Most casual Prince fans know Purple Rain was partially filmed at First Avenue. But did you know the title song is a live recording, taped at First Ave a few months before filming started? In this episode, we meet Prince and the Revolution at a benefit show for Minnesota Dance Theatre, where they debuted "Purple Rain" in support of dance and community. This is the fourth episode of The Current Rewind's "10 Pivotal Days at First Avenue" season. If you missed the first three episodes, catch up below. • April 3, 1970 (The day it all began)• Nov. 28-29, 1979 (The days that told the future)• Sept. 27, 1982 (Bad Brains/Sweet Taste of Afrika/Hüsker Dü) Transcript of The Current Rewind season 2, episode 4: "Aug. 3, 1983" ["Purple Rain" chords, but trembly and slowed-down. After several seconds, the music snaps into the original version, and we hear the lyrics, "I never meant to cause you any sorrow/ I never meant to cause you any pain."] Mark Wheat VO: After three episodes and 13 years of First Avenue's history, we've arrived at the song. The song that evokes an artist, a movie, and to some, a period of mourning: "Purple Rain." ["Purple rain, purple rain" fades into "Hive Sound" by Icetep] Mark Wheat VO: [over theme] I'm Mark Wheat. This is The Current Rewind, the show putting music's unsung stories on the map. For our second season, we're exploring the history of First Avenue, the downtown Minneapolis venue that has become one of the Twin Cities' – and the country's – greatest clubs. Most casual Prince fans know that scenes from the 1984 movie Purple Rain were filmed at First Avenue. The version of "Purple Rain" that you hear in the movie and the soundtrack was recorded live at First Avenue, but not at the same time the movie was filmed. Just a few months before the cameras rolled, Prince hadn't yet written the song. He first performed it on August 3, 1983 at First Avenue, during a benefit show for the Minnesota Dance Theatre. He had the show recorded, and when we listen to "Purple Rain" today, we're hearing him and the Revolution play it live for the very first time. In this episode, we'll explore the story of that song and that amazingly unique one-off performance, along with Prince's relationship to Minnesota Dance Theatre – a tale that captures Prince's ethos as a musician and a community member. So far this season, guest hosts have lent their voices to each episode of Rewind. But by this point, the coronavirus pandemic has complicated our production. So we here at The Current will step in to host a few episodes, including this one, which I was quite fond of from the beginning. It takes place when I had just moved to the United States, for good, in 1983. [rewind noise] Mark Wheat VO: The early 1980s were a transition moment in Minnesota music. Artists from two different local scenes were breaking out. On the indie rock side, the Replacements and Hüsker Dü were stirring up mosh pits all across the country. And Prince had just become a national star through the success of his fifth album, 1999. David Z: I mean, it was exciting, because Prince was our local star, and he had the beginning of success before this. I mean, he did do Dirty Mind. Mark Wheat VO: This is David Z, Prince's longtime producer – and brother of The Revolution drummer Bobby Z. David Z: So I mean, he wasn't a nobody, but he wasn't internationally famous at all. It was kind of a local thing, and we were all happy because we always wanted somebody from Minneapolis to make it. Mark Wheat VO: And before the world knew Prince's music – along with his slides, splits, spins and pelvic thrusts, he studied ballet with Minnesota Dance Theatre. [audio of a Minnesota Dance Theatre rehearsal] Mark Wheat VO: Renowned choreographer Loyce Houlton founded Minnesota Dance Theatre in 1962. They still teach classical and contemporary dance, and over the last 50 years, they've presented one of the best-attended performances of The Nutcracker