The club was shut down from November 26 to December 20, 1983, for the filming Prince’s 1984 film Purple Rain. The song “Purple Rain” itself was recorded at First Avenue on August 3, 1983, during a benefit concert for the Minnesota Dance Theater, which had been providing dance lessons to the cast.
Fun fact: the cast used a warehouse in St. Louis Park as a rehearsal space – it has since been demolished.
