Manic Monday

“Manic Monday” is the first track from all female American pop rock band, The Bangles, and their second studio album released in 1986, “Different Light”. “Manic Monday” was written by iconic American musician Prince using the pseudonym Christopher (a character he played in 1986 film “Under the Cherry Moon”. The track was actually intended for Prince’s all female group Apollonia 6 and was written in 1984.

After Prince pulled the song from Apollonia 6, he contacted The Bangles to see if they would have the single. It was rumoured that Prince gave the song to Bangles guitarist Susanna Hoffs only on the basis that she would sleep with him – this has never been confirmed or denied. In 1989, The Bangles drummer and backing vocalist Debbi Peterson spoke to MTV UK and explained why Prince gave them the song: “Prince really liked our first album. He liked the song ‘Hero Takes a Fall’, which is a great compliment, because we liked his music. He contacted us, and said, ‘I’ve got a couple of songs for you. I’d like to know if you’re interested,’ and of course we were. One of the songs Prince brought to the group was ‘Manic Monday’, written under the pseudonym of Christopher.” Peterson talked about the evolution of what Prince brought them: “It was a Banglefication of a Prince arrangement. He had a demo, that was very specifically him. It was a good song, but we didn’t record it like ‘This is our first hit single! Oh my God! I can feel it in my veins!’ We just did the song, and the album, and then sat back and thought about it.” Prince is also credited for the synthesizers

The music video was released on 1986 and directed by Leslie Libman, and was uploaded to YouTube in March 2015. The video features shots of the group walking around a city, doing mundane everyday activities but some scenes are sped up to emphasize the concept of the song – describing a “manic Monday”. As of May 2020, the video has 42.3 million views and over 203 thousand likes.

Release Date: 27th January 1986

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: David Kahne

Label/s: Disco CBS & Columbia

Music Video Release Date: 1968

Music Video Director: Leslie Libman

Chart Rankings & Certifications: In its year of release, “Manic Monday” performed well on charts across the globe, charting at #3 in Australia, #2 in Austria, #19 in Belgium, #2 in Canada, #2 in Germany, #2 in Ireland, #24 in the Netherlands, #5 in New Zealand, #4 in Norway, #1 in South Africa, #4 in Switzerland, #2 in the UK, and #2 and #10 on various US Billboard charts. “Manic Monday” has Silver certification in the UK.

The lyrics to “Manic Monday” can be accessed here: LINK