Apollonia 6, still underrated?

Apollonia 6 – Purple Rain US Lobby Card

Introduction

In 1982 Prince had recorded, performed, written and released the debut album of satellite act Vanity 6. Using the moniker of the heavily sex oriented lady trio Prince had put out a very strong album. It was a turning point in the development of Prince’s career as a solo artist. Was its successor, Apollonia 6, just as strong?

Content

Also read the story of Vanity 6, the precursor to Apollonia 6, in the article Vanity 6: sex sells, or something more?.

Prince and Apollonia in Purple Rain

Purple Rain

In 1984 Prince turned into a global megastar with the Purple Rain project, consisting of an album, a movie, a tour and a lot of extra music by satellite acts like Sheila E. (The Glamorous Life), The Time (Ice Cream Castle) and Apollonia 6.

Initially, a second Vanity 6 album was planned, for which Prince had already recorded a handful of songs, like Sex Shooter, Promise To Be True, the hilarious Vibrator and Wet Dream Cousin. But, due to Vanity’s leaving the Prince camp in July 1983, amendments had to be made.

Vanity & Apollonia (post 02/16/2026)

Vanity becomes Apollonia

To replace Vanity, Patricia Apollonia Kotero was selected. She would play Prince’s love interest in the Purple Rain movie. Her character was to be called Apollonia. The Vanity 6 project was subsequently renamed to Apollonia 6. Out of all the recordings initially planned for the project only Sex Shooter survived and would be used for Apollonia 6.

The majority of the songs for the album were recorded in February 1984, Blue Limousine in April and Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian in August. A number of really great songs were linked to the Apollonia 6 project, including Take Me With U (which was ultimately released as the second song on the Purple Rain album), Manic Monday (which was given to The Bangles in May 1985), a couple of songs that ended up on Sheila E.‘s The Glamorous Life album and 17 Days with Brenda Bennett providing the lead vocals. The latter was released as the B-side to the Prince single When Doves Cry.

Along the way Prince seemingly lost interest in the project and withdrew all of the stronger material. Even though she liked the recording process, Apollonia had made it very clear she had no intention of pursuing a career with the group. The project gained a temporary status, for Prince as well. The initial idea to make a video for every song on the album, was put on hold after 4 songs. The footage is probably stored in the Paisley Park Vault.

Apollonia 6 – Apollonia 6

Apollonia 6

The Apollonia 6 album was released on October 1, 1984 (a few days later in Europe), when the Purple Rain craze, that would hold the world in an iron grip for at least 6 more months, was sweeping across the globe.

Despite the momentum, both in the US and Europe, the album was not a success. The singles did nothing to enhance sales, even though first the single, Sex Shooter, was part of the Purple Rain movie.

Review

Upon first hearing the album I didn’t think much of it. So, I thought the story for this blog was a piece of cake, just mentioning the album existed and move on to the next story. But, fair is fair, my memories proved to be inaccurate. When I put on the album after all those years the album’s opener, Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian, immediately proved me wrong. Great song, wow, I have missed out on something here. Sex Shooter is widely known and okay, with that intoxicating beat. Blue Limousine is okay, which is followed by another song I underestimated, A Million Miles (I Love You), containing delightful drumming by Sheila E. Ooo She Wa Wa sounds like it’s supposed to be an update of Susan Moonsie’s Drive Me Wild off the Vanity 6 album, yet it doesn’t live up to that level. Nonetheless, it’s still a nice new-wavy song. Some Kind Of Lover is a great pop-song with Brenda Bennett at times sounding like Pretenders’ Chrissie Hynde. Preceding the song is a skit; it would take some years before skits were to be an integral part of many albums. The closing In A Spanish Villa contains acoustic and electric guitar playing by Prince. Apollonia delivers her spoken words (in Spanish) on top of them.

I have to admit to liking the Apollonia 6 album a lot more than I did all those years back. Sometimes it takes up to 40 years to finally be right!

Apollonia 6 – Apollonia 6 – Singles

Singles

The album produced two singles.

• Sex Shooter
  (released on August 32, 1984)
• Blue Limousine
  (released late 1984)

Apollonia 6 – Apollonia 6 – Back cover

Songs

All songs written by Prince (not credited on the album), unless stated otherwise.

• Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian
• Sex Shooter
• Blue Limousine
• A Million Miles (I Love You) (Prince, Lisa Coleman)
• Ooo She She Wa Wa
• Some Kind Of Lover (Prince, Brenda Bennett)
• In A Spanish Villa

On the original vinyl release side A was called the Electric Side and side B the Acoustic Side. Production was done by Prince, using the moniker The Starr ★ Company.

The album’s credits all differ from the registered rights. Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian is credited to Apollonia (lyrics) and The Revolution (music), Sex Shooter is credited to Apollonia 6, Blue Limousine is credited to Apollonia 6 (lyrics) and Sheila E. (music), A Million Miles (I Love You) is credited to Apollonia 6 (lyrics) and Lisa Coleman (music), Ooo She She Wa Wa is credited to Susan Moonsie, Some Kind Of Lover is credited to Brenda Bennett, In A Spanish Villa is credited to Apollonia (lyrics) and Wendy Melvoin (music).

Apollonia 6 – Apollonia 6 – Inner sleeves

Musicians

• Prince – all instruments, unless stated otherwise, background vocals on A Million Miles (I Love You)
• Apollonia – vocals on Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian, Sex Shooter, In A Spanish Villa, background vocals
• Brenda Bennett – vocals on Blue Limousine, A Million Miles (I Love You), Some Kind Of Lover, background vocals
• Susan Moonsie – vocals on Ooo She She Wa Wa, background vocals
• Sheila E. – drums and percussion on A Million Miles (I Love You)
• Lisa Coleman – keyboards on A Million Miles (I Love You), background vocals on Some Kind Of Lover
• Wendy Melvoin – guitar on A Million Miles (I Love You)
• Jill Jones, Susannah Melvoin – background vocals on Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian, Blue Limousine, Ooo She She Wa Wa
• Brown Mark – background vocals on Happy Birthday, Mr. Christian

Apollonia 6 – Apollonia 6 – Album poster

After Apollonia 6

Apollonia 6 went on a European promo tour in the fall of 1984. The group wasn’t cast as a support act for the Purple Rain Tour, but they did frequently appear as guests on stage during the tour’s encores. At the end of the tour the group was disbanded.

Brenda Bennett retreated from the music business for a long time, until she independently released new videos and songs in 2011 and 2012. Susan Moonsie withdrew herself from the public eye completely. Apollonia continued her singing and acting career. She had a long lasting role in the televison show Falcon Crest, which was particularly popular in the US. Even though she wasn’t exactly a fine singer and her heart wasn’t dedicated to music, she still released a solo album, 1988’s Apollonia. It wasn’t a success.

Apollonia 6 reconvened at the funeral of Denise Matthews, aka Vanity, who died on February 15, 2016. Two months and 6 days later Prince died, an event Apollonia Kotero struggled with. She posted a number of Facebook messages addressing Prince and his premature demise.

Apollonia Kotero – Facebook message – 04/24/2016

Apollonia Kotero – Facebook message – 04/26/2016

Apollonia Kotero – Facebook message – 08/29/2016

Since then Apollonia can be frequently found on social media, including her very own podcast Apollonia Studio 6. The link to Prince is a big part of her appearances, but it’s also used for fights, especially the one with Sheila E., also see the sub article Prince and Sheila E., a cooled down friendship?.

In 2019 the original demo version of Sex Shooter was released on the compilation album Originals. The demo contained Prince’s vocals, which Apollonia used as a guide.

In closing

Apollonia 6 was a primary example of the Minneapolis Sound, which dominated the charts in the second half of the 1980s. What’s your take on Apollonia 6? Let me know!

Video
This story contains an accompanying video. Click on the following link to see it: Video: Apollonia 6, still underrated?.

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