Purple Reign

You may know them as 'the black chicks in Prince's band', says Priya Elan. But Wendy & Lisa have a secret B-movie past, provide the spooky music to Heroes and may yet write I Kissed a Girl: The Musical WEN-DEEEEEE!" chant Pharrell and Madonna before Wendy Melvoin's funky breakdown kicks in on She's Not Me, the standout track from Madge's recent album. It's an echo of Prince's call for "Little girl Wendy's parade!" as she riffed into action more than 20 years earlier on His Royal Purpleness's anthem Kiss. From inspiring Prince to make the best music of his career to scoring the TV series Heroes, Wendy and her musical (and former life) partner Lisa Coleman have been darting about the pop culture zeitgeist for three decades. Not that anyone would know.

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