I had always wondered what he would have done if a male had won the contest rather than a female. Was it one of the contest rules that you had to be female?

MrJoker said:

It's a rule 4 EVERY contest!

How funny is that! I guess in Sheridan this was strange.

Fleshofmyflesh said:

mmm that girl was butt ugly too!! prince was sooo nice about it tho "i got a hot date" what a sweet dude!

Moonwalkbjrain said:

From what I remember, he didn't want to go through with it and MTV told him he'd better or they'd sue his ass for backing out on the contract. Hence he tried to be happy with it all. Am I correct?

MrJoker said:

I tried to win, but the phone was busy every single time -- I remember how upset I was. I don't remember the contest being about "a date" with Prince, but it was more about getting a chance to have Prince come to your hometown, premiere his new movie, and invite a hundred friends to come party. That would've been cool. I would've had a TON of fun!!

"His Royal Badness" Rocks Sheridan
Associated Press July 2, 1986


Cowboys may outnumber rockers in this town of 15,000, but Sheridan was the place to be for Prince fans when "His Royal Badness" arrived to throw a party and unveil his latest movie.
Lisa Barber, 20, a hotel maid, won the evening with the rock superstar by being the 10,000th caller in an MTV national call-in contest.

The lucky dial, her fourth, gave her the chance to be host for the world premiere of "Under the Cherry Moon" and the party afterward.

The rock video cable TV channel carried the party live, and showed clips of life in Sheridan.

Ms. Barber, shaky and obviously overwhelmed by the fanfare, said only that she was excited and that Prince's appearance to pick her up at her home was "different than what I am used to." She introduced Prince to a screaming crowd of 500 at the Sheridan Holiday Inn.

The highlight of the evening was a medley of Prince numbers with his usual band, Revolution, which made a surprise appearance following Prince's performance with another band, Mazarati.

Prince, characteristically taciturn, answered only one question during the national telecast. MTV's Martha Quinn asked him how he felt and he responded, "I feel with my hands."The bash attracted a number of celebrities, including actress Rosanna Arquette, singers Joni Mitchell, Sheila E., and Ray Parker Jr., jazz musician Thomas Scott, and actor Jerome Benton, who appears in Prince's new movie.

This mining and ranching community began making hasty preparations for the reclusive rock star's arrival last week after Ms. Barber was announced the winner of the contest.

When Prince stepped off his private plane at midday Tuesday, Mayor Max DeBolt and about 700 screaming fans were there to greet him. Prince acknowledged the welcome by throwing the crowd his black silk jacket.

When asked about his first impression of Sheridan, he said, "I'm going to get a house here."Prince's first movie, "Purple Rain," won an Academy Award for best original song score. The Minneapolis rocker has also won or shared in three Grammy awards and has attracted a devoted following with his searing lyrics and driving melodies.

well I called at one point in time and the woman said I think you won I was so excited I hung up, I never saw the mtv thing because that would of been me.I was so upset with myself. I could of died I was and still am a fam of Prince, but. I would of been so nervous about meeting prince, I would of been giggling the whole time, or passed out one of the two I was 15 then. go figure,well I would like to have a copy of that film if anyone has it, What is your price, I am overseas at the moment in Uzbekistan however you spell it. well purple peeps, gotta go. Love, Peace, @always be wild.

I cringed during the whole thing. To me, it was a low point in Prince's career. I mean, he's Prince - one of the baddest musicians on the planet. WTF is he doing some lame-ass win-a-date contest? That's something N'Sync or the Backside Boys do, not Prince! Jeesh!

SnowQueen said:

Hell, I wear those NOW.

uPtoWnNY said:

Backstreet Boys are too classy for that.

MrJoker said:

I remember this part also MTV did a documentary a few back on the contest from 1986.

Where the hell is LISA BARBER now???


Where are you girly!!!?


lets find her!

lisa barber is still in wyoming!
i actually called her in 2002!
she did not wanna talk shop!
i called her an "asshole" and hung the fuck up!

sexxi said:

I remember the reporter asking Prince how he felt..... His answer was " With my hands" I really liked that!

Lisa Barber is a stripper at this local strip house near me called "Seductions"

Here's the funniest part of the article:

"Singer Joni Mitchell entered unnoticed; crooner Ray Parker, Jr., a newspaper reported, was misidentified by some as Lionel Richie. "We cheered for anyone who was dressed weird or who was black," says one Sheridian."

This is Lisa Baba...

...and I want my K-mart perrrls back.
[Edited 10/17/04 16:00pm]

It just showed a small clip of this on UK television about 15 minutes ago.

Prince was interviewed briefly by a reporter...

Reporter: What do you think of Sheridan Wyoming?
Prince: Purple
[Long silence]
Prince: It's very nice. Excuse me...

Prince runs off from the reporter.

Fleshofmyflesh said:

It was!

I remember that

meow85 said:

I had THE GREATEST strand of fake pink pearls back then!

I wish I still had them.

MrJoker said:

I do sort of recall something along those lines but it was so long ago I don't remember specifics.

But can you imagine being the winner of a contest like that and then finding out Prince didn't want to follow through on it?? (even if that wasn't the actual reason, I'd still feel like "damn, Prince thinks I'm too much of a slug to stand being my "date" for a few hours!") Humiliating!!

Just to set the record straight -- the contest wasn't billed as "win a date with Prince" -- it was marketed as a chance to have Prince premiere his new movie in your hometown and invite a hundred friends to the premiere party. If it was "win a date" -- I wouldn't have tried to win.

Snap said:

Sure, sure....stick with that...

the whole thing is on housequake if u guys want to see it.

SnowQueen said:

Number23 said:

ugly.

sexxi said:

Sexxi by name but certainly not by nature.