points 15 - Severin (15) Artist – Prince with 3rdeyegirl Released – 2014 Album – Plectrumelectrum UK Chart Peak - #90 WtBg70IgpqI Taken from the only album to officially feature his backing band 3rdeyegirl, an all female trio comprised of guitarist Donna Grantis, bassist Ida Kristine Nielsen and drummer Hannah Welton whose style on this record has been described a blend of Garage Rock and Funk. They performed with him as his backing group until his death in 2016.

=50th Dinner With Delores Points 13 - dandy* (4) Jimwatts (4) Chartjack2 (3) Bjork (2) Artist - LoveSymbol Released – 1995 Album – Chaos and Disorder UK Chart Peak - #36 W1PsKByL7Zw And here we have the first song to pick up scores from more than two voters. The only single released from his final Warners album Chaos and Disorder. Ostensibly rush released to extricate him from his Warners contract and said to be written in haste, in truth much of the material from the album dates from the sessions for The Gold Experience, although it leans more int a Pop Rock territory than the that album. Whilst not a significant commercial success the album did receive generally positive reviews.

=50th The Holy River Points 13 - Chartjack 2 (11) Jimwatts (2) Artist – LoveSymbol Released – 1997 Album – Emancipation UK Chart Peak - #19 YnFXBlhJEAo The second UK single to be taken from his post Warners album, Emancipation. A slow tempo Pop Rock ballad that builds to a classic Prince style guitar crescendo. The song’s subject is Prince’s wife Mayte Garcia and concerns his marriage to her, comparing it to a spiritual journey. It would become the final Prince song to reach the UK Top 20 in his lifetime.

Yes, 1st place is a true classic and one that brings back so many memories. All of the top ones have very clear memories for me and some more than others but the whole list is a good round up of the post Bernie's 1976 TV deal years. Well done and thanks for hosting this again Mack

Yeah, it is on The Hits but because it's just a compilation as opposed to an album proper, I discounted it from inclusion.

=52nd A Case of U Points 12 - dandy* (9) Popchartfreak (3) Artist - Prince Released – 2002 Album – One Night Alone... UK Chart Peak - DNC aPTNKE2pfjs This 2002 album was released as part of a box set with the companion live album and only made available through Prince’s NPG Music Club until finally receiving a release through Tidal in 2020. This track is a cover of the Joni Mitchell song, alleged to be about either Leonard Cohen or Graham Nash. Joni Mitchell has a special thanks in the liner notes.

=52nd Cinnamon Girl Points 12 - Chartjack2 (8) JulianT (4) Artist – Prince Released – 2004 Album – Musicology UK Chart Peak - #43 eGjTc7iIJbg Taken from the album Musicology the single was a ‘70s Psychedelic Rock style track that was used to promote the album in Europe. Its biggest success was a #29 in Italy. With 9/11 still relatively recent and the resulting social tensions in the news everyday, the song was hindered by a striking and controversial video that would receive minimal airplay anywhere. It depicted the racial and religious bullying of a young muslim schoolgirl who goes on to fantasize about becoming a suicide bomber near the videos climax.