Alphabet Street

Prince's tenth album's first single, a top 10 hit with hidden video messages.

"Alphabet St." is a song from American musician Prince's tenth album, Lovesexy (1988). It was the first single from that album and the album's only top 10 single, reaching the top 10 in both the UK and US. Initially written as an acoustic blues song, the song's final version includes a rap by Cat Glover and is full of samples. "Alphabet St." generally echoes themes from the rest of Lovesexy.

Quick Facts

Role: Second Single

Lore & Background

The B-side is a remix of "Alphabet St." called "Alphabet St. ("This is not music, this is a trip")". The title and other phrases are repeated at the beginning of the song, but essentially it is an instrumental with a few minor changes. "Alphabet St." was the first Prince single released as a CD, albeit only in the UK and Japan. A promo CD was issued in the US.

Reader's Guide

The music video for "Alphabet St." was directed by Patrick R. Epstein and produced on very short notice on March 20, 1988 by filmmaker Michael R. Barnard. It shows Prince walking and driving a late 60's Ford Thunderbird through an environment made out of letters. The video contains hidden messages. The first one appears after the end of the first verse ("She'll want me from my head to my feet"), where there is a split second image with the hidden message "Don't buy The Black Album, I'm sorry." The second image says B "heaven is so beautiful"; the third image is D "4 the light dance"; the fourth image is G "funk guitar"; the fifth image is H (heroin) "is 4 punks"; the sixth image, when Prince is in the Thunderbird, says "if U don't mind". The final one is when Prince dances on the Thunderbird, "GOD I LOVE U ♡" being shown for a split second.