Prince fans got a little taste of the artist’s royal badness just a few days before the two-year anniversary of his death.
On Thursday, the artist’s estate in collaboration with Warner Bros. Records, released the original studio version of his iconic song “Nothing Compares 2 U” — originally composed, arranged and performed by Prince.
This previously unreleased rendition, which was recorded Flying Cloud Drive Warehouse in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, in 1984, was committed to tape six years before it became a worldwide hit in 1990 for singer Sinéad O’Connor.
Susannah Melvoin and Paul “St. Paul” Peterson help with backing vocals while Eric Leeds is featured on saxophone, according to a press release.
A video brimming with previously unseen footage of Prince and The Revolution rehearsing “Nothing Compares 2 U” in the summer of 1984 was also released Thursday in conjunction with the song. In the video, you can see Prince doing a number of very Prince-like and very badass things.
Like making a mic stand look a thousand times cooler than any mic stand has ever looked before:
And clearly serving someone in his band some straight up shade:
To watch the footage and hear the song in its entirety, check out the video above.
You can also download or stream this version here.