beatriceau said:

It's really sad that is the last impression he got of Australians! I'm from England but very proudly got Australian citizenship recently! I can't think of a safer more wholesome country to bring up kids, and the people are wonderful, what a shame it only takes one idiot to give a bad impression and spoil something for everyone! I just hope he had a good enough time the rest of his stay to leave a good memory! With the old system what if you went to a concert and there was no after show, but there was an after show after the next nights concert? Could you still get in? Maybe he could just announce the concerts on here as not everyone can afford $500 per concert ticket, even huge fans, some of us have lots of kids to feed! It would b a Shame if stupid people make it unaffordable for some genuine fans!

unless your aboriginal...........

flyorra said:

i am pretty sure he wasn't gonna start playing at 4am in the morning

I've seen him start that late, and later. Since he was there and making himself visible probably would have done something if the incident hadn't taken place. At least get on the mic and tell people to go home.

jonylawson said:

XxAxX said:

oh hell no. that's assault. who knows what crazy motherfucker gonna do once she/he makes contact? point is, anyone crazed enough to approach him like that is exactly the type of person who should never be allowed to. that's just plain worthy of some straight up medication

assault??

ASSAULT

im going to take a wild wild wild stab in the dark and guess your.....american?

So mr nelson you claim you were assaulted..could you explain to the jury the details of this horrendous assault?

i had my hair ruffled

WHATTT?? 20 years hard labour

This is why forums are so funny sometimes (and I mean sometimes).

To us, it's ruffled hair - To them, its assault.

To us, it's autograph hunting and meeting your lifetime hero - To them, it's stalking and harrassing

To us, its taking a memorable picture of an abandoned Paisley Park - To them, it's trespassing

People need to realise that it is only a selected few (thousand) that know what to do and what NOT to do when Prince is around.

And the ones that dont know, WILL ruffle his hair, and will jump on stage and dry-hump him on the floor. For in their eyes, the see a superstar and immediately react.

And good luck to them I say.

I rubbed shoulders (litteraly) with Prince in '92 as he hung out in the VIP section of the Metro.

I thought of a thousand ways to approach him and say hi, and thank him for finally touring Australia. And you know what, (as a BIG fan of his) I did what I thought was best for him and left him alone, while he sat there like an idiot sucking on his lollypop.

Anyone else probably would've had a go at saying or doing something before his minders stepped in. And THEY wouldve had something that I never had. Why.........!? Because Prince is a karnt and he's brainwashed us all in making us believe that he is The One and The Only One!

When in fact, to the rest of the world, he isnt.

"wink"

jonylawson said:

beatriceau said:

It's really sad that is the last impression he got of Australians! I'm from England but very proudly got Australian citizenship recently! I can't think of a safer more wholesome country to bring up kids, and the people are wonderful, what a shame it only takes one idiot to give a bad impression and spoil something for everyone! I just hope he had a good enough time the rest of his stay to leave a good memory! With the old system what if you went to a concert and there was no after show, but there was an after show after the next nights concert? Could you still get in? Maybe he could just announce the concerts on here as not everyone can afford $500 per concert ticket, even huge fans, some of us have lots of kids to feed! It would b a Shame if stupid people make it unaffordable for some genuine fans!

unless your aboriginal...........

???? what does that mean? 224 years ago wasnt very safe for Aboriginies but nowadays things are different. What an odd comment

tabu2470 said:

Hi guys just back in sydney from last nights event. Firstly gud to see the fellow orgs especially insania who hung out with me during the night and helped me find HiFi, thanks heaps. Also nelson,lost u during the night,anyway its gud to hear & know someone who too likes old skool . Its a shame i missed most of u, lets meet in 2022:-D

Now about the incident @ HiFi, I was in the area when the following happened..

In between Prince finishing the DJ area and as he started walking back upstairs, Something happened. It looked like prince "tripped" and he quickly turned around and literally jumped and pushed his bodyguard , it was an aggressive push to the chest, yes to his 10ft 500kg bodyguard .The bodyguard didnt know what hit him, his facial reaction was WTF. But u should see Princes' facial expression he was so furious, and he quickly headed back upstairs.

I and the ppl around that witnessed this was just shocked and we didnt know what happened. From this point on we ALL knew he wouldnt play, even for one song..

After prince went upstairs, the secuirty guards came back down and started to retrace his path.

They were looking for something and also removing any items on the floor. We thought that Prince may have stepped on something to cause him to trip and that they were now clearing the path for his return... well that didnt happen

Half and hour later he leaves the building..After he leaves the building a crew mentions that "someone stole princes' cape". I dont know if thats true or not. He was wearing the cape on the way to the DJ area. He must of taken it off in the DJ area. Since I didnt see him wearing the cape when he was going back upstairs.

Even though i flew down to see his last performance, I am not disappointed at all that Prince didnt play an aftershow. I did manage to say Thank you to him as he passed me on his way to the DJ area . I am more disappointed with the crowd..it was just wrong..and like someone said i wouldn't play to that kind of crowd too. Its sad that his final night in OZ had to end like this.

[Edited 5/31/12 5:08am]

just realised i had quoted the wrong post, i meant this post of course. silly me

DarlingNikki6 said:

jonylawson said:

unless your aboriginal...........

???? what does that mean? 224 years ago wasnt very safe for Aboriginies but nowadays things are different. What an odd comment

i lived in darwin for a year and it broke my heart

austrlia i love but its one of the most racist countries EVER

Funkmeimfamous said:

babynoz said:

What is a bogan?

Kinda our version of trailer trash. Basically someone with no class that cannot enjoy a night out without lots of alcohol.

Thanks.

jonylawson said:

2elijah said:

GoldenParachute said:

I don't blame him. One incident would most likely lead to another and this behaviour is really upsetting to see when he could have possibly played had this not occured. His bodyguards should have done a better job at protecting him. Especially since the reports were that it was very crowded and unfamiliar.

I hear you, and it could have prompted other overzealous fans to do the same, and with their excitement, could have caused a real problem.

That reminds me of the fan who just walked up on stage, uninvited, while Prince was singing at the 3121 club in Vegas on opening weekend, and wrapped her arms around him tightly. It got a little scary for a minute, because he was trying to be nice to her, when he tried to remove her grasp, but the nutcase wouldn't let go, and just held on. People in the audience was kind of in awe, because it took so long for his security guard to come up on stage, and peel her off of him. The security guy finally lifted her crazy ass off of him, and carried her off the stage. Not sure if they kicked her out of the club after that.

[Edited 5/31/12 17:11pm]

Remember that drunken heffa at the Empire that grabbed him and kissed him while he was trying to play his guitar? I wanted to put my foot up her ass.

People need to keep their hands to themselves.

A lot of folks at live shows just have no manners anymore. Particularly shows where alcohol is served. Especially if its served for a long period of time. Folks gettin' all pushy and grabby, talking through the whole show, texting, holding up a phone to film right in front of your face.

Honestly, I've always thought most of the people at Prince shows are pretty well behaved. ....other than the dang people who scream hella loud through the entire show no matter where they are in the venue.

I was actually surprised at Coachella. I thought for sure there would be a lot more stuff thrown at the stage.

jonylawson said:

DarlingNikki6 said:

???? what does that mean? 224 years ago wasnt very safe for Aboriginies but nowadays things are different. What an odd comment

i lived in darwin for a year and it broke my heart

austrlia i love but its one of the most racist countries EVER

i realise this is not the time nor place but i feel really compelled to say something. Indigenous people in Australia are among the most disadvantaged in the world (particularly those living remotely, which is the majority of them). They have among the highest infant morality rates, lowest life expectancy rates (20 year gap between white and indigenous australians!), highest imprisonment rates, lowest literacy rates in the WORLD etc etc from what i have seen and read, the status of indigeous people in australia is nothing short of a humanitarium crisis. please people, educate yourselves. i'm sorry if that sounded too self-righteous but it is something that i am very passionate about. i cannot believe how many people turn a blind eye. it's a real tragedy.

Just reading the review is enough to sadden a person. For non-fans to blast the after jam and be so disrepectful to Prince is very sad. Not only disrepectful, but never should had been there for all that matters. instead they got drunk and rude.SMH. If you are not a fan IMO why even bother showing up to the after jam and taking up space for someone who really was a fan is sick.

Vict0r said:

Source: http://www.heraldsun.com....59d9b45a6c

PRINCE fans queued for hours to watch the musician not perform last night.

Prince’s end of tour party at the HiFi Bar was just that - a party.

Now reports are flying that abusive fans may have ruined any chance of Prince performing with his band.

The reclusive superstar DJ’d for around 10 minutes before retreating to an upstairs VIP section.

Fans had queued up since 8pm last night when word of an after-party spread on Twitter.

An email from the HiFi Bar sent at 9pm listed “performances by funk jazz band, DJs and who knows, maybe even Prince” for a $25 entry fee.

Prince arrived at the Swanston Walk venue around 3am, and was quickly rushed inside.

His band, the New Power Generation, had arrived around an hour earlier.

His tour DJ, Rashida, announced the party on Twitter but told fans who asked if it was a performance or a party “just a party, NPG style”.

A local funk band entertained fans until Prince finally arrived, when Rashida hit the decks.

Melbourne Prince fan Stephen Fredericks was one of hundreds who came straight from last night’s Rod Laver Arena show to the HiFi.

"There were instruments set up on stage so everyone was hoping he’d play,” Fredericks said.

"It was disappointing but at least we were in the club with Prince. That’s pretty cool.”

At 4am Prince started to walk downstairs from the VIP section towards the stage with members of his band, causing a rush of fans.

Reports today suggest either a fan got past security and ruffled the superstar’s hair, another says someone shouted, “The stage is that way you little c---" prompting Prince to abruptly turn around and retreat back upstairs.

Soon after, security told fans Prince had left the building.

“Wow, total hostility, no basic respect,” one fan wrote who said they witnessed the abuse from a fan. “In that instant the Australian tour was over.”

The party signalled the end of Prince’s incredibly successful Welcome 2 Australia tour, his first visit here since 2003.

That year Prince also DJ’d at the Prince of Wales.

Prince thrilled around 100 fans with a surprise after-show gig at Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club on Monday.

Last night’s Rod Laver Arena set was hailed by some fans as the best night of the tour.

Prince was on stage for around three hours, starting with some fan favourites before pounding through a string of hits.

He included his rarely-performed version of Crimson and Clover, as well as the relatively obscure 1982 album track Something In the Water (Does Not Compute).

What's more disgusting is that most of these 'fans' weren't even real fans. It's a shame that a few bad people had to ruin it for everyone. It's really sad knowing that there were a lot of hardcore fans who couldn't even get into the venue and then you have all these randoms in there who don't know anything about Prince.

I wasn't there but I still feel annoyed as there was a chance that Prince might have played were it not for some of these unfortunate circumstances. I'm repeating myself here, but it's so infuriating knowing that there were all these true fans lining up in the queue for hours and then there are people inside who haven't been following Prince regularly and don't know shit.

jonylawson said:

unless your aboriginal...........

Unless my aboriginal what?

sabaisabai said:

Everyone seems to have different opinions on this matter. Well, for starters, nothing good in Melbourne happens after 2am in clubs, only the bad and the ugly. I agree with a few Orger's comments that concert ticket holders should have priority over non-tickets holders, one queue for 1 and 1 for another, or better still, no concert ticket no entry. Poor organisation by everybody involved. I felt kinda penalised that i wouldn't have gotten in because i went to the concert. Maybe people should pester the concert promoters over this matter so it doesn't happen again. Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. Fans know Prince isn't the most talkative fellow in the world and if he prefers to live that way, cool. I certainly don't like people touching my hair even for a giggle. Unfortunately for Prince, he got exposed first hand what Melbourne can be like when booze, large crowds and anti social behavior collide together. It could've been a lot worse.

One last thing, i would've like to have seen this clown who called Prince a c**t (horrible word) to try the same stunt on Rob Truligo of Metallica (one hell of a bass man). He wouldn't have to call security.

Hopefully Prince doesn't get put off by these drunken muppets about touring Australia or even still, aftershows.

sabaisabai said:

jonylawson said:

unless your aboriginal...........

Unless my aboriginal what?

Very good....I didn't even notice that when I first read it.

I'll start by seconding funkmeimfamous post regarding indigineous Australians and jonylawson's previous posts regarding Australians been an inherently racist nation.

I can't help but think that the people that manhandled Prince and swore at him were drunken louts, like we know they exist in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne late at night. They were probably not true fans but locals at their pub who thought they'd hang around and see what the fuss was about.

I'm also going to assume that they had a racist streak as I cannot see the same treatment been accorded to someone like Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2 or Matt Bellamy of Muse or Freddie Mercury of Queen if he were still with us. But they see a flamboyant, short African American who they probably see as having a couple of hits in the early to mid eighties and decide to have a go at him.

But I disagree with jonylawson-neither of us were there, unless you were, but for someone to manhandle someone else, whether it was ruffling his hair, grabbing him or his hand and not letting go or stealing an item of his clothing, I'd call it an attack/assault and I'm Australian. Who acts like this? I can understand young teenagers seeing Justin Beiber or One Direction but this is an almost 54yo in a licensed venue with people who would most likely be in their 20's at least. There is no reason for any of them to touch him inappropriately, swear at him or bully him. It showed a total lack of respect to a great musician.

If it happened to be a true fan then those people are deranged and have a problem and Prince should be protected from them.

I do think main concert ticketholders should be the only ones allowed in and also those that went to the previous night show. In other words if you went to Friday Sydney, you could go to Saturday aftershow, even if not going to main show. Covercharge should be $100 as it was in Brisbane to make it unattractive to the casual people and announce it on prince.org or have a fan club type thing as with npgmc.

That's too bad.

There are different ways of being a celebrity and Prince has made himself a prisoner of the kind of celebrity he chose to be 30 years go. His image is about being sexually hot, glamorous, elusive, exclusive, enigmatic – EXACTLY the kinds of things that make some people WANT to be near him, touch him. It also means he attracts more than his fair share of people who want to bring him down. It would be good to think that one day Prince could do what Herbie Hancock did in Melbourne – sold out all his concerts, played a late night surprise gig at Bennett’s Lane and was never disrespected. When Prince plays a well publicized super exclusive gig at Bennett’s Lane the mob go on the hunt.

Somebody ruffled Prince's hair?!?!??!

OMG!!!!!

xperience319 said:

i've met some ugly "hardcore" prince fans along the way.

step on anyone and everyone to get their way.

doesnt surprise me, Prince probably met the same people.

what an eye opener this tour has been for me...

Yeah, me 2, like Prince owes them something because they are so hardcore, get over yourselves!

mashedpotato said:

I'll start by seconding funkmeimfamous post regarding indigineous Australians and jonylawson's previous posts regarding Australians been an inherently racist nation.

I can't help but think that the people that manhandled Prince and swore at him were drunken louts, like we know they exist in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne late at night. They were probably not true fans but locals at their pub who thought they'd hang around and see what the fuss was about.

I'm also going to assume that they had a racist streak as I cannot see the same treatment been accorded to someone like Chris Martin of Coldplay, Bono of U2 or Matt Bellamy of Muse or Freddie Mercury of Queen if he were still with us. But they see a flamboyant, short African American who they probably see as having a couple of hits in the early to mid eighties and decide to have a go at him.

But I disagree with jonylawson-neither of us were there, unless you were, but for someone to manhandle someone else, whether it was ruffling his hair, grabbing him or his hand and not letting go or stealing an item of his clothing, I'd call it an attack/assault and I'm Australian. Who acts like this? I can understand young teenagers seeing Justin Beiber or One Direction but this is an almost 54yo in a licensed venue with people who would most likely be in their 20's at least. There is no reason for any of them to touch him inappropriately, swear at him or bully him. It showed a total lack of respect to a great musician.

If it happened to be a true fan then those people are deranged and have a problem and Prince should be protected from them.

I do think main concert ticketholders should be the only ones allowed in and also those that went to the previous night show. In other words if you went to Friday Sydney, you could go to Saturday aftershow, even if not going to main show. Covercharge should be $100 as it was in Brisbane to make it unattractive to the casual people and announce it on prince.org or have a fan club type thing as with npgmc.

Saying a country is inherently racist is just silly. It doesn't even mean anything. Some Australians are racist, some aren't. Its the same everywhere. Its not the best country in this regard but its far from the worst.

Yes the people hassling Prince were no doubt drunken louts but assuming they had a racist streak is just absurd. Chris Martin, Bono, the ghost of Freddie Mercury - they'd all have copped similar treatment. I've seen it, with people far less famous than Prince. Its just some drunken buffoon showing off to his semi-evolved mates - "hey look I messed up Prince's hair!!"...and he's a hero for the night....nothing new...not a manifestation of neo-nazism. Let's all just settle down and try and tune in to Reality FM for a moment shall we?

But I agree.....aftershows for ticketholders. The pissed idiots can go see Jimmy Barnes at the pub down the road.

[Edited 6/1/12 4:38am]

Funkmeimfamous said:

jonylawson said:

i lived in darwin for a year and it broke my heart

austrlia i love but its one of the most racist countries EVER

i realise this is not the time nor place but i feel really compelled to say something. Indigenous people in Australia are among the most disadvantaged in the world (particularly those living remotely, which is the majority of them). They have among the highest infant morality rates, lowest life expectancy rates (20 year gap between white and indigenous australians!), highest imprisonment rates, lowest literacy rates in the WORLD etc etc from what i have seen and read, the status of indigeous people in australia is nothing short of a humanitarium crisis. please people, educate yourselves. i'm sorry if that sounded too self-righteous but it is something that i am very passionate about. i cannot believe how many people turn a blind eye. it's a real tragedy.

I can relate to what happened to Prince.....I was walking back to the backpackers I was staying at in Brisbane, a fat aboriginal man was walking towards me and asked for a cigarette...I said ' sorry mate, I don't smoke'..so he punched me in the face!!.....lucky he was fat and it felt like a pillow hit me so I pushed him off and told him to f-ck off, then kept walking (he was bigger than me afterall LOL)...

now, whilst I certainly do NOT buy into the whole 'racial' side of the experience I had, it certainly didn't help form a positive view of the indigenous people there.....or did he hit me cos I'm white and was 'holding him back'?....if I had a cigarette I'd have given him one...if I wasn't white do you think he'd have hit me....probably...so yeah, I don't think it was racial......I could just as easily blame the race card...but that is too easy...

there's good and bad people in all colours/cultures/creeds/heritage/rich and poor..its just too easy to blame a stereotype...I was just lucky enough to get hit by a 'local' and while I could have a 'blind eye' about it all, I try not to

anyway, that was my 'Welcome to Australia' moment a week or 2 ago now...btw Prince made up for it later on that night - I was purple reserve at the show and 2nd row at the aftershow - and yes I met a lot of good people - of all colours and cultures

babynoz said:

2elijah said:

I hear you, and it could have prompted other overzealous fans to do the same, and with their excitement, could have caused a real problem.

That reminds me of the fan who just walked up on stage, uninvited, while Prince was singing at the 3121 club in Vegas on opening weekend, and wrapped her arms around him tightly. It got a little scary for a minute, because he was trying to be nice to her, when he tried to remove her grasp, but the nutcase wouldn't let go, and just held on. People in the audience was kind of in awe, because it took so long for his security guard to come up on stage, and peel her off of him. The security guy finally lifted her crazy ass off of him, and carried her off the stage. Not sure if they kicked her out of the club after that.

[Edited 5/31/12 17:11pm]

Remember that drunken heffa at the Empire that grabbed him and kissed him while he was trying to play his guitar? I wanted to put my foot up her ass.

People need to keep their hands to themselves.

Oh yeah, I remember that. I guess there will always be some overzealous and unfortunately, some drunk fans, at some of these concerts who will try to cross the line, but I still think even some of the band members stay alert if they see a fan getring too close to Prince on stage unexpectedly. Some fans I guess get a little over-excited when they get that close to their favorite musician.

I still think aftershows announced less than 1 day or the same day of the show, should allow the fans who attended the concert earlier in the evening, priority entrance first. This way, the venue will fill up to capacity quicker and could keep out some troublemakers, maybe not all, but some. Or better yet, don't sell tix at the door, but use another source, like when the NPGMC had club members purchase tix earlier in the day online, and showed their ID and receipt at the door, and their names had to be on the list, when it was time to enter the venue. It was a private party for club members when Prince had the NPG Music Club., when they announced days before the GMA concert in Bryant Park, NYC, that tix would be sold at at certain time after that concert, for the show at Butter Restaurant in NYC that night. I believe they made it clear there would be a limited number of tix sold, which I believe that limit turned out to be 100.

When the 3121 Club first opened, I believe it was only the first two weekends (I could be wrong), where club members who purchased standing room tix, were allowed in the club first, and there was a separate line for us to get in. After the second week, I believe they stopped that, and it was changed to a first come, first served basis, because I believe the people who paid for VIP ($1000 tix- for tables) sort of complained that they should have been allowed in first, and I believe after a while that is what happened, and they were let in first to sit at their tables, but if you bought standing room tix, after the first two weeks of its opening, that's when it went to first come, first served basis standing in line, to get a decent standing room spot on the floor. Those were the good old days, when the club was around,

[Edited 6/1/12 5:53am]

but reading the report im presuming prince never set out to play so your all basing this one incident on a hair ruffle

you are aware tht he doesnt play everytime he goes to a club arent you?