fDeluxe is The Family renamed.

The Family was a protege band formed … Read Full Bio ↴fDeluxe is The Family renamed.

The Family was a protege band formed by Prince after the break-up of The Time once Purple Rain ended. (Actually, by the time the movie hit theaters, The Time had long since disbanded.) Left over members Paul Peterson (who had replaced The Time original member Monte Moir on keyboards), Jellybean Johnson and Jerome Benton, were grouped with Susannah Melvoin (twin sister of Wendy from The Revolution + Wendy & Lisa), and Eric Leeds (sax player for The Revolution on tour only).

The Family released one self-titled album in 1985 on Prince's new Paisley Park Records imprint. The Family released one video for The Screams of Passion, which was a moderate hit on the Billboard Top 200, but did better on the R&B/Urban charts. It received airplay on BET and MTV. Prince wrote the bulk of the songs, except "River Run Dry", which was composed by Revolution drummer Bobby Z. Prince falsely gave writing credits on the album to various members of The Family, yet left Nothing Compares 2 U credited to himself as writer, probably as a more personal note of his relationship with Susannah (they had been a couple since 1983, as he wrote "The Beautiful Ones" about her, as well as a host of other songs.) Sinéad O'Connor made the song popular in 1990 with her cover, which reached #1 on many charts. Prince later rerecorded the song himself, as a live cut, and was on his 1993 3-disk compilation The Hits/The B-Sides, and was a duet with then-New Power Generation member Rosie Gaines. Many hardcore fans consider The Family's version to be the definitive version of the song.

The Family performed only one show as a live band, at First Avenue in Minneapolis, MN. St. Paul decided soon after to jump ship and pursue a solo career in Los Angeles, CA. This left The Family as a defunct group. (Side note: Prince would soon pen a song called "Dream Factory", later released on the 1998 compilation Crystal Ball, an as ode and answer to Paul's leaving The Family and heading for the bright lights of Los Angeles; the opening line is "this is a story of a man I am not".)

With the departure of St. Paul, The Family was no more. Jellybean went to eventually work with former Time members Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in production and songwriting. Jellybean played guitar and guitar solo on Janet Jackson's "Black Cat" from her 1989 Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814, amonng other numerous projects. Jerome Benton, Susannah Melvoin, and Eric Leeds were absorbed into a new expanded version of The Revolution, which now also included Miko Weaver (from Sheila E.'s band), as well as Greg Brooks and Wally Safford as comic foils and background singers, and Matt "Atlanta Bliss" Blistan on trumpet, complementing Eric's sax parts.

At the 2003 Family Jamm, hosted by Sheila E. for her Little Bunny Foundation (to help children in abusive home environments), The Family performed together for the first time in seventeen years. They realized there was still a chemistry between them. A year later, they were asked to perform at a Grammy pre-party, by The Roots drummer ?uestlove. It was ?uestlove who urged them to officially reform and record new music together. They did exactly that. They've consistently worked on new material since (approximately) that point. The release a snippet of a song called "Sanctified" in 2005, as a teaser for new material forthcoming. In 2009, they released a demo version of "@8", a song featuring Paul on lead vocals with Susannah on backing vocals. In June 2010, they released a "rough mix" of a new song called "Gaslight", and made it available for free download to all their fans.

In that same month, Paul announced that they had six of the songs from the new album completely mixed. He also stated by August 1, the record, in full, would be done with the mixing and mastering process. Fans are hoping for a release in October or November 2010 at the latest, since 2010 is exactly 25 years since the first record was released. Also on the new project is Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman (of The Revolution, and Wendy & Lisa, and Girl Bros.), Doyle Bramhall II (guitarist, and husband of Susannah Melvoin), Oliver Leiber (who wrote & produced the number-one hits "Opposites Attract" & "Forever Your Girl", and the Top 10 hit, "The Way That You Love Me", for Paula Abdul, co-wrote a few tracks including "Sanctified"). Paul's nephew J.P. Delaire also wrote and played on the forthcoming album. The band plans to release the album independently through internet and other means.

While the name, The Family, isn't owned by Prince (as there was another band with the same name), he does own the controlling interesting in "The Family" if it contains any configuration of St. Paul, Susannah, Eric, Jellybean, and Jerome. Those performers using that name is where Prince exercised his controlling "NO" vote when asked if they could use the name. It's not known why Prince won't let them use the name, although some have speculated that he still holds a grudge toward Paul for leaving so quickly after The Family formed. The Family was using "The Family 2.0" for a long time, but in 2009 started to ask fans for suggestions on a new name. The band themselves eventually settled on fDeluxe, with the "F" standing for "Family, ergo "Family Deluxe". The name implies an even better version of the previous band, as members have grown-up and have new ideas musically and otherwise.