* En anglais uniquement
Known formerly as four-fifths of the Family,
fDeluxe consists of
Jellybean Johnson,
Eric Leeds,
Susannah Melvoin, and Paul "St. Paul" Peterson. Established by
Prince and signed to his Warner-supported Paisley Park label, the band, which also featured
Jerome Benton, released a self-titled album in 1985 that featured the Top Ten R&B hit "The Screams of Passion" and the original recorded version of "Nothing Compares 2 U." They played one gig that August, at Minneapolis' First Avenue club, and split.
Leeds, Melvoin, and
Benton then linked up with
Prince and the Revolution.
Johnson moved on to work with then-former
Time bandmates
Jimmy Jam and
Terry Lewis, and Peterson went solo.
In the early 2000s, after each member's discography had lengthened through those and other accomplished projects, the Family, minus
Benton, reconvened for one-off gigs prompted by
Sheila E. and superfan
Questlove. Several years later, they fully reactivated as
fDeluxe and recorded the album
Gaslight, a refined set of soul, funk, and rock released in 2011 on the Ropeadope label. They also resumed as a performing act and continued studio work, as heard on the self-released covers album A.M. Static (2014) and Live & Tight as a Funk Fiends' Fix (also 2014). On May 4, 2016, seven hours and 13 days after the death of
Prince,
fDeluxe premiered a new recording of "Nothing Compares 2 U" in tribute to their mentor. ~ Andy Kellman