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Prince's Stage-Used Purple Rain Tour Microphone

Currency:USD Category:Collectibles / Autographs Start Price:NA Estimated At:20,000.00 - 30,000.00 USD
Prince's Stage-Used Purple Rain Tour Microphone

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Auction Date:2018 Feb 15 @ 18:00 (UTC-5 : EST/CDT)
Location:236 Commercial St., Suite 100, Boston, Massachusetts, 02109, United States
ALS - Autograph Letter Signed
ANS - Autograph Note Signed
AQS - Autograph Quotation Signed
AMQS - Autograph Musical Quotation Signed
DS - Document Signed
FDC - First Day Cover
Inscribed - “Personalized”
ISP - Inscribed Signed Photograph
LS - Letter Signed
SP - Signed Photograph
TLS - Typed Letter Signed
Prince's stage-used Sennheiser 431MD vocal microphone from the second half of the 1984–85 Purple Rain Tour, last used for the iconic tour's final concert on April 7, 1985, at the Miami Orange Bowl (advertised as the 'Purple Bowl' for that show). The microphone is taped to a replacement holder using electrical tape, done in the same manner as it was during the tour. In fine condition.

From the collection of Rob 'Cubby' Colby and accompanied by a letter of provenance. Colby worked for Prince as an audio engineer from 1981 through 1988, as a monitor mixer and front-of-house engineer on tour, and as an audio tech/music mixer in studio at the artist’s own Paisley Park. As part of Cubby’s day-to-day mixing duties, he was trusted by Prince to be the one that set the mic stand height and position of the microphone prior to every sound check and show. He would also secure the microphone with electrical tape, ensuring that it would not loosen or fall during Prince's crazy dance moves, many of which he performed while holding a guitar.

Prince's epic 98-show Purple Rain Tour brought him all around North America between November 4, 1984, and April 7, 1985. The massive shows were technical marvels, complete with fiber optics, lasers, fog machines, and Prince's memorable stage theatrics. Prince paid meticulous attention to detail, and sound checks were typically three hours long. By the time Prince and the Revolution rolled into Miami’s ‘Purple Bowl’ on Easter Sunday, a throng of 55,000 concertgoers were eager to hear concert staples like opener ‘Let’s Go Crazy,’ ‘Baby, I’m a Star,’ and ‘Purple Rain,’ which had evolved into a nearly 30-minute-long spectacle. Further intrigue was added when, only five days earlier on April 5th, Prince’s manager Steve Fargnoli announced that the musician was planning on retiring from live performances following the tour, with Prince cryptically explaining: ‘I’m going to look for the ladder. Sometimes it snows in April.' The news made the ‘Purple Bowl’ the most coveted ticket of the tour, and led many in attendance to believe that they were watching Prince perform for the final time—a reported 35 people were treated at first-aid stations for fainting. An amazing, museum-quality piece of music history used nightly by Prince during one of North America’s most legendary tours.