1985 was the year of Prince. Following the success of 1984’s Purple Rain, the world went crazy for the lithe, purple-clad, mustachioed singer of “When Doves Cry.” Naturally, this meant a run of Prince impersonators, as detailed in this amazing vintage clip from a D.C. news station. In it, not-so-famous impersonator Svengali Ron Smith takes to Champions Sports Bar to find and award contracts to the Beltway’s next big Prince impersonators. Noting that talented lookalikes can make up to $25,000 a year, the report makes a convincing case for what we’d always known: In the mid-‘80s, everyone in Georgetown looked just like Prince and Apollonia.
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