"When the lights go down, and it's just you two ... that's when you hear the sounds of what true lovers do."
- Prince
A wild journey only a stubborn heart could guide ...
The Beautiful Saga: Book 4, From the Eyes of Prince
The only thing I anticipated for the new year was growing more in love with my Burbaby, and Batman! Tim Burton was directing the film and asked if I could re-record my songs 1999 and Baby, I'm A Star for him to use.
At first, I wasn't really down with the idea, but Lula convinced me to at least visit the set. She was a huge Batman fan, so she even tagged along, still handicapped, with me in mid-January. She was a much better girlfriend now—and still a ringless, unpregnant "fiancé." She was actually now on the pill, convinced we were nowhere near ready to be parents.
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Meeting Burton on the movie set is what got me. We discussed his vision and the concept of the film, then went in the editing room and watched a little of a rough-cut portion where he used my song. I was hooked.
"You know the Batman theme song was the first thing I taught myself on piano," I told everyone in good spirits. I told him instead of re-recording, I would just write new music for the whole movie.
"You know," Tim mentioned beside me, "I wanted to have you, if you could, write all the funk songs, and then I'm gonna have Michael Jackson do the love ballads."
Before I could object, Lula cut in. "Oh, we don't need him. We got this," she laughed. "Or he got this," she said pointing to me. "Love songs and all."
In the car, I thanked her.
"You don't have to be the bad guy all the time, baby."
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I was so excited for the project, I made plans to cancel the final Japanese leg of the tour, but after running the figures, I realized it wasn't gonna happen. So I banged it out and started on the soundtrack as soon I got back to Paisley Park in mid-February.
Funniest thing was, when I got back home, I found a message on my machine from Kim Basinger, who I met briefly in New York the summer of '88. She was starring in the film alongside Michael Keaton, and I met her for only the second time when I visited the set.
