Throwback Thursday: The First Ever Performance of 'Purple Rain'

When Prince showed up at his hometown Minneapolis club The First Avenue back in August of 1983, he had a new guitarist, Wendy Melvoin, and a new song he debuted, a ballad he said was inspired by Bob Seger.

What followed was a 13 minute jam called 'Purple Rain', including verses that were later edited out, and overdubbed for the movie soundtrack.

The coolest thing about this video, is the 'pop up' style notes the video's poster has included, the tightness of the band on a new song, and the jam length that the song gets extended to.

Prince is in fine 1980s form, at the height of his charisma and personality, in front of the hometown crowd.

This is a look back at a band at the top of their game and a rare look at what a club performance by one of the biggest arena bands of the era. This club show produced the final mixes for many of the soundtrack's songs, including 'Baby, I'm A Star'.

This video has popped up several times on social media, and each time Prince has pulled it down, so watch it now before it goes away. Again.

Why he doesn't want this gem seen is beyond me.