11 minute read
Prince
4602. Prince Advance CD Mock-up for ‘Come’. From the personal collection of Russ Thyret, the man who signed Prince to Warner Bros. Records—a rare advance CD mock-up for Prince’s 15th studio album, Come. At the time of its release, Prince was in a public dispute with his then-record company, Warner Bros. The album would be Prince’s final Warner Bros. album under his name. For the remainder of his contract with the company, his name would be represented by the ‘Love Symbol,’ and he would be referred to as ‘The Artist Formerly Known as Prince.’ In fine condition. The CD is included.
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold, who states that the CD mock-up is from the collection of Russ Thyret (1944–2021). Starting Bid $200
4603. Prince Signed Photograph. Scarce circa 1979
glossy 8 x 10 Warner Bros. publicity photo of Prince as he appeared on the inner sleeve of his self-titled second studio album, signed and inscribed in blue ink, “To Larry, Forever, Prince, x.” In fine condition. Starting Bid $300
“I lost Vanity’s number...Please call me at Paisley”— answering machine tape with two Prince messages
4604. Prince Voice Messages on Answering Machine
Tape. TDK SA cassette tape from an answering machine containing two voice messages from Prince, with B side of tape annotated in black felt tip: “12/14/88 P. Mess.” The contents of the tape have been transferred to a digital audio disc. The Prince messages: “Karen, can you have Ashley bring by food? When it’s ready, she can just leave it in the kitchen. Thanks,” and “Karen, I lost Vanity’s number. I (inaudible…). Please call me at Paisley.” In fine condition. From the collection of Prince’s former assistant and accompanied by a letter of provenance.
The Prince Estate is not affiliated, associated, or connected with RR Auction or this auction, nor has it endorsed, authenticated or sponsored the items available for auction. Further, The Prince Estate has not licensed any of its intellectual property to RR Auction. Starting Bid $200
4605. Prince ‘For You’ Test Pressing and Promotional Album. From the
personal collection of Russ Thyret, the man who signed Prince to Warner Bros. Records—an original 12˝ test pressing of Prince’s 1978 debut album, For You, with an accompanying promotional copy of the landmark album (record included). Both sides of the test pressing feature a white Warner Bros. Records Inc. label with lower disclaimer; matrix numbers read “BSK-1-3150 LW2” and “BSK-2-3150 LW2.” Includes the Warner Bros. Records “Label Copy” vinyl track sheet for “Artist Prince, Record # BSK 3150,” dated December 22, 1977. In overall fine condition.
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold, who states that the test pressing and promotional album are from the collection of Russ Thyret (1944–2021). Starting Bid $200
4606. Prince: Purple Rain Tour Crew Shirt and (5) Backstage Passes.
Six items related to Prince and the Revolution’s hugely successful Purple Rain Tour of North America in 1984 and 1985, including: a purple crew t-shirt, size large, with the front reading: “Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain Tour, Local Crew”; and a group of five unused backstage tour passes for “Local, Working Personnel,” ranging in size from 3.75˝ in diameter to 3.25˝ x 4.75˝, each stampdated to either late February or early March 1985, dates which correspond to the tour’s six-night stop at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. The passes are marked in black ballpoint. In overall fine condition. Starting Bid $200
4607. Prince Prototype Holograms for ‘Diamonds and Pearls’. Rare pairing of a prototype oversized hologram
sheet and a hologram sticker created for the cover of Prince’s 13th studio album, Diamonds and Pearls. The large hologram is dual-sided and measures 12.75 x 8.5, and the unused sticker measures 3.25 x 2.75; both depict Prince posing with dancers Lori Werner and Robia LaMorte, who were known as Diamond and Pearl. In overall fine condition.
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold, who states: “While an executive at Warner Bros. Records, I worked closely with Prince and art directed the Diamonds and Pearls album cover. These prototypes were sent to me as prototypes to approve for use on the album cover and promotional items.” Starting Bid $200
4608. Prince ‘Warner Bros. VIP’ Purple Rain Tour Laminated Backstage
Pass. From the personal collection of Russ Thyret, the man who signed Prince to Warner Bros. Records—a laminated backstage ‘Warner Bros. VIP’ pass issued to Russ Thyret for Prince and the Revolution’s Purple Rain World Tour of 19841985, 4 x 2.5, marked in the lower left corner in ballpoint, “HQ1.” In fine condition.
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold, who states that the pass is from the collection of Russ Thyret (1944–2021), the former chairman of Warner Bros. Records, who, in 1977, as the label’s head of promotion, signed Prince to Warner Bros—“I worked with both Prince and Thyret at Warner Bros., where I was executive vice president / general manager, and obtained this directly from Thyret’s estate.” Starting Bid $200
4610. Prince CD Acetate for ‘The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale’. From the personal collection of Russ Thyret, the man who
signed Prince to Warner Bros. Records—a rare CD acetate for Prince’s 22nd studio album, The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale, which was released by Warner Bros. Records on August 24, 1999. The CD liner and CD itself have been marked and annotated by a studio employee in black felt tip, with the liner listing the 10 tracks, run time of 39:19, and date of April 24, 1996. Includes a mock-up of the CD artwork. In fine condition.
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale was the last album to be released by Warner Bros. to fulfill his 1992 contract obligations. Recorded from 1985 through 1996, the album was submitted to Warner Bros. Records in 1996, complete with artwork at the same time as Chaos and Disorder, but released three years later, shortly before Prince’s Arista album release Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic.
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold, who states that the CD acetate is from the collection of Russ Thyret (1944–2021), the former chairman of Warner Bros. Records, who, in 1977, as the label’s head of promotion, signed Prince to Warner Bros—“I worked with both Prince and Thyret at Warner Bros., where I was executive vice president / general manager, and obtained this directly from Thyret’s estate.” Starting Bid $200
the personal collection of Russ Thyret, the man who signed Prince to Warner Bros. Records—an original unused backstage ‘guest’ pass and a full ticket for a Prince concert at The Palladium in New York City on December 2, 1981, as part of the Controversy Tour. The cloth pass, 3.5 x 4.25, shows Prince as he’s pictured on his ‘Let’s Work’ single; and the rainbow-colored ticket, 6.5 x 2, is issued for Seat 121, Row-Box B, and Section Center. In overall very good to fine condition, with creasing to the pass.
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold, who states that the pass and ticket are from the collection of Russ Thyret (1944–2021), the former chairman of Warner Bros. Records, who, in 1977, as the label’s head of promotion, signed Prince to Warner Bros—“I worked with both Prince and Thyret at Warner Bros., where I was executive vice president / general manager, and obtained this directly from Thyret’s estate.” Starting Bid $200
4611. Prince Original 1987 ‘The Black Album’ CD. From the personal collection of Russ Thyret, the man who signed Prince to Warner Bros. Records—an exceedingly rare original 1987 U.S. CD of Prince’s legendary The Black Album. An extremely small number of copies on CD and vinyl were presented to senior Warner Bros. executives before this album was withdrawn—this example is one of those. In fine condition.
This copy has all of the hallmarks of the 1987 first issue—the 1987 copyright date, the original catalog number “9 25677-2,” and the “DIDX-2720” manufacturing code on the inside rim of the disc.
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold, who states that this Black Album CD is from the collection of Russ Thyret (1944–2021). Starting Bid $300
First worn by Prince during his Musicology Live 2004ever Tour, then used as a design template for his 2005 Oscar night tuxedo
4613. Prince Stage-Worn Musicology Live 2004ever
Tour Suitt. Brilliant custom-made two-piece suit worn on stage by Prince during the Musicology Live 2004ever Tour, consisting of a red jacket with peaked lapels, three front buttons, and a single vent in the back; and a pair of crisp off-white slacks; both of which are made of 7 oz. Super 120 100% Merino wool. The jacket, which bears its original Willie Scott Custom Clothier label to the inner lining, is notable in that the right-side hem is longer than that of the left side, a preferred style of Prince who wore similarly designed jackets throughout his career. In fine condition, with two small openings used for earpiece wire connections and a slight stain to inner right lining.
This two-piece suit derives from the personal collection of custom tailor Maurice Hood, who has created garments for Oprah Winfrey, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, numerous NBA and NFL players, and many others. Perhaps most famously, Hood provided the 4 ply purple silk tuxedo that Prince wore at the 77th Academy Awards when he presented the Best Original Song Oscar on February 27, 2005. In order for Hood to create a custom tailored suit for Prince, Paisley Park Enterprises sent him this stage-worn two-piece suit; using its precise measurements, Hood made a total of five finely tailored suits for Prince, including the famed 4 ply purple ‘Oscar’ tuxedo. In an accompanying letter of provenance, Hood writes: “The suit was given to me so that I may obtain [Prince’s] correct measurements and proper fit. Prince had an event for the Oscar Academy Awards as a presenter. I was overnighted the fabric goods from FedEx and was faxed the cad system designs for 5 different style outfits. They all had very detailed instructions. There was very little time before the up and coming event so this Red suit served a vital role for me to have a model as a guide in assuring the proper fit seeing there would be no time for fitting.”
Of the five suits that Hood created, Prince stayed true to form and selected the 4 ply purple silk tuxedo with white pants, a trademark fashion choice that compelled many pundits to declare him as the best dressed presenter at the ceremony. Before it served as the very template for his Oscar night outfit, this offered two-piece suit forged its own history as an integral stage-worn outfit that Prince donned over the course of his 88show Musicology Live 2004ever Tour of North America—Prince can be seen wearing this very jacket and slacks ensemble in a variety of photos and videos, which includes images of Prince sitting in a large road case; later in his career, Prince would often use an oversized road case to secretly transport himself to the stage for one of his extravagant show openings. A brilliant stage-worn and photo-matched offering that exists as a progenitor of Prince’s ever-interesting sartorial choices. Starting Bid $5000
4612. Prince ‘1999’ RIAA Sales Award Presented to Russ Thyret. From the
personal collection of Russ Thyret, the man who signed Prince to Warner Bros. Records—an official strip plate-style RIAA gold sales award presented to former Warner Bros. Records chairman and CEO “Russ Thyret to commemorate the sale of more than 500,000 copies of the Warner Bros. Records long-playing record album ‘1999.’” Presented in a vintage RIAA frame with its original disc, plate, and small album image to an overall size of 16.75 x 20.75. In fine condition. An extraordinary Prince artifact from the collection of the Warner Bros. executive who signed him to his first recording contract.
Accompanied by a letter of authenticity from Recordmecca’s Jeff Gold. Starting Bid $300
4614. The Revolution Signed Poster. Attractive color
23.5 x 17.5 poster for a series of three Prince tribute concerts held by The Revolution at First Avenue in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 1, 2, and 3, 2016, signed above in silver ink by Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Brown Mark, Dr. Matt Fink, and Bobby Z. Framed to a slightly larger size and in fine condition, with some scratches to the Plexiglas. The First Avenue nightclub has served as the starting point for many bands that have come out of the Twin Cities, most notably Prince and The Revolution. First Avenue appeared in Prince’s 1984 film Purple Rain, and many of the film’s music performances take place at the venue. Starting Bid $200
