Song · Prince
“Batdance” by Prince
Released 1989
“Batdance” by Prince appears on 4 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 1989 and 2026. It was first released in 1989. Its best result is #6 on the Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1989. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #70 alternative song of 1989.
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"Batdance" is Prince's rush job for the 1989 Batman soundtrack, released by Warner Bros. that June, and it only exists because he scrapped a brooding number called "Dance with the Devil" at the last minute as too dark. What he built instead is a cut-and-paste fever dream: a clanking, mechanical dance beat that downshifts into a slinky funk groove and then lurches back, studded with spoken lines from Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson and Kim Basinger.
Otherwise it's a one-man show. Prince plays bass, electric guitar, synths, sampler, drum machine and electronic drums, sings lead, arranges and produces, and mixed it with engineer Femi Jiya. Riding the film's popularity, it went to number one in the US, his first chart-topper there since "Kiss" in 1986.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 95 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1989 | 105 |
| 1989 | 6 | Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium | Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1989 | 30 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 599 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2026 | 222 | WFPK | WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s | 498 |
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