i've never really understood what prince saw in cat or what made him decide to include her in the band/group. multiple personal reasons why she should have been excluded from the band/group are the following..

1. she doesn't sing that good,
2. she doesn't dance that good,
3. she doesn't look that good and
4. she does not play any instruments that are vital for the bands performance.

think about her input on albums and live shows, then ask yourself this question: could she have been missed, or if not missed, replaced?

my answer is a whole-hearted yes!

Well I'm sure some people feel the same way about Mayte, Diamond and Pearl, or Geneva or for that matter Greg Brooks, Wally Safford, or Jerome Benton. They are dancers, foils, props, choreographers, eye candy, entertainers whatever you want to call them. I think they serve(d) a purpose and did fit into Prince's vision of his shows at the time they figured in them.

KeithyT said:

that's my point exactly! they DID/DO serve a purpose in prince's mind (at the time) but did YOU experience it that way too? was cat's way of entertaining satisfying for you? or didn't you pay much that much attention to her? look, i haven't seen the shows with mayte and d&p, but cat certainly bugs me when watching the sott video. i'd rather watch sheila..

I mostly agree with your observation, KeithyT - however, I do believe that Jerome Benton appeared to have more natural ability as an entertainer onstage (and as an actor onscreen) than Greg Brooks or Wally Safford who, in my opinion, were just talentless thugs and a total waste of space - they ended up on 'Sign O' The Times' by default and brought absolutely nothing to the experience ( I was able to catch the live show in Dortmund and 'Sign O' The Times' was the poorer for it as a live experience). Benton, on the other hand, could be funny as hell, and for that he ought to be commended.

The feminine brigade will no doubt want to have my liver for this but Diamond And Pearl were at least attractive eye-candy (I for one massively enjoyed seeing them perform alongside Prince onstage at one of the Diamonds And Pearls shows here in London). As for Cat, she was no Josephine Baker but could actually rap a little.

The mastery of a musical instrument never seemed to be a pre-requisite to be a member of Prince's band, however, but it did help if you could bring some entertainment value to the performances.



.

Cat looked good to me, great energy and was his best ever foil IMO. Like she said regarding Mayte "You and here will never have what we had onstage".

It's all opinions.

I honestly could not stand the way Cat rapped. There was something about her voice, that grated on my nerve.

Mayte beautiful but I honestly didn't think she was that good of a dancer.

Anyway this is just my opinion!

I think Cat danced really good. That's about it.

She's an OK dancer! but I can't picture her as P's girlfriend.

OK, am I the only one who think she look so much like ROBIN in GB??

where is she nowadays anyway?? anybody know?

Cat was cooler than Mayte for cryin out loud c'mon!

I thought Cat was a very talented performer. She was a great dancer and I can't imagine watching SOTT without her. I also think she's very pretty. Just my opinion.

loosekiss said:

I agree totally! always thought she wuz fine!
when she is laying on the bed in SOTT right before "If I
Was Your Girlfriend" she was very sexy and charismatic

purpleone said:

I like Cat! She was the best dancer Prince ever had,and I miss her dearly.She and Prince had this amazing "chemistry" on-stage together.Go back and watch the 'Sign O' The Times' video to see what I mean.As for your statement that "she doesn't sing that good",well,how many of Prince's female proteges CAN sing?...lol...

You also say "she doesn't dance that good"...I beg to differ.She danced her ass off! As for her looks,she was a nice looking woman.But WHY should this matter anyway? Are you saying that outer beauty is THAT important to you? Are you that shallow?

The most absurd statement you made was "she does not play any instruments..."...lol...did Jerome really play any instruments? Did Mayte really play any instruments ? (sorry,but tambourine doesn't count...lol).In case you didn't know,Prince was REALLY fond of Cat.Even after the 'Lovesexy' tour ended in 1989,he wanted her to hang around and produce a solo album for her.

Any professional will agree that CAT was extremely good. she wasnt the super-choreographed janet jackosn rip-off. but her body was one big muscle and she was very powerful, pure sex. I think no other dance prince ever had spread that kinda energy and soul on stage. she fit right in -- at that time.

DavidEye said:

puh-lease.. you have to agree with me that you have to serve SOME purpose to be in the band, and it will certainly not be your inner beauty, because that can hardly be displayed on a stage.


i just pointed out the things she wasn't good at in my opinion. my question to you all was, after reading my criticism: what remains that she IS good at? could she have been missed? or better replaced? jerome in my opinion was funny as hell, he was a real clown. had a couple of funky moves too.

DavidEye said:

Cat ruled!!

DavidEye said:

Especially since the entire thing was re-shot on the Paisley Park soundstage because Prince wasn't happy with the real footage from the tour. Having to do several takes of the same routines and make it look spontaneous is not easy.

Cat was cool.

JAMIESTARR said:

You both took the words right outta my fingaz!

purpleone said:

You want to know what Cat was good at? She was a great dancer.She was also a great choreographer.She was one of the highlights of the 'Lovesexy' tour,imo.Yes,Jerome was funny as hell,but since I am a male,I preferred looking at Cat during a Prince show...lol...

DavidEye said:

seeing sheila do her little rap thing during 'it's gonna be a beautiful night' is far more sexy than anything cat does. but that's just me..

I love cat. she put so much into what she was doing, and no I can not imagine watching sign without her in it.

She's a MAN, baby!

soulpower said:

well said soulflower...she's by far my favorite Prince dancer...and like someone said earlier I could not imagine SOTT without her...


I LOVE CAT...

soulpower said:

===i MUST agree with soulpower for once...cat was the best. she was definately a good dancer, with the whole sex attitude...none of prince's other dancers could beat her! she felt the vibes of her work. no posing, or faking for her. especially good in sott and graffiti bridge.

I am not saying this because I had a negative experience with Cat, and a positive experience with Mayte...but Cat pailed in comparison to Mayte when it came to dancing. Cat was muscular and gyrated across the stage, but I do not think that it constitued "dancing". Her moves in the "U got the look" video were almost identical to here moves in the Sheila E. jam "Koo Koo"! I will say that she and Prince had great chemistry though. On the other hand, Mayte's performance during "The One" live was spectacular. Her bellydancing combined with ballet chereography was fabulous. She was extremely graceful and poised on her televised performances with Prince, like on the American Music Awards when The Artist "finally put Prince to sleep", I also admired her ability to chereograph when I experienced her dance troupe doing "Around the World in A Day" in Detroit. Cat's dancing abilities were comparable to Carmen Electra's in Go-Go Dancer, except Carmen was totally hot! I am not hating the playa, Cat, though. She did ooze sex and passion, and that went well with Prince, especially during the Lovesexy Tour. I think people judge Mayte's dancing abilities vs. Cat's based on their personal opinions of each woman. Some might say that I too have done the same, since I had a negative experience with Cat, and two positive experiences with Mayte. I think that they are purely coincidental. This is just my opinion, and everyone has one. I miss both Cat and Mayte... but neither would recognize me in a police line up, so who really cares?!? Often imitated, never duplicated, I AM THE ONE AND ONLY, AND THE ONLY ONE!

Cat was a very very very ugly woman and she ruined Alphabet street.

I don't think she looks 2 bad..!



I once saw a clip where Prince sang Happy B-day 2 her in a LoveSexy aftershow in London.. That was funny!


(Angelfire)

VBt
[This message was edited Mon Sep 2 8:23:29 PDT 2002 by 2coolMelody]

thedog said:

Dude lay off the crack pipe!
U trippin,what would have made that song better Tony M?,Mayte, PPPLLLEEEAAASSSEEE!!!

grandebelle said:

Actually,Cat did not appear in 'Graffiti Bridge'.

JAMIESTARR said:

How about no rap. Go and listen to her on Alphabet Street and Cindy C. and then tell me which one of use is on the pipe. One more thing. Why did you even bother to bring up Tony mush mouthed M. and May good for only sex te? I bet you and Rick James are sharing a pipe right now.