Rare group of five photos of Prince’s protégés Wendy & Lisa. These black-and-white photos measure approximately 8” x 10.” Two of the photos are official publicity/promotional photos, with “Wendy & Lisa” printed on the bottom, with contact info for their management team: one of these photos shows Wendy & Lisa with their band, including Susannah Melvoin (Wendy’s twin sister, Prince’s romantic interest in the ‘80s). The other publicity/promotional photo only includes Wendy & Lisa and is signed by both Wendy, “Love forever, Wendy” (in black felt tip) and Lisa, “Hello, Lisa” (in blue felt tip). The other three photos are unreleased publicity shots, apparently not selected for promotional use. They feature Wendy & Lisa; however, no printing appears on them. The fact that one photo of these five photos is signed, one includes Wendy’s sister, and three are unreleased publicity shots make this set particularly collectable. Accompanied by a 1988 form letter from Girl Brothers Productions, explaining that Lisa draws a heart when signing her name.
Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were central members of Prince’s band, The Revolution, featured in the film 'Purple Rain.' In 1980, Lisa joined the touring band on keyboards and piano and contributed vocals to numerous tracks released by Prince over the next decade. In 1983, Wendy joined The Revolution to play guitar, as the album 'Purple Rain' was being recorded. Wendy & Lisa became international superstars themselves as a result of their performances in the film 'Purple Rain' and the subsequent worldwide tour. Wendy & Lisa earned credit as co-writers on several Prince songs, including 'Computer Blue,' '17 Days,' and 'Sometimes It Snows in April.'
Wendy & Lisa are among the more famous Prince protégés, given that they performed and starred in Prince’s Oscar-winning film 'Purple Rain.' In the late 1980s, Wendy & Lisa pursued recording and television projects on their own, releasing five albums and writing music for film and television, including an Emmy win for musical contributions to the TV show 'Nurse Jackie.' While they have written songs and performed with many artists including Joni Mitchell, Madonna, Pearl Jam, Eric Clapton, Grace Jones, Sheryl Crow, and Gwen Stefani, Wendy & Lisa will continue to be best known in terms of their closely associated work with Prince. In fine condition.
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