Vanity

Vanity began life as Denise ‘ D. D. ’ Matthews, a sometime model and actress who was discovered by Prince in the early 80’s. He wanted to rename her Vagina, but they settled for Vanity and created the R&B all-girl trio Vanity 6 with Prince groupies Susan and Brenda. The girls cut their first album for Warner Bros. Records in 1983 and had a big club hit with the classic single Nasty Girl. While the smutty single struggled to cross over to the mainstream, sales of their self-titled LP slowly achieved Gold status, selling over 500,000 copies in the US alone. Further singles the catchy He’s So Dull and the skanky Drive Me Wild, with lead vocals by Susan failed to make an impact.

Undeterred they began work on a second album recording demos for two tracks, Vibrator and Sex Shooter. It was at this time that Prince cast Vanity in his movie Purple Rain. Their relationship came to an abrupt end for reasons that are not quite known and she left the group and Prince’s company forever. The movie was completed with Apollonia, who recorded the second LP as Apollonia 6.

"That's why I'm a wild animal.." 

Vanity was hot property and was quickly snapped up by Motown Records who had high hopes for her. Her first offering was the LP Wild Animal, which was personality lead album to say the least. The album kicks off with the frankly mad Flippin’ Out and she just takes it from there! Anyone with a taste for kitchy R&B pop will absolutely love it. The lead single Pretty Mess was a Top 5 R&B hit in 1984 and the album did reasonably well. My personal favourites are Strap On Robbie Baby which was on Tipper Gore’s list of songs she wanted banned songs alongside Sheena Easton’s Sugar Walls, which gives you a good idea of the tone of this album. I couldn’t move on without mentioning Samuelle, a track which seems to be speaking to Prince and Apollonia, it’s fantastic!

The Last Dragon

Motown Records owner Berry Gordy also cast Vanity as the heroine of his 1984 kung fu movie The Last Dragon which was up until recently the highest grossing kung fu movie ever, and an 80’s classic. She plays a VJ who gets kidnapped after she refuses to play a video by a mobsters girlfriend. She even gets a musical number, 7^th Heaven, which is sheer brilliance!

In 1986 she recorded her second album Skin On Skin, which showed off an ever so slightly more sophisticated side of Vanity. She handled slower songs like the slinky single Under The Influence, another Top 5 R&B hit and the lovely Romantic Voyage with her usual street cool and a lot of style. The album has it’s trashy moments like my personal favourite Manhunt! The second single, a remix of Animals didn’t take off. The album did about as well as her debut but she left Motown shortly afterwards.

Screen Siren 

She made some more movies over the next few years, Never Too Young To Die with John Stamos and Gene Simmons, 52 Pick Up with Rod Steiger and Ann Margret in which she played a stripper, and Action Jackson with Carl Weathers and Sharon Stone. It was in this movie that Vanity got her first big acting role in a major movie, sadly it flopped, but she still got to record a few songs for the soundtrack, Undress and the ballad Faraway Eyes, released by Lorimar Records.

She continued to work on television and in b-movies but almost died from an drug overdose in the early 90’s. Since then she has dedicated her life to Jesus and turned her back on Vanity and her former career. In 2005 Inaya Day scored a Top 5 it in the UK with a cover of Nasty Girl.

- Jamie

7th Heaven (1984)