When Prince put together his backing band in Minneapolis, Minnesota after the release of his first album “For You”, he brought about a multi-racial, multi-gendered band which consisted of André Cymone on bass guitar and vocals, Dez Dickerson on guitar and vocals, Bobby Z. on drums, Gayle Chapman on keyboards and vocals, and Matt Fink on keyboards. In 1979, material was recorded with the band, acting as a side project known as The Rebels. The recordings were a group effort with lead vocals by Cymone, Dickerson or Chapman. The project was shelved for unknown reasons. The band underwent two line-up changes. Gayle Chapman quit the band in 1980 and was replaced by Lisa Coleman. André Cymone would leave the band in 1981 and was replaced by Mark Brown, renamed BrownMark by Prince. The words "and the Revolution" can be seen printed backwards on the cover of Prince’s fifth album 1999. The Revolution served as his live and studio band after making its studio album debut on 1999 (1982). The Revolution rose to international fame with the movie Purple Rain (1984) and the soundtrack which reached number one on the Billboard 200 and became certified 13× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The Revolution consisted of various band member line-ups from 1982 - 1986 consisting of: Dez Dickerson on guitar and vocals, BrownMark on bass, Bobby Z. on drums and percussion, Lisa Coleman on keyboards, piano, and vocals, Dr. Fink on keyboards, Jill Jones on vocals, Wendy Melvoin on guitar and vocals, Miko Weaver on guitar, Susannah Melvoin on backing vocals, Eric Leeds on saxophone, Matt "Atlanta Bliss" Blistan on trumpet and (known as The Bodyguards) Jerome Benton, Wally Safford and Greg Brooks as dancers, vocalists and comic foils. The group disbanded after the Parade Tour in 1986.
