My time machine is now repaired...come back with me to 1983...here we goooooooo!!!!!!
In 1981, Prince, Susan Moonsie(Prince knocked her age back to 16 for shock value), his wardrobe mistress and Boston native Brenda Bennett(a singer who married Prince's set-designer Roy Bennett, and then became Prince's "wardrobe mistress" and gave her a "tough-girl, cigarette-smoking" persona), and his personal assistant Jamie Shoop came up with an idea: Prince, himself a rising musical star, suggested that his three female friends form a girl group that would be called "The Hookers."

Ideally to Prince, the three women would perform in lingerie and sing sensual songs with lyrics about sex and fantasy. Prince had been wanting to mentor a girl singer or group since the late 70's when he saw the film A Star is Born with Barbara Streisand and Kris Kristofferson. However loving to blur fact with fiction to continuously provoke and confuse, this story changed over the years as to how that conception came about and exactly what the women would be like. The original trio recorded a few demos before Prince met Denise Matthews, a nude model and Canadian B-movie actress, in January of 1982. Prince was so taken by Matthews' charisma that he decided that she would be the perfect front-woman for his "Hookers" project. Around this time, Prince and Matthews began a romantic relationship. With Matthews' arrival, Jamie Shoop bowed out of the group. Prince suggested that Matthews use the stage name "Vagina" (pronounced "Vageena"); she refused this idea and instead took up the name "Vanity."

With the new trio finalised, Prince renamed the group Vanity 6 (the 6 represented the group's breast count). Vanity 6, now dressed in lingerie and high heels, were written provocative songs to sing (although within the album credits, group members were sometimes given sole writing credits). Their first single, "He's So Dull," did not do much on the charts, but did appear in the film National Lampoon's Vacation.

The second single "Nasty Girl" was a hit on both the U.S. R&B chart and U.S. Dance chart (where it hit number one), and it also made an appearance on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. The song was featured in the film Beverly Hills Cop, although not included on its soundtrack.

"Nasty Girl" still has lasting significance to this day, having been recently covered in a house music style by Inaya Day. The third single "Drive Me Wild" was another minor hit. Music videos were shot for all three singles. The one and only released Vanity 6 album was eventually certified gold. The group opened up on the Triple Threat Tour, between 1982 and 1983, which also featured The Time and Prince, as the headliner. The fact that The Time played behind a curtain while Vanity 6 performed caused a rift between the bands and fricition within those friendships.

To the other group members' dismay, Prince chose Vanity to pose with him for a Richard Avedon photograph used on the cover of an issue of Rolling Stone magazine. The magazine issue with Prince and Vanity on the cover also contained a two-page Avedon photo of Vanity 6.

In 1983, Vanity recorded a demo for a new song, "Sex Shooter," and started training for her lead role in Purple Rain opposite Prince. Prior to the shooting of the movie, Vanity decided to leave the Prince camp later in 1983. Many reasons were given for her sudden split with him, including money, the end of their romantic relationship, and, most importantly, having been offered a lucrative solo offer from Motown Records. (more) (less)

Category Music