"Glam Slam" | ||||
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UK 7" single
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Single by Prince | ||||
from the album Lovesexy | ||||
B-side | "Escape" | |||
Released | July 11, 1988 | |||
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Recorded | Paisley Park Studios, December 1987–January 1988 | |||
Genre | Pop rock | |||
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Label | Paisley Park | |||
Writer(s) | Prince | |||
Producer(s) | Prince | |||
Prince singles chronology | ||||
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"Glam Slam" is a song by American musician Prince, and the second single from his 1988 album, Lovesexy. The song has sexual overtones with a spiritual undertone and fits the Lovesexy theme of integrating God and sex. The song is complex musically, recalling "Life Can Be So Nice" from Parade. It ends with a chorus of strings (played on the keyboard). A 12" single remix of the song by Shep Pettibone and Steve Peck mainly includes dance beats and extra instrumentation and samples.
The B-side, "Escape (Free yo mind from this rat race)", is somewhat of a remix, sampling the chorus from "Glam Slam", but adding all new lyrics and a funky bass guitar. The theme of "Escape" is more anti-drugs and gangs and is generally more of a dance number than "Glam Slam". The edit of "Escape" was included on 1993's The Hits/The B-Sides.
The opening lines to "Escape" were lifted from the Camille outtake, "Rebirth of the Flesh". These lines also kicked off the Lovesexy World Tour, before leading into "Erotic City".
Prince recorded a new version in 1991 called "Glam Slam '91" that later was the basis of "Gett Off" from Diamonds and Pearls.
In late 1989, Prince opened a nightclub in Minneapolis named after the song and partially decorated with paintings by Brian Canfield Mitchell. After eight years of frustration vis-a-vis its more established rival First Avenue, he sold it to new owner, Gilbert Davison, former Prince Manager and President of Paisley Park, who renamed it The Quest. The club became one of the premier nightspots in the Twin Cities, rivaling First Avenue as a live music venue, before closing in 2006 due to a fire in the club. The building was reconfigured following the closure and reopened as the nightclub Epic.