# Controversy Tour

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. 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.
Ultimately Prince would kick The Time off the 1999 Tour. 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.

## Opening acts

* The Time
* Zapp featuring Roger

## Set list

November 20, 1981 at the Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
* "The Second Coming"
* "Sexuality"
* "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"
* "Jack U Off"
* "When You Were Mine"
* "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
* "Head"
* "Annie Christian"
* "Dirty Mind"
* "Do Me, Baby"
* "Let's Work"
* "Controversy "
* "Uptown"
* "Partyup"
January 30, 1982 at the Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey
* "The Second Coming"
* "Uptown"
* "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?"
* "I Wanna Be Your Lover"
* "Head"
* "Dirty Mind"
* "Do Me, Baby"
* "Controversy"
* "Let's Work"
* "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. 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 :
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
| November 20, 1981 | Pittsburgh | United States | Stanley Theater | | |
| November 21, 1981 | Washington, D.C. | United States | Warner Theatre | 2,000 / 3,400 (59%) | |
| November 25, 1981 | Greenville | United States | Greenville Memorial Auditorium | | |
| November 26, 1981 | Baltimore | United States | Baltimore Civic Center | | |
| November 27, 1981 | Charlotte | United States | Charlotte Coliseum | | |
| November 29, 1981 | Nashville | United States | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | | |
| December 2, 1981 | New York City | United States | The Palladium | | |
| December 4, 1981 | Detroit | United States | Joe Louis Arena | | |
| December 5, 1981 | Chicago | United States | Arie Crown Theater | 8,638 / 8,638 (100%) | $95,087 |
| December 6, 1981 | St. Louis | United States | Kiel Auditorium | | |
| December 9, 1981 | Houston | United States | The Summit | | |
| December 10, 1981 | Atlanta | United States | The Omni | | |
| December 11, 1981 | Winston-Salem | United States | Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum | | |
| December 12, 1981 | Columbia | United States | Carolina Coliseum | | |
| December 13, 1981 | Fayetteville | United States | Cumberland County Memorial Arena | | |
| December ??, 1981 | Savannah | United States | Savannah Civic Center | | |
| December 17, 1981 | Columbus | United States | Columbus Municipal Auditorium | | |
| December 18, 1981 | Baton Rouge | United States | Riverside Centroplex | | |
| December 19, 1981 | Dallas | United States | Dallas Convention Center | | |
| December 20, 1981 | Houston | United States | The Summit | 14,000 / 14,000 (100%) | |
| December 26, 1981 | Milwaukee | United States | MECCA Arena | | |
| December 27, 1981 | Dayton | United States | Hara Arena | | |
| December 28, 1981 | Toledo | United States | Toledo Sports Arena | 4,325 / 6,500 (67%) | |
| December 29, 1981 | Columbus | United States | Veterans Memorial Auditorium | | |
| December 30, 1981 | Louisville | United States | Louisville Gardens | 6,850 / 6,850 (100%) | |
| December 31, 1981 | Macon | United States | Macon Coliseum | 8,400 / 9,252 (91%) | |
List of 1982 concerts, showing date, city, country, venue, tickets sold, number of available tickets and gross revenue :
| Date | City | Country | Venue |
| January 2, 1982 | Lakeland | United States | Lakeland Civic Center |
| January 3, 1982 | Jacksonville | United States | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum |
| January 28, 1982 | Richmond | United States | Richmond Coliseum |
| January 29, 1982 | Landover | United States | Capital Centre |
| January 30, 1982 | Passaic | United States | Capitol Theatre |
| February 1, 1982 | Ann Arbor | United States | Hill Auditorium |
| February 4, 1982 | Saginaw | United States | Saginaw Civic Center |
| February 5, 1982 | Cleveland | United States | Cleveland Public Auditorium |
| February 6, 1982 | Normal | United States | ISU-Braden Auditorium |
| February 7, 1982 | Omaha | United States | Omaha Civic Auditorium |
| February 9, 1982 | Denver | United States | Denver Auditorium |
| February 11, 1982 | San Diego | United States | San Diego Golden Hall |
| February 12, 1982 | Santa Monica | United States | Santa Monica Civic Auditorium |
| February 13, 1982 | San Bernardino | United States | Orange Pavilion |
| February 14, 1982 | San Francisco | United States | Bill Graham Civic Auditorium |
| February 15, 1982 | San Francisco | United States | Bill Graham Civic Auditorium |
| February 18, 1982 | Kansas City | United States | Uptown Theater |
| February 19, 1982 | Martin | United States | UT-Martin Fieldhouse |
| February 20, 1982 | Birmingham | United States | Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center |
| February 21, 1982 | Indianapolis | United States | Indiana Convention Center |
| February 24, 1982 | Memphis | United States | Mid-South Coliseum |
| February 25, 1982 | Monroe | United States | Monroe Civic Center |
| February 26, 1982 | Augusta | United States | Augusta Civic Center |
| February 27, 1982 | Montgomery | United States | Garrett Coliseum |
| February 28, 1982 | New Orleans | United States | Saenger Theatre |
| March 3, 1982 | Boston | United States | Orpheum Theatre |
| March 5, 1982 | Rockford | United States | Rockford MetroCentre |
| March 6, 1982 | Davenport | United States | Palmer Auditorium |
| March 7, 1982 | Bloomington | United States | Met Center |
| March 11, 1982 | Hampton | United States | Hampton Coliseum |
| March 12, 1982 | Raleigh | United States | Dorton Arena |
| March 13, 1982 | Upper Darby Township | United States | Tower Theater |
| March 14, 1982 | Cincinnati | United States | Riverfront Coliseum |

## The band

* Prince: Lead vocals, Synthesizer and guitar
* Dez Dickerson: Guitar
* Brown Mark: Bass
* Matt Fink: Keyboards
* Lisa Coleman: Keyboards
* Bobby Z.: Drums