{"id":754475,"date":"2026-08-30T10:42:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-30T10:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/754475\/"},"modified":"2026-08-30T10:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T10:42:13","slug":"we-could-play-the-same-groove-for-a-number-of-hours-prince-would-walk-in-and-out-of-the-room-saying-dont-stop-nobody-move-lisa-coleman-on-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/754475\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWe could play the same groove for a number of hours \u2013 Prince would walk in and out of the room saying, \u2018Don\u2019t stop! Nobody move!\u2019\u201d: Lisa Coleman on how Prince insisted on perfection from his Revolution bandmates"},"content":{"rendered":"

It’s unquestionable that Prince was a musician beyond compare. There\u2019s not many instruments that Prince couldn\u2019t play expertly and, when it came to performance, few could equal his stagecraft. But, while it might look like Prince was effortlessly exhibiting God-given gifts, his aptitude came from relentless practice and discipline.<\/p>\n

Back in 2019, we spoke to Prince\u2019s Revolution keyboard player Lisa Coleman<\/a>, who recalled how rehearsing with the hyper-focused Prince could be a gruelling challenge\u2026<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u201cThey [rehearsals] were very intense. We showed up around 10 in the morning. Sometimes he would already be there, and other times he\u2019d roll in later. And we\u2019d be there all day until nighttime. Sometimes [the band] The Time would come in around 8 o\u2019clock and they\u2019d start rehearsing, but then we\u2019d go to the studio and Prince would be working. It was non-stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coleman told us how rehearsals with Prince often resembled a spin class or a sweat lodge; \u201cWe could play the same groove for a number of hours. I\u2019m not exaggerating. And Prince would work on things and walk in and out of the room saying, \u2018Don\u2019t stop! Nobody move!\u2019 So it was a workout. We were like marathon runners.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"Lisa\n<\/p>\n

Lisa and her Revolution band-mates were Prince’s obedient servants; \u201cWe were just so completely in shape and trained that if Prince decided he wanted to jump to the left, he\u2019d just give us a hand signal and we\u2019d all jump to the left\u201d (Image credit: Gie Knaeps\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But while this might sound dictatorial, the proof of the Prince pudding was in those extraordinary live performances during the Purple Rain and Parade tours – which Lisa remembers vividly.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

By the time the band got to the stage, they were tight as tight could be\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were just so completely in shape and trained that if Prince decided he wanted to jump to the left, he\u2019d just give us a hand signal and we\u2019d all jump to the left. And every night was different. We had a setlist but even that would change. He was a crazy man. We\u2019d hit a groove and if it was really working and he was in a good mood, that could go on for 20 or 30 minutes with different hand signals and horn punches.<\/p>\n

Want all the hottest music and gear news, reviews, deals, features and more, direct to your inbox? Sign up here. <\/p>\n

\u201cThen he\u2019d try and stump the band. He\u2019d do this thing where he\u2019d drop a handkerchief and when it hit the ground, we\u2019d have to hit a horn punch. So it was kind of crazy!\u201d<\/p>\n

Prince, Prince and The Revolution – Let’s Go Crazy (Live in Syracuse, NY, 3\/30\/85) – YouTube
\n\"Prince,<\/p>\n

Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n

Aside from the intensity of playing live with the Purple One, Lisa also recalled how Prince would approach analogue synths in that period\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cPrince was incredibly bold in the way he would just use a preset and then brighten the f**k out of it! He would turn the filter way up so the sound would cut through the mix. I still have the OB-SX from those days. It\u2019s one of the most simple Oberheims – there are just a few knobs on it, but that was the most quintessential keyboard from that era.\u201d<\/p>\n

What to read next<\/p>\n

When it came to songwriting, Prince\u2019s approach varied – sometimes he\u2019d lean on Lisa and Wendy [Melvoin]\u2019s own considerable talents to shape new ideas\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was so prolific. One day he would come in and have a whole song written. He would pass out the parts at rehearsal and say, \u2018Why don\u2019t you check out this organ part?\u2019 And then he\u2019d go over to Matt\u2019s station and say, \u2018Check out this string part.\u2019 But then on other days he\u2019d just come in and say, \u2018groove in E!\u2019 He\u2019d ask each one of us, \u2018What you got?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it was a real balance, and I have to say that, back then, The Revolution was one of the only times he opened himself up and really drew from other people\u2019s sound. Wendy\u2019s sound on the guitar, Matt\u2019s style on the synthesizer, etc. And that\u2019s what made Prince and the Revolution what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read our full interview with Lisa Coleman here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\n

\"Prince\"\n<\/p>\n

Prince winning his Best Original Song Score Oscar for Purple Rain flanked by Wendy and Lisa (Image credit: Bettmann \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It’s unquestionable that Prince was a musician beyond compare. There\u2019s not many instruments that Prince couldn\u2019t play expertly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":754476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-754475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=754475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/754475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/754476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=754475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=754475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=754475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}