i think i heard the one where people made fun of the fan mail too. Celebs can't possibly answer every letter, some try harder than others. I think Muhammad Ali scheduled a couple hours in the morning to write back fans, and he was semi-illiterate, that tells how much his fans meant to him.

I think it's much more interesting, the stories like ufoclub, that Prince was lurking on here and reading our thoughts. I hope the more negative people didn't hurt him too much. I've said that I thought he, or someone from chanhassen visited my website, that's what the ip records said. In any case, I would say that any time he spent doing those things would be very limited.

In the early 90s, I went to one of his shows (I think Glam Slam Miami bday show in '94) and got him a Wizard of Oz pop up birthday card and put a check inside for $20. I wrote along the outside of the check, this long rambling message about how he should buy something he likes or some such nonsense. It was a club show and I saw one of his people and gave the card to them to give to P. I never thought he would see it, but maybe.

.

But a month or two later, I got the check back in the mail and a simple printed paper that said "Thanks 4 the card.".

.

I thought it was nice and I bet he read my card/check or I would like to think that he did.

.

.

[Edited 6/2/16 12:27pm]

FunkiestOne said:

In the early 90s, I sent him a birthday card and put a check in there for $20. I wrote along the outside of the check, this long rambling message about how he should buy something he likes or some such nonsense. But a month or two later, I got the check in the mail and a simple printed paper that said "Thanks 4 the card.".

I thought it was nice and I bet he read my card/check.

haha, he must of thought we were all nuts.

PeteSilas said:

FunkiestOne said:

In the early 90s, I sent him a birthday card and put a check in there for $20. I wrote along the outside of the check, this long rambling message about how he should buy something he likes or some such nonsense. But a month or two later, I got the check in the mail and a simple printed paper that said "Thanks 4 the card.".

I thought it was nice and I bet he read my card/check.

haha, he must of thought we were all nuts.

.

Yes for sure. It was a goofy thing to do and I doubt I would do it now, but it I was young and more playful back then. I remembered more of the details and I will always assume that he read my card and smiled, if only for a moment..

.

I sent him bday cards some other years too, but then he said that he didn't want to celebrate his bday so I stopped that. But I always figured no way he would see those, but at least I made his pile of cards a little higher.

.

.

[Edited 6/2/16 12:36pm]

FunkiestOne said:

PeteSilas said:

haha, he must of thought we were all nuts.

.

Yes for sure. It was a goofy thing to do and I doubt I would do it now, but it I was young and more foolish and playful back then. I remembered more of the details and I will always assume that he read my card and smiled, if only for a moment..

.

I sent him bday cards some other years too, but then he said that he didn't want to celebrate his bday so I stopped that. But I always figured no way he would see those, but at least I made his pile of cards a little higher.

.

.

[Edited 6/2/16 12:30pm]

well at least he read it, doubt he even saw mine. I'm positive he saw my posts here though, this community isn't that big to where he wouldn't have so he knows he had at least one good strong supporter.

Most times its the PR people that write letters for the artists.

Mindbells9 said:

NikkiH said:

I feel like I've told this story a million times at this point,but what's one more time?

I wrote him a letter when I was 9,my mom was a fan but by this point,as a young musician myself,I had developed my own relationship with his music so my mom would buy me Prince things as they came out so that I could keep up. So after my D&P obsession, I noticed the address on the casette case and wrote him a fan letter. All I remember is that I told him who I was, when my birthday was, that I loved his music...etc. and I included my 3rd grade picture to prove I was an actual kid.

So months go by and I hear nothing, but I didn't think I would.This was the spring of 92. We came into a new year and 2-3 days before my 10th birthday(April 30,1993) I come home from school to a white package with my name on it in my bedroom. My mother said that she had to sign for it, and that she was waiting until I got home to open it. Return address was Paisley. Inside was a huge venue poster from the Earl's Court shows the June of 92!

I've seen the flyer for those shows but my poster is still different than what I've seen. I still have that poster of course, it used to be in my dorm room during undergrad and everytime someone would come over I would get: "You really love Prince huh?" My roomate ended up buying me TRC for Christmas.

I have a couple of other stories but this one is about letters so...maybe another time.

In 1993 I was in the 5th grade. I sent him a fan letter and a few weeks later I got that same poster in the mail and a postcard from Controversy magazine for me to sign up for a subscription. My dad took the poster and got the photo airbrushed on the back of my jean jacket, and forgot to get the poster back! Of course when he went back to get it, someone had taken it

Awesome! I'm sorry you lost yours . All the kids got posters at least the department was consistent back then.

ufoclub said:

I once emailed the customer service email in the NPGMC days, and complained about the bootleg quality of the VHS "Beautiful Experience" they sold to us club members. I got a reply apology saying that poor quality was all they had on hand.

I had emailed under my real name through my work email. They also at the end of the message asked if I was "Ufoclub"... ??????

Then they asked if I had turned in a certain entry to the song contest, and they named the one I had made. I wrote back and said "yeah, that was me, sorry, it was kind of weird, huh?"

They wrote back one simple response... " It was... interesting."

I figured it was some staff at customer service at Paisley Park, right?

Well at the Celebration in 2002, I asked Femi Jeya who the judges were that listened to the songs, and whether he had listened to them to help judge the contest. He laughed and said there nobody else but Prince that listened to them and judged.

I love this. I have a similar story but with a different contest/situation.

[Edited 6/2/16 20:54pm]

We had a fairly long email correspondence in 2013 about the release of Live Out Loud.. that's my only 15 minutes of being noticed by senpei

NikkiH said:

haha I once sent my resume to PP. No response, but I thought it was worth a shot, trying to remember the year, had to be a good 10+ years ago.....

I emailed LotusFlow3r support once, and asked them to make sure the appropriate person got it. In the email, I asked Prince where he was (like 2 times), not the superstar him, but the man that pointed so lovingly to God, that he was needed. This was around a time when Prince wasn't very public and seemed to be missing. About a month or so later he released Cause and Effect, which starts with "I am here, where are you?" and about halfway through he says that again, and laughs.

.

Another time I asked him on twitter to release Free Urself. He retweeted me and after a couple of hours deleted the tweet, but also tweeted asking whether people were interested in the Free Urself t-shirts. Later that day he tweeted, "Ask and ye shall receive (links to the shirts for sale)" and then "BTW (link to Free Urself download) : )".

.

And another time, I had messaged PP7 at NPGOnline about a new therapy technique "EMDR" and sent them a link to the information related to EMDR. And I said, "I wonder if this would work with music?" Later when he released "Guitar" it originally moved from the right to the left channels, back and forth, through the songs - which is what EMDR was based on, moving your eyes left and right, back and forth, which helps to move trauma from one side of the brain to the other, thereby helping the brain to process the trauma and lessen its impact on the individual.

.

But no physical mail. I did write to him once, when I first discovered him, but never received a response that way.

[Edited 6/2/16 14:14pm]

Mindbells9 said:

NikkiH said:

I feel like I've told this story a million times at this point,but what's one more time?

I wrote him a letter when I was 9,my mom was a fan but by this point,as a young musician myself,I had developed my own relationship with his music so my mom would buy me Prince things as they came out so that I could keep up. So after my D&P obsession, I noticed the address on the casette case and wrote him a fan letter. All I remember is that I told him who I was, when my birthday was, that I loved his music...etc. and I included my 3rd grade picture to prove I was an actual kid.

So months go by and I hear nothing, but I didn't think I would.This was the spring of 92. We came into a new year and 2-3 days before my 10th birthday(April 30,1993) I come home from school to a white package with my name on it in my bedroom. My mother said that she had to sign for it, and that she was waiting until I got home to open it. Return address was Paisley. Inside was a huge venue poster from the Earl's Court shows the June of 92!

I've seen the flyer for those shows but my poster is still different than what I've seen. I still have that poster of course, it used to be in my dorm room during undergrad and everytime someone would come over I would get: "You really love Prince huh?" My roomate ended up buying me TRC for Christmas.

I have a couple of other stories but this one is about letters so...maybe another time.

In 1993 I was in the 5th grade. I sent him a fan letter and a few weeks later I got that same poster in the mail and a postcard from Controversy magazine for me to sign up for a subscription. My dad took the poster and got the photo airbrushed on the back of my jean jacket, and forgot to get the poster back! Of course when he went back to get it, someone had taken it

Oh how excellent it was to be a 12 year old in the early 90s!

After my Dad took my sis and I to see Prince on the D&P tour I too wrote the man a letter. It was written in purple texta, on pink paper, and I think I put on some lipstick and gave it a kiss

Not sure what the hell I wrote and I don't know if I kept any drafts (who knows maybe I'll come across them someday, I'm a bit of a hoarder, ha!).

I can't remember how long after it was, esp since I wasn't expecting anything, but I got one of the Earls Court posters too! Awesome! I got it laminated, and it graced my wall for many years. I still have it, somewhere.

[Edited 6/2/16 17:23pm]

jillybean said:

I never wrote to him because the two famous people I did write to (River Phoenix and Kurt Cobain) both died right after I wrote them, and I didn't want to risk it. Turns out the pen is way mightier than the sword, guys.

That made me gasp

breakdown2k14 said:

I wrote him about 4 years ago .I never received a reply but I hope he read it.I did get blocked by him on twitter a few years later so I know he saw me and I had his attention even if it was negative

What happened?

kristar said:

Mindbells9 said:

NikkiH said: In 1993 I was in the 5th grade. I sent him a fan letter and a few weeks later I got that same poster in the mail and a postcard from Controversy magazine for me to sign up for a subscription. My dad took the poster and got the photo airbrushed on the back of my jean jacket, and forgot to get the poster back! Of course when he went back to get it, someone had taken it

Oh how excellent it was to be a 12 year old in the early 90s!

After my Dad took my sis and I to see Prince on the D&P tour I too wrote the man a letter. It was written in purple texta, on pink paper, and I think I put on some lipstick and gave it a kiss

Not sure what the hell I wrote and I don't know if I kept any drafts (who knows maybe I'll come across them someday, I'm a bit of a hoarder, ha!).

I can't remember how long after it was, esp since I wasn't expecting anything, but I got one of the Earls Court posters too! Awesome! I got it laminated, and it graced my wall for many years. I still have it, somewhere.

[Edited 6/2/16 17:23pm]

This is so funny, did they just keep a whole stack of Earl's Court venue posters for the kids or what? And why those shows? I wonder whose idea that was...hilarious. My poster is back at my grandmother's house along with all of my other memorabilia.

benni said:

I emailed LotusFlow3r support once, and asked them to make sure the appropriate person got it. In the email, I asked Prince where he was (like 2 times), not the superstar him, but the man that pointed so lovingly to God, that he was needed. This was around a time when Prince wasn't very public and seemed to be missing. About a month or so later he released Cause and Effect, which starts with "I am here, where are you?" and about halfway through he says that again, and laughs.

.

Another time I asked him on twitter to release Free Urself. He retweeted me and after a couple of hours deleted the tweet, but also tweeted asking whether people were interested in the Free Urself t-shirts. Later that day he tweeted, "Ask and ye shall receive (links to the shirts for sale)" and then "BTW (link to Free Urself download) : )".

.

And another time, I had messaged PP7 at NPGOnline about a new therapy technique "EMDR" and sent them a link to the information related to EMDR. And I said, "I wonder if this would work with music?" Later when he released "Guitar" it originally moved from the right to the left channels, back and forth, through the songs - which is what EMDR was based on, moving your eyes left and right, back and forth, which helps to move trauma from one side of the brain to the other, thereby helping the brain to process the trauma and lessen its impact on the individual.

.

But no physical mail. I did write to him once, when I first discovered him, but never received a response that way.

[Edited 6/2/16 14:14pm]

nice!

Back when the O+> album came out, I was watching MTV's "Fade To Black" religiously. They had announced they would be premiering a new video from the album the next week. I was drawing a lot at the time and made some graffiti-esque rendition of the show's logo and sent it to them along with a fan letter, which I also asked them if they could get Prince's autograph for me. I didn't get an autograph - if I recall, he didn't even appear in person on the show, they just debuted his video. But at the very end of that episode, Todd 1 gave me a shout out and held up my drawing on the show - I was in total shock, that was completely unexpected. They also sent me a t-shirt from the show too.

ufoclub said:

I once emailed the customer service email in the NPGMC days, and complained about the bootleg quality of the VHS "Beautiful Experience" they sold to us club members. I got a reply apology saying that poor quality was all they had on hand.

I had emailed under my real name through my work email. They also at the end of the message asked if I was "Ufoclub"... ??????

Then they asked if I had turned in a certain entry to the song contest, and they named the one I had made. I wrote back and said "yeah, that was me, sorry, it was kind of weird, huh?"

They wrote back one simple response... " It was... interesting."

I figured it was some staff at customer service at Paisley Park, right?

Well at the Celebration in 2002, I asked Femi Jeya who the judges were that listened to the songs, and whether he had listened to them to help judge the contest. He laughed and said there nobody else but Prince that listened to them and judged.

I just watched Shameless Maya's YT video "Working with Prince," and she said that he knew his fans by name. She'd been tasked with watching a livestream chat of his concert (or something like that), and she said he asked "What did... (insert actual name) say/think about this or that?" My guess is he was very well aware of each of you longtime org members.

I honestly believe you guys meant a lot to Prince in terms of loyalty and honesty (even if criticisms could be harsh at times). Anybody that's taken the time to discuss, comment, critique, and share all things Prince over the years on the org proved they truly cared.

He probably appreciated what all of us newcomers are charmed by... the friendships and sense of "purple family" that's been established through a shared passion for his music.

DoveofWisdom said:

ufoclub said:

I once emailed the customer service email in the NPGMC days, and complained about the bootleg quality of the VHS "Beautiful Experience" they sold to us club members. I got a reply apology saying that poor quality was all they had on hand.

I had emailed under my real name through my work email. They also at the end of the message asked if I was "Ufoclub"... ??????

Then they asked if I had turned in a certain entry to the song contest, and they named the one I had made. I wrote back and said "yeah, that was me, sorry, it was kind of weird, huh?"

They wrote back one simple response... " It was... interesting."

I figured it was some staff at customer service at Paisley Park, right?

Well at the Celebration in 2002, I asked Femi Jeya who the judges were that listened to the songs, and whether he had listened to them to help judge the contest. He laughed and said there nobody else but Prince that listened to them and judged.

I just watched Shameless Maya's YT video "Working with Prince," and she said that he knew his fans by name. She'd been tasked with watching a livestream chat of his concert (or something like that), and she said he asked "What did... (insert actual name) say/think about this or that?" My guess is he was very well aware of each of you longtime org members.

I honestly believe you guys meant a lot to Prince in terms of loyalty and honesty (even if criticisms could be harsh at times). Anybody that's taken the time to discuss, comment, critique, and share all things Prince over the years on the org proved they truly cared.

He probably appreciated what all of us newcomers are charmed by... the friendships and sense of "purple family" that's been established through a shared passion for his music.

wow! that's huge. we already found out he browsed the forum, had accounts (that were sometimes used by staff members) but to remember actual org names must mean he didn't just come here once in a while. good to know for the long time member who were very active on here (which doesn't include me lol)

FYI.....I wrote a long letter to Uptown Magazine that was published...I met Mr. Hayes at a aftershow in Tampa Bay and asked him if Uptown was paid attention to?

His Answer:

" Yes it is looked at"

I feel he saw my note especially since that particular Uptown had Prince & Mayte on the cover.

I got a response when I wrote a complaint to the Greater Minneapolis Better Business Bureau about the Crystal Ball pre-orders and how long it was taking.

slakk said:

I got a response when I wrote a complaint to the Greater Minneapolis Better Business Bureau about the Crystal Ball pre-orders and how long it was taking.

from Prince?

PeteSilas said:

slakk said:

I got a response when I wrote a complaint to the Greater Minneapolis Better Business Bureau about the Crystal Ball pre-orders and how long it was taking.

from Prince?

Not really. I didn't save the letter. It said something like "Prince would like to apologize...blah blah...he loves his fans and this experiement in marketing took longer than anticipated...blah blah, please accept these extra gifts on behalf of Prince along with your Crystal Ball." They sent me two NPG jerseys, some programs, the emancipation booklet, and some other swag. I was satisfied.

slakk said:

PeteSilas said:

from Prince?

Not really. I didn't save the letter. It said something like "Prince would like to apologize...blah blah...he loves his fans and this experiement in marketing took longer than anticipated...blah blah, please accept these extra gifts on behalf of Prince along with your Crystal Ball." They sent me two NPG jerseys, some programs, the emancipation booklet, and some other swag. I was satisfied.

damn, you sound like you're still pissed.

Yep.

Yes I agree! I never got to be a member of his fanclub, see a live show, or get anywhere near Paisley Park or MN for that matter. Reading these stories is just so awesome!

purplethunder3121 said:

Keep 'em comin'.

SometimesIwonder said:

BartVanHemelen said:

T worked at the Minneapolis NPG Store for a while, and told how they regularly got to rifle through the fan mail and read it and make fun of it.

This is really bad actually if they were allowed to do that. After I met him in 1995 he wanted me to send pics to PP but wrote down 'C/O Therese Stoulil please give to O+>' to ensure he got it safely. So suppose I kinda have his signature in a way? Anyway, it's not nice to think of others reading very heart felt & personal letters not addressed to them.

Just curious, when ppl refer to 'T' as in the various leaked bootlegs, is that the same 'T' aka Therese Stoulil that's being mentioned here? I always wondered who was rumored to be behind those. But if it's not the same 'T', who is the bootleg 'T'??

injuredpinky said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

injuredpinky said:

Just curious, when ppl refer to 'T' as in the various leaked bootlegs, is that the same 'T' aka Therese Stoulil that's being mentioned here? I always wondered who was rumored to be behind those. But if it's not the same 'T', who is the bootleg 'T'??

I'm pretty sure it's this guy

I don't think so. I skimmed through then went to his YouTube page. This guy's name appears to be Marc Doty.

T's name was Tim, I think. Can't remember his last name. I met him at the 2002 Celebration. Isn't it strange that I can't completely be sure that the guy in this video isn't him? LOL.

[Edited 6/10/16 18:21pm]