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Théâtre de Verdure - The Soundcheck. On the afternoon of 27 October 1985, before the free audience arrived and the cameras rolled, Prince and the Revolution ran a private soundcheck/rehearsal at the Théâtre de Verdure in Nice. The band — Wendy Melvoin, Lisa Coleman, Bobby Z., Brown Mark, Dr. Fink, Eric Leeds, and guest saxophonist Eddie M. — had been flown in specifically for the “America” video shoot during a day off from Under the Cherry Moon filming. What they played that afternoon was never meant for the public, yet a circulating recording preserves roughly 40 minutes of it and remains one of the more revealing documents of the Around the World in a Day / early Parade transition. The set opened with a brief “Pop Life,” then moved into a rare full-length “Temptation” — one of the few complete live performances of the Purple Rain closer known to exist. “Paisley Park” followed, then an extended run at “Love Or $” (also known as “Love Or Money”), during which Prince took over the drums. After a short piece listed as “Go,” there was band chatter and an interlude before two takes of “An Honest Man,” the gentle ballad that would later appear (in truncated form) in Under the Cherry Moon and on Crystal Ball. Heard today, the rehearsal feels looser and more exploratory than the filmed material that followed. The Revolution is tight but still working the material — adjusting dynamics, testing transitions, and stretching grooves. The presence of both current Around the World in a Day songs and pieces that would surface on or around Parade (“Love Or $,” “An Honest Man,” “Go”) makes the session a snapshot of a band mid-evolution, still riding the momentum of the Purple Rain era while already shaping the next one. For collectors, the circulating audio (available on various YouTube uploads and included on certain unofficial Parade-era rehearsal compilations) is valued precisely because full soundchecks from this period were rare, and because it captures songs like the complete “Temptation” and early live “An Honest Man” that almost never appeared in public setlists. #PrinceOnThisDay