Batdance

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“Batdance”
U.S. 7" single
Single by Prince from the album Batman
B-side	"200 Balloons"
Released	9 June 1989
Format	7" single 12" single CD single
Recorded	Paisley Park Studios, 1989
Genre	Pop, Rock, Funk
Length	7" edit: 4:06 Album/12": 6:13
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Writer(s)	Prince
Producer	Prince
Certification	Platinum - (8 August, 1989)
Prince singles chronology
"I Wish U Heaven" (1988) "Batdance" (1989) "Partyman" (1989)

"Batdance" is a song by Prince, from the 1989 Batman soundtrack. Helped by the film's popularity, the song reached number one in the U.S., becoming Prince's fourth number-one single, and first since 1986's "Kiss." On Aug. 5, 1989, it knocked Martika's "Toy Soldiers" out of the top spot, but was quickly replaced by Richard Marx ("Right Here Waiting") the very next week. When "Batdance took over the No. 1 spot, another movie soundtrack hit, Bobby Brown's "On Our Own" (from "Ghostbusters 2") was in the runner-up position. "Batdance" was Prince's first single to be issued on compact disc in the U.S.

[edit] Song development

"Batdance" was a last-minute replacement for a brooding track titled "Dance with the Devil," which Prince felt was too dark.[1] Incidentally, though "Dance with the Devil" remains unreleased, some of the lyrics appear on the album's liner notes.

"Batdance" is almost two songs in one—a chaotic, mechanical dance beat that changes gears into a slinky, funky groove before changing back for the song's conclusion. The track is an amalgam of many musical ideas floating around at the time. No fewer than six songs (some unreleased) contributed to "Batdance": "200 Balloons," "We Got the Power," "House in Order," "Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic," "The Future," and "Electric Chair." Some of these were mere snippets, and other segments showed up only in remixes of the track. The song was also loaded with dialog samples from the film.

[edit] Video

The song's music video featured dancers costumed as multiple Batmen, Jokers and Vicki Vales. Prince appears both as himself, and as well as a costumed character in face paint known as "Gemini," with one side representing the Joker (evil), and the other, Batman (good). Gemini is Prince's astrological sign, and is a reference to the duality throughout his music. "Gemini" would also make an appearance in the "Partyman" video, but with the "Batman" half replaced by Prince's normal appearance. The video also features one Vicki Vale wearing a t-shirt with the words "All this and brains too," a reference to Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, in which a female news presenter wears a top with the same slogan.

[edit] B-side

The B-side to the single was "200 Balloons," which was recorded for the film and serves as the musical blueprint for the main portion of "Batdance." The song was rejected for the film by Tim Burton and replaced by "Trust." Ironically, the lyrics of "200 Balloons" fit the scene in the film much better than the replacement track. Prince did little more than replace the lyrics of "200 Balloons" in its transition into "Batdance." Some lyrics even survived the transition, and more showed up in "The Batmix." "200 Balloons" also contains samples of "Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic," another song submitted for inclusion in the movie, but rejected (it was replaced by "Partyman").

[edit] Remixes

The 12" single and some CD versions of the single included two remixes of "Batdance" that were done by Mark Moore and William Orbit, "The Batmix" and "Vicki Vale Mix." "The Batmix" focuses on the chaotic "rock" section of "Batdance," and is supplemented with electronic distortion and sampling of voices and instruments. It contains a few new lyrics, as well as more samples of "Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic." The "Vicki Vale Mix" is an extension of the middle part of "Batdance," which includes most of the movie dialog. Prince also adds further lyrics to this version.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] 7": Warner Bros. / 7-22924 (US)

1. "Batdance" (Edit) - 4:06
2. "200 Balloons" - 5:05

[edit] 12": Warner Bros. / W2924T (UK)

1. "Batdance - 6:13
2. "200 Balloons" - 5:05

• also available as picture disc (W2924TP)
• also available on CD (W2924CD)

[edit] 12": Warner Bros. / W2924TX (UK)

1. "Batdance" (The Batmix) - 7:15
2. "Batdance" (Vicky Vale Mix) - 5:55
3. "200 Balloons" - 5:05

• also available on CD (W2924CDTX)

[edit] 7": Warner Bros. / 7-22924 (US)

1. "Batdance" (The Batmix Edit) - 4:09
2. "Batdance" (Vicky Vale Mix Edit) - 4:13

• promo

[edit] 12": Warner Bros. / PRO-A-3702 (US)

1. "Batdance" (The Batmix) - 7:15
2. "Batdance" (The Batmix Radio Edit) - 4:09
3. "Batdance" (Vicky Vale Mix) - 5:55
4. "Batdance" (Vicky Vale Mix Radio Edit) - 4:13

• promo

[edit] References in popular media

• In 1989, Sir Mix-A-Lot sampled the "Vicki Vale" part of "Batdance" for his "Beepers" song.
• Kevin Seal once introduced Sinead O'Connor's music video of "Nothing Compares 2 U" (which was also composed by Prince) "for all those who missed her version of 'Batdance'."

In the 2007 pilot for the TV series "Chuck." Morgan, best friend to lead character quotes the song when Sarah, another lead character from the series, walks towards the two nerds to make contact. Morgan goes: "Stop the press. Who is that?" To which Chuck responds a short riff of "Vicki Vale.... Vicki Vale"

[edit] External links

• "Batdance" lyrics at DTT-lyrics.com
• "Dance with the Devil" lyrics