On this day in 1979, Prince made his live debut as a solo artist

Prince had been working on music since 1975 and secured a recording deal with Warner Bros. Records. An album was made and released in 1978, with one of its songs, Soft and Wet, reaching number 12 on the Hot Soul Singles chart and 92 on the Billboard Hot 100. To capitalise on the songs success, a 3 day residency was booked for Prince and his band at the Capri Theatre in his hometown of Minneapolis, Minnesota. 

The singer conducted several interviews throughout the day, wherein he spoke of his nerves about his first live show. He went on to state he had been nervous playing for his band the first time before building his confidence, and felt that his relationship with the crowd would be similar after a few songs. 

By all reports, the debut performance was a massive success. The band played both songs from the album and some unreleased material, and Prince’s charisma and antics on stage clearly impressed the crowd. Several Warner Bros. Records representatives attended the concert and claimed they were blown away, but ultimately decided to wait for a sophomore album before sending the group on tour.