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"Gotta Stop (Messin' About)"
"Gotta Stop (Messin' About)"
	UK 12" single cover
Single by Prince
B-side	"Uptown" (first release); "I Wanna Be Your Lover" (re-release); "Head" (12"); "Partyup (Edit)", "When You Were Mine" (US promo);
Released	May 29, 1981
Recorded	Minneapolis, May–June, 1980
Genre	Rock
Length	2:57
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Prince
Producer(s)	Prince
Prince singles chronology

"Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" is a song by Prince, released in the UK as a follow-up single to support his third album, Dirty Mind.^[1] The single was not an album track, though it was written at the same time, and possessed a similar sound. "Gotta Stop Messin' About" marked the first time Prince released non-album tracks, which, especially as B-sides, would become a prominent part of his career.

The song is keyboard dominated, and the lyrics speak of a woman who's constantly "messin' about" with other men. The song contains familiar Prince themes of sexual frustration, masturbation and sexual metaphors. The track consists of two verses and multiple repeats of the chorus. It was played live on the Dirty Mind Tour with an extended instrumental section at the end.

"Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" was released in the UK as two separate 7" singles, one with the Dirty Mind track "Uptown" as a B-side, and the other with "I Wanna Be Your Lover", from Prince. Each single also had an accompanying 12" single, both with the same tracks as the 7" and both including the song "Head", from Dirty Mind. Despite an extensive advertising campaign and promotion, and coinciding with Prince's first UK gig, neither issue of the single charted. The track would later be released in the U.S. as the B-side of the 12" single for "Let's Work", and become a highly sought-after collector's item. "Gotta Stop (Messin' About)" was also later released on The Hits/The B-Sides and Prince 4Ever.

The song was covered by the American alternative pop rock band Self sometime in 2003, and released alongside a multitude of other cut tracks from their (at the time) shelved album Ornament and Crime in 2004, before being featured on their 2005 compilation album Porno, Mint & Grime.

Personnel

Credits from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud.^[2]^[3]

Prince – lead and backing vocals, electric guitars, Oberheim OB-X, bass guitar, drums, handclaps

References

^ "Prince - Gotta Stop (Messin' About) (Vinyl)". Discogs.com. 2014-01-28. Retrieved 2016-10-19.
^ Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
^ "Dirty Mind". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-05-02.