Apollonia 6
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| Apollonia 6 | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Genre(s) | R&B, funk, soul, new wave, pop, rock |
| Occupation(s) | Band |
| Years active | 1984 - 1985 |
| Label(s) | Warner Brothers |
| Associated acts | Prince, The Revolution, The Time, Vanity 6 |
| Members | |
| defunct | |
| Former members | |
| Apollonia (Patricia Kotero) Brenda Bennett Susan Moonsie |
|
Apollonia 6 was a 1980s female singing trio created by Prince as a continuation/succession of a previous group, Vanity 6.
Contents |
[edit] Formation and Purple Rain
After a number of disputes with Prince, Vanity (Denise Matthews), the lead singer of Prince-created Vanity 6, fled the Prince entourage in 1983 to pursue solo endeavors recording with Motown Records and acting in films. She left open an acting position for the role written for her by Prince in the film Purple Rain.
After a frantic casting call, the film's director met actress and model Patricia Kotero. Renamed by Prince as "Apollonia", Kotero stepped into Vanity's role in the film Purple Rain, as well as in the fragmented group, Vanity 6. The other two members of Vanity 6, Brenda Bennett and Susan Moonsie, joined Apollonia and the group was christened "Apollonia 6" for the film and what would be their sole album (featuring Prince associates Jill Jones and Wendy & Lisa on backing vocals). During this time it was rumored that Apollonia and Prince were romantically involved with one another, but it was later revealed that Apollonia was actually married. Her "relationship" with Prince had been more of a PR stunt for the film than anything serious.
A four-track video was filmed based on the Apollonia 6 album, directed by Brian Thomson (Australian Production Designer of the original stage versions of Rocky Horror Show and Jesus Christ Superstar), scripted by Keith Williams (concept writer for music videos by Phil Collins, Ray Parker, Jr., and Donna Summer), with a cast comprising of Ricky Nelson, Edy Williams and Buck Henry. Shot in a Los Angeles film studio in 1985, and produced by British video firm Limelight, the video never went beyond rough-cut. Footage from the project has appeared on many social networking sites, such as YouTube. [1] [2] [3]
Although the album was certified platinum, Apollonia 6 only had a top 10 pop and R&B hit with the single "Sex Shooter" in 1984.
[edit] Dissolution
Prince had originally intended his classic tracks "Manic Monday" (later recorded by The Bangles), "17 Days" (later used as the B-side to "When Doves Cry"), and "The Glamorous Life" (recorded by Sheila E. in 1984) for the Apollonia 6 album but he soon lost interest in the project when he became convinced that Apollonia was only there to fulfill her job's obligations and would not be continuing with his group after her contractual obligations to completing the film and one album were fulfilled. Apollonia 6 were slated to open the Purple Rain tour with Prince and Sheila E., but that idea was scrapped after the group returned from a promotional tour of Europe.
After the group's demise, Kotero continued working on TV shows such as Falcon Crest and in B-movies for the next decade. She even released a solo album to lackluster success in 1988. The main criticism of the album was that Kotero tried too hard to give the impression of change; she adopted a more pop/California sound in place of her signature R&B/funk sound that had been successfully established for her formerly by Prince.
[edit] Discography
- Apollonia 6 (1984)
[edit] References
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