did anybody actually get credit? i don't think prince did, but did somebody get paid for coming up with that since he was unofficially called that for some years?

Not sure, but Rosie O'Donnell took a spin on that and called him "Taffy" to his face on her show and he was NOT happy.

it was official, not unofficial:

The Artist Formerly Known As Prince - first time I saw this was a sticker on the Count The Days cd single,

In an interview with Rosie O'Donnell, she told him (Prince) that she's gonna call him TAFKAP - The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.
Through that I got the impression that she was the first to come up wit it.
If anyone knows of someone who publicly put TAFKAP out there before O'Donnell can correct me on this.

I think someone at MTV came up with it. They didn't know what to call him after he changed his name to something that couldn't be pronounced. So they started calling him The Artist Formally Known as Prince.

thedance said:

he didn't come up with it though, i don't think. he would just hold up the symbol.the artist formerly known as prince doesn't really roll off the tongue

Years ago I remember meeting some guy at a concert of somebodies..This must've been somewhere between 84' and 86'. that gave me a little tiny laminated man and woman symbol like Prince had on his bike in Purple Rain. I said that I always like that Prince had put the symbols together, and he said, yeah..."Man and Woman United with God."

That is what I would tell people and then when Prince altered the symbol a bit...I remember calling the symbol..."Man and Woman United with God through love and Music."

That is how I pronounce Prince's Symbol. MAWUWGTLAM!

Tame said:

i got two symbol tattoes...i just tell people it means i'm a freak

motherfunka said:

The British press called him Taffy. I'm not sure if Rosie picked up on that, or if she came up with it herself. But both used it.

Londell came up with "The Artist". I always kind of figured the press came up with TAFKAP.

thedance said:

the "Formerly Known As Prince" sticker.

thedance said:

That's probably also a WB thing.

thedance said:

First place i saw that sticker was on 1800-New Funk

ernestsewell said:

Probably nothing. That was a WB thing.

thedance said:

CTD was recorded on or around 15 May 1994.

Meanwhile, The Beautiful Experience, which has the exact same sticker as the CTD CD-single, was released on 17 May 1994.

ernestsewell said:

Yes, somehow WB forced German company EDEL to put that sticker on their releases. Meanwhile, WB NEVER put such a sticker on any of their releases, they simply called him "".

Wanna try again, "Moulan Rouge"?

motherfunka said:

NO IT WAS NOT.

Go ahead, find ANY WB release with a sticker that says "Formerly Known As" that was released before mid-May 1994.

BartVanHemelen said:

Oh Bart, you're not paying attention. You're so stuck on your own ego that you can't see the forest for the trees. Go sit down. You're in a time out.

ernestsewell said:

Translation: Once again Ernie got proven to be a fool. Now quick, call Dr Fink.

It's real simple to prove me wrong: find ANY WB release with a sticker that says "Formerly Known As" that was released before mid-May 1994. Hell, I bet you'll have a hard time finding a WB-release with a sticker that says "Formerly Known As".

But then you are the guy who claims Miko Weaver left the music biz after Lovesexy.
Despite hundreds of thousands of people having him seen on stage with Prince during the Nude tour (two years later).
Despite people having seen Miko perform live on stage in the mid-1990s and early 2000s with his band and others.
Despite there being actual record releases that feature Miko during that same time period.

Then again, you did call him "Mico".

http://groups.google.com/...48ef09ec44

What an expert.

FACT: "Formerly Known As" was appearing on stickers on releases that Prince did INDEPENDENT OF WB as early as May 1994.

FACT: In at least one of the lawsuits against fans, Prince's crack legal team used the term "Formally Known As".

FACT: Ernie still doesn't know what he's talking about and still gets his panties in a twist when confronted with evidence proving him wrong.

.
[Edited 7/5/09 10:32am]

BartVanHemelen said:

You really are off your rocker. I can't figure out why you choose to prove it over and over again. You rehash the dumbest shit and still prove only one thing: You're a total loon! haha I love that you're still in love with Fink and Miko enough to defend their honor to me. You'd make a good girlfriend to either of them, I'm sure.