| 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.
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]
November 20, 1981 at the Stanley Theatre, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
January 30, 1982 at the Capitol Theatre, Passaic, New Jersey
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".
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 20, 1981 | Pittsburgh | United States | Stanley Theater | ||
| November 21, 1981 | Washington, D.C. | Warner Theatre | 2,000 / 3,400 (59%)[4] | ||
| November 25, 1981 | Greenville | Greenville Memorial Auditorium | |||
| November 26, 1981 | Baltimore | Baltimore Civic Center | |||
| November 27, 1981 | Charlotte | Charlotte Coliseum | |||
| November 29, 1981 | Nashville | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | |||
| December 2, 1981 | New York City | The Palladium | |||
| December 4, 1981 | Detroit | Joe Louis Arena | |||
| December 5, 1981 | Chicago | Arie Crown Theater | 8,638 / 8,638 (100%)[5] | $95,087 | |
| December 6, 1981 | St. Louis | Kiel Auditorium | |||
| December 9, 1981 | Houston | The Summit | |||
| December 10, 1981 | Atlanta | The Omni | |||
| December 11, 1981 | Winston-Salem | Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum | |||
| December 12, 1981 | Columbia | Carolina Coliseum | |||
| December 13, 1981 | Fayetteville | Cumberland County Memorial Arena | |||
| December ??, 1981 | Savannah | Savannah Civic Center | |||
| December 17, 1981 | Columbus | Columbus Municipal Auditorium | |||
| December 18, 1981 | Baton Rouge | Riverside Centroplex | |||
| December 19, 1981 | Dallas | Dallas Convention Center | |||
| December 20, 1981 | Houston | The Summit | 14,000 / 14,000 (100%)[6] | ||
| December 26, 1981 | Milwaukee | MECCA Arena | |||
| December 27, 1981 | Dayton | Hara Arena | |||
| December 28, 1981 | Toledo | Toledo Sports Arena | 4,325 / 6,500 (67%)[7] | ||
| December 29, 1981 | Columbus | Veterans Memorial Auditorium | |||
| December 30, 1981 | Louisville | Louisville Gardens | 6,850 / 6,850 (100%)[8] | ||
| December 31, 1981 | Macon | Macon Coliseum | 8,400 / 9,252 (91%)[9] |
| Date | City | Country | Venue | Attendance | Revenue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 2, 1982 | Lakeland | United States | Lakeland Civic Center | ||
| January 3, 1982 | Jacksonville | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum | |||
| January 28, 1982 | Richmond | Richmond Coliseum | |||
| January 29, 1982 | Landover | Capital Centre | |||
| January 30, 1982 | Passaic | Capitol Theatre[10] [11] | |||
| February 1, 1982 | Ann Arbor | Hill Auditorium | |||
| February 4, 1982 | Saginaw | Saginaw Civic Center | |||
| February 5, 1982 | Cleveland | Cleveland Public Auditorium | |||
| February 6, 1982 | Normal | ISU-Braden Auditorium | |||
| February 7, 1982 | Omaha | Omaha Civic Auditorium | |||
| February 9, 1982 | Denver | Denver Auditorium | |||
| February 11, 1982 | San Diego | San Diego Golden Hall | |||
| February 12, 1982 | Santa Monica | Santa Monica Civic Auditorium | |||
| February 13, 1982 | San Bernardino | Orange Pavilion | |||
| February 14, 1982 | San Francisco | Bill Graham Civic Auditorium | |||
| February 15, 1982 | |||||
| February 18, 1982 | Kansas City | Uptown Theater | |||
| February 19, 1982 | Martin | UT-Martin Fieldhouse | |||
| February 20, 1982 | Birmingham | Birmingham–Jefferson Civic Center | |||
| February 21, 1982 | Indianapolis | Indiana Convention Center | |||
| February 24, 1982 | Memphis | Mid-South Coliseum | |||
| February 25, 1982 | Monroe | Monroe Civic Center | |||
| February 26, 1982 | Augusta | Augusta Civic Center | |||
| February 27, 1982 | Montgomery | Garrett Coliseum | |||
| February 28, 1982 | New Orleans | Saenger Theatre | |||
| March 3, 1982 | Boston | Orpheum Theatre | |||
| March 5, 1982 | Rockford | Rockford MetroCentre | |||
| March 6, 1982 | Davenport | Palmer Auditorium | |||
| March 7, 1982 | Bloomington | Met Center | |||
| March 11, 1982 | Hampton | Hampton Coliseum | |||
| March 12, 1982 | Raleigh | Dorton Arena | |||
| March 13, 1982 | Upper Darby Township | Tower Theater | |||
| March 14, 1982 | Cincinnati | Riverfront Coliseum |