Released August 24, 1999, The Vault… Old Friends 4 Sale closed Prince’s Warner Bros. contract with a collection of previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1985 and 1996. Submitted in 1996 but delayed for three years, it arrived just months before Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic and stands as a bittersweet farewell to the Warner era.

A stripped‑back Lovesexy groove that became Prince’s first CD‑era single — SUMMARY "Alphabet St." was launched as the lead single from Prince's tenth album, Lovesexy, debuting three weeks ahead of the album in the US and four weeks prior in the UK. Released globally, the single came in a clear sleeve adorned with a stylized sticker instead of conventional artwork—a design strategy also used for the subsequent single "Glam Slam." The release holds historical significance as t