Partyman

"Partyman" is a song by American musician Prince from his 1989 Batman album, and the follow-up to his number one hit, "Batdance".[1] The song is one of the few on the album to be prominently featured in the film, accompanying the scene in which the Joker and his minions deface exhibits in the Gotham City Art Museum before meeting Vicki Vale.

"Partyman"
US 7-inch single
Single by Prince
from the album Batman
B-side"Feel U Up"
ReleasedAugust 18, 1989
RecordedMarch 1989
StudioPaisley Park
Genre
Length3:11 (album/7-inch version)
6:02 (12" video mix)
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Prince
Producer(s)Prince
Prince singles chronology
"Batdance"
(1989)		 "Partyman"
(1989)		 "The Arms of Orion"
(1989)

The song was inspired by Prince's meeting with Jack Nicholson on-set during the filming of Batman.[2] Prince remarked in a 1990 interview, "[Nicholson] had this attitude that reminded me of Morris [Day] — and there was that song."

The upbeat and humorous number features horn samples and Prince's sped-up "Camille" vocals, as well as a vocal performance by Anna Fantastic. The 12" single extends the song to about six minutes in length (labeled as the "Video Mix"), and features the B-side "Feel U Up", a previously unreleased Camille track which would later be available on The Hits/The B-Sides (1993) compilation. "Feel U Up" was originally cut in 1981, but re-recorded in 1986 for the Camille album.

The 12" single also included a "Purple Party Mix", which starts with a string of samples from Prince's earlier hits and contains different lyrics. A track identified as a "music mix" is an instrumental of the "Purple Party Mix". The bassline shares great similarities to "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing" by James Brown. The song's chant "young and old, gather round; everybody hail the new king in town" follows the same rhythm from the 1986 outtake "Rebirth of the Flesh".

Chart performance

The song became the only Batman single to perform better in the UK, where it peaked at number 14, than in the US, where it peaked at number 18.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video, filmed in Culver City, California in August 1989[3] and directed by Albert Magnoli,[4] again presents Prince's "Gemini" alter ego dressed in a "half-Joker" costume. The video features Dutch musician Candy Dulfer on saxophone. Due to licensing problems, "Partyman", like all of the Batman-era hits, has failed to appear on any Prince compilation album with the exception of the UK singles promoting The Hits/The B-Sides. The song's streams increased when it was featured in an episode of the 2020 documentary series The Last Dance.

Formats and track listings
  • 7-inch single
  1. "Partyman" – 3:11
  2. "Feel U Up" (Short Stroke) – 3:44
  • 12-inch single (US)
  1. "Partyman" (The Purple Party Mix) – 6:02
  2. "Partyman" (Partyman Music Mix) – 4:31
  3. "Partyman" (The Video Mix) – 6:20
  4. "Feel U Up" (Short Stroke) – 3:44
  • 12-inch single (UK)
  1. "Partyman" (Video Mix) – 6:20
  2. "Feel U Up" (Long Stroke) – 6:28

Personnel

Credits from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud[5][6]

Charts
Weekly chart performance for "Partyman"
Chart (1989) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[7] 38
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[8] 16
Denmark (IFPI)[9] 10
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] 9
Italy (Musica e Dischi)[11] 11
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 17
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[13] 16
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[14] 16
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 25
UK Singles (OCC)[16] 14
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 18
West Germany (Official German Charts)[18] 32

References
  1. "Prince - Partyman at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved 2011-01-02.
  2. Prince, A. Pop Lifein. "Prince's second Rolling Stone interview, 1990".
  3. "Video: Partyman". Prince Vault.
  4. "Prince - "Partyman"". mvdbase.com. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
  5. Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
  6. "Batman". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-04-29.
  7. "Prince – Partyman". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  8. "Prince – Partyman" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  9. Danish Singles Chart. September 29, 1989.
  10. Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Prince". Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 (PDF) (in Finnish). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. p. 204. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
  11. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 28, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Prince".
  12. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Prince" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  13. "Prince – Partyman" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  14. "Prince – Partyman". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  15. "Prince – Partyman". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  16. "Prince: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  17. "Prince Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
  18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Prince – Partyman" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved May 3, 2016.
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