Unlike previous Prince albums, the majority of Diamonds And Pearls was recorded with The New Power Generation, a group he had assembled largely from the Twin Cities area. They shared cultural backgrounds and localised experiences, and helped Prince connect his past influences to the present creating a new uplifting blend of hip-hop, dance, gospel, and pop that would bring him to the top of the charts worldwide.
The New Power Generation was a band that Prince believed in so wholeheartedly that he gave them co-credit on the cover of Diamonds And Pearls, something he’d only done previously with one other band, The Revolution. The group consisted of Sonny Thompson (vocals & bass), Damon Dickson (vocals & percussion), Rosie Gaines (vocals & keyboards), Michael Bland (drums), Kirk Johnson (vocals & percussion), Tony M (vocals), Levi Seacer, Jr. (bass, guitar & vocals), and Tommy Barbarella (keyboards).
Diamonds And Pearls was unveiled to the world on October 1, 1991, and it instantly had a huge commercial and cultural impact, becoming the biggest selling non-soundtrack album of Prince’s career. Over the past three decades, the reasons for its enormous success have been discussed extensively. Not least of these was Prince’s decision to finally engage with major television exposure and an extensive tour of Europe, Japan and his first trip to Australia. The album also offered a diverse collection of sounds that could appeal to a wide variety of listeners. Diamonds And Pearls had something for everyone.
