PRINCE

BATDANCE
(THE BATMIX)
(VICKI VALE MIX)
(FULL LENGTH ALBUM VERSION)

Batdance was a single from the 1989 Batman soundtrack and with the help of the film's popularity, the song reached number one in the U.S., becoming Prince's fourth number-one single, and first since 1986's Kiss. Batdance was also Prince's first single to be issued on compact disc in the U.S..

The track was actually a last-minute replacement for a brooding track titled Dance with the Devil, which Prince felt was too dark. Incidentally, though Dance with the Devil remains unreleased, some of the lyrics appear on the album's liner notes.

Batdance is almost two songs in one—a chaotic, mechanical dancebeat that changes gears into a slinky, funky groove before changing back for the song's conclusion. The track is an amalgam of many musical ideas floating around at the time. No fewer than six songs (some unreleased) contributed to Batdance: 200 Balloons, We Got the Power, House in Order, Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic, The Future, and Electric Chair. Some of these were mere snippets, and other segments showed up only in remixes of the track. The song was also loaded with dialog samples from the film.

The 12" single and some CD versions of the single included two remixes of Batdance that were done by Mark Moore and William Orbit, The Batmix and Vicki Vale Mix. The Batmix focuses on the chaotic "rock" section of Batdance and is supplemented with electronic distortion and sampling of voices and instruments. It contains a few new lyrics, as well as more samples of Rave Unto the Joy Fantastic. The Vicki Vale Mix is an extension of the middle part of Batdance, which includes most of the movie dialog. Prince also adds a line or 2 of two lyrics to this version.

BATDANCE (THE BATMIX)

BATDANCE (VICKI VALE MIX)

BATDANCE (FULL LENGTH ALBUM VERSION)