Controversy Tour Explained

Concert Tour Name:Controversy Tour
Type:National
Location:North America
Artist:Prince
Album:Controversy
Start Date:November 20, 1981
End Date:March 14, 1982
Number Of Legs:1
Number Of Shows:61
Last Tour:Dirty Mind Tour
(1980–81)
This Tour:Controversy Tour
(1981–82)
Next Tour:1999 Tour
(1982–83)

The Controversy Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince in support of his fourth studio album Controversy. The tour included Zapp and Roger and The Time as an opening act.

Background

The Controversy Tour marked the debut of Mark Brown, a.k.a. Brown Mark, on bass guitar, replacing the departed André Cymone, and the introduction of Prince's new bodyguard, Chick Huntsberry. At first, Prince contemplated dismissing the huge Huntsberry after only being on tour with him for a few days, as Prince thought he was too big and he scared him. Guitarist Dez Dickerson talked him out of it and he eventually became a confidant to Prince and later appeared in Purple Rain as a bouncer.[1] This tour was also notable for Prince's new side group The Time joining him on tour and the resulting backstage drama and arising tension that developed between the two bands.

Although The Time became superstars overnight with their debut album, The Time, they were frustrated at the lack of input they contributed to the album as, with the exception of Morris Day, they did not write or play their own music and were only being paid as a live act. During the tour, The Time would put on such a great show that it began to worry Prince just how good they had become and with them performing right before his set, he began to feel they were outshining him.

Ultimately Prince would kick The Time off the 1999 Tour.[2] The conflict came to a head on the final night of the tour in Cincinnati as during The Time's set, Prince and some of the members in his band began egging them from off stage. Near the end of the set, they grabbed Jerome Benton from the stage and proceeded to "tar and feather" him by pouring honey all over him and dumping trash on him. Things got further escalated after The Time's performance, guitarist Jesse Johnson was handcuffed to a wall-mounted coat rack and further humiliated with Prince throwing Doritos and other food at him. When The Time went to retaliate, they were stopped by the tour manager and told there would be no interruptions during Prince's performance, but as soon as he left the stage, a food fight erupted between the two bands. When the battle continued at the hotel causing damage, Prince made Morris Day pay for all damages, claiming that he had started the whole thing.[1]

Opening acts

Set list

November 20, 1981 at the Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  1. "The Second Coming"
  2. "Sexuality"
  3. "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"
  4. "Jack U Off"
  5. "When You Were Mine"
  6. "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
  7. "Head"
  8. "Annie Christian"
  9. "Dirty Mind"
  10. "Do Me, Baby"
  11. "Let's Work"
  12. "Controversy "
  13. "Uptown"
  14. "Partyup"

January 30, 1982 at the Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey

  1. "The Second Coming"
  2. "Uptown"
  3. "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"
  4. "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
  5. "Head"
  6. "Dirty Mind"
  7. "Do Me, Baby"
  8. "Controversy"
  9. "Let's Work"
  10. "Jack U Off"

Tour dates

Prior to the tour, in October 1981 Prince played two shows at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum as an opening act for The Rolling Stones. On the first date, Prince and his band did not finish their set, as the crowd turned hostile towards him. Dressed in his controversial bikini briefs and trench coat, and singing his sexually androgynous lyrics, he was run off stage after 25 minutes of the crowd booing, throwing shoes and beer bottles at him.[3] Off stage, security escorted Prince to his trailer, they described him as emotionally distraught and crying softly. He was later heard cussing at his band and swearing he would never open for the Rolling Stones again.

After the show, Prince immediately flew back home to Minneapolis. After speaking with Dez Dickerson, manager Steve Fargnoli, and Mick Jagger himself, they convinced him to return for the second concert. Amidst the same hostility, as The Rolling Stones' fans heard about the incident at the first concert and came prepared to dog Prince again, Prince and his band finished their set this time. Backstage, Prince referred to the crowd as, "Tasteless in music and mentally retarded".

List of 1981 concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and gross revenue
DateCityCountryVenueAttendanceRevenue
November 20, 1981PittsburghUnited StatesStanley Theater
November 21, 1981Washington, D.C.Warner Theatre2,000 / 3,400 (59%)[4]
November 25, 1981GreenvilleGreenville Memorial Auditorium
November 26, 1981BaltimoreBaltimore Civic Center
November 27, 1981CharlotteCharlotte Coliseum
November 29, 1981NashvilleNashville Municipal Auditorium
December 2, 1981New York CityThe Palladium
December 4, 1981DetroitJoe Louis Arena
December 5, 1981ChicagoArie Crown Theater8,638 / 8,638 (100%)[5] $95,087
December 6, 1981St. LouisKiel Auditorium
December 9, 1981HoustonThe Summit
December 10, 1981AtlantaThe Omni
December 11, 1981Winston-SalemWinston-Salem Memorial Coliseum
December 12, 1981ColumbiaCarolina Coliseum
December 13, 1981FayettevilleCumberland County Memorial Arena
December ??, 1981SavannahSavannah Civic Center
December 17, 1981ColumbusColumbus Municipal Auditorium
December 18, 1981Baton RougeRiverside Centroplex
December 19, 1981DallasDallas Convention Center
December 20, 1981HoustonThe Summit14,000 / 14,000 (100%)[6]
December 26, 1981MilwaukeeMECCA Arena
December 27, 1981DaytonHara Arena
December 28, 1981ToledoToledo Sports Arena4,325 / 6,500 (67%)[7]
December 29, 1981ColumbusVeterans Memorial Auditorium
December 30, 1981LouisvilleLouisville Gardens6,850 / 6,850 (100%)[8]
December 31, 1981MaconMacon Coliseum8,400 / 9,252 (91%)[9]
List of 1982 concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and gross revenue
DateCityCountryVenueAttendanceRevenue
January 2, 1982LakelandUnited StatesLakeland Civic Center
January 3, 1982JacksonvilleJacksonville Memorial Coliseum
January 28, 1982RichmondRichmond Coliseum
January 29, 1982LandoverCapital Centre
January 30, 1982PassaicCapitol Theatre[10] [11]
February 1, 1982Ann ArborHill Auditorium
February 4, 1982SaginawSaginaw Civic Center
February 5, 1982ClevelandCleveland Public Auditorium
February 6, 1982NormalISU-Braden Auditorium
February 7, 1982OmahaOmaha Civic Auditorium
February 9, 1982DenverDenver Auditorium
February 11, 1982San DiegoSan Diego Golden Hall
February 12, 1982Santa MonicaSanta Monica Civic Auditorium
February 13, 1982San BernardinoOrange Pavilion
February 14, 1982San FranciscoBill Graham Civic Auditorium
February 15, 1982
February 18, 1982Kansas CityUptown Theater
February 19, 1982MartinUT-Martin Fieldhouse
February 20, 1982BirminghamBirmingham–Jefferson Civic Center
February 21, 1982IndianapolisIndiana Convention Center
February 24, 1982MemphisMid-South Coliseum
February 25, 1982MonroeMonroe Civic Center
February 26, 1982AugustaAugusta Civic Center
February 27, 1982MontgomeryGarrett Coliseum
February 28, 1982New OrleansSaenger Theatre
March 3, 1982BostonOrpheum Theatre
March 5, 1982RockfordRockford MetroCentre
March 6, 1982DavenportPalmer Auditorium
March 7, 1982BloomingtonMet Center
March 11, 1982HamptonHampton Coliseum
March 12, 1982RaleighDorton Arena
March 13, 1982Upper Darby TownshipTower Theater
March 14, 1982CincinnatiRiverfront Coliseum

The band

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Possessed: The Rise And Fall Of Prince. Alex Hahn. Billboard Books. 2003 .
  2. News: Prince: Life & Times. Jason Draper. Jawbone Press. 2008.
  3. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gh1KAAAAIBAJ&sjid=DSINAAAAIBAJ&pg=3959,2200686&dq=rolling-stones+concert&hl=en "Rolling Stones Open 2-Day Stand In LA"
  4. Web site: 21 November 1981-1 - Prince Vault. www.princevault.com. 2019-01-23.
  5. Web site: Billboard Magazine- 12-19-1981.
  6. Web site: 20 December 1981 - Prince Vault. www.princevault.com. 2022-07-18.
  7. Web site: 28 December 1981 - Prince Vault. www.princevault.com. 2019-02-27.
  8. Web site: 30 December 1981 - Prince Vault. www.princevault.com. 2019-02-27.
  9. Web site: 31 December 1981 - Prince Vault. www.princevault.com. 2019-02-27.
  10. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCb00ZcGBPo YouTube - Morris Day & The Time @ Capitol Theatre 01/30/82
  11. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAYQUbh8HHA YouTube - Prince @ Capitol Theatre 01/30/82