"The Belle of St. Mark" is a

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

recorded by

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

percussionist A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

The song was released in November 1984 in the United States and in the Netherlands, and in February 1985 in other markets. It peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 in December 1984, and No. 68 on the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles Charts in January 1985. It reached the top 10 in the Netherlands and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

as well as the top 20 in Australia, the UK and Ireland, and was an ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' "Single of the Week". Parsons, Tony (1985) "Single of the Week", ''

'', February 2, 1985, p. 14

Background

The song's lyrics tell of an

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics i ...

"frail but passionate creature", referred to as "he" throughout, but called the feminine " Belle". (Androgyny was a prevalent theme in the music of Sheila E.'s mentor,

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

, and common in pop music of the period.) The song implies the Belle is French (viz. the lyrics, "His Paris hair, it blows in the warm Parisian air / That blows whenever his Paris hair is there") but St. Mark is commonly known as a location in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Italy, although it is referencing the

St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral (Minneapolis) Saint Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in Minneapolis is one of two cathedrals in the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. The church was founded in 1858 and designated as a cathedral in 1941. Its current building dates from 1910. In 2020, it reported 764 memb ...

which the writer of the song at the time (

) lived near the church and grew fond of their bells, and the same bells are featured in the beginning of the song.

Track listing

7" vinyl

Side one #"The Belle of St. Mark" – 3:38 Side two #"Too Sexy" – 5:03

12" vinyl

Side one #"The Belle of St. Mark" (dance remix) – 7:43 Side two #"Too Sexy" – 5:05

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

1984 singles 1985 singles Sheila E. songs Songs written by Prince (musician) Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) 1984 songs Warner Records singles {{1980s-pop-song-stub