it was a Cool magazine&I always dug there Reviews.in fact back in 90 during one of there Reviews I forgot what they Reviewed by Prince but made the Comments of Hearing of a Larry Graham&Graham Central Station Influence on something Prince did.it was a Cool magazine.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

There is mention of it in the GB album credits... that's where I heard of it.

LaVisHh said:

i've never owned a copy of that album, lav...i thought u knew.

Gav said:

Hi Gav. I remember it as being the Wembley gig, and I remember to rhia say the tearful message she left on the answering machine informing us that the club was officially closed. But, then again, it was a looong time ago now so I may be wrong. But people were definately asked for names and addresses to "help" hand out flyers before the stadium gig and they didn't get in in time to see the gig or get the great seats they were promised as a thank you. In fact the "priority" booked seats we got for the gig were really bad. Loads of Controversy members stuck up in the rafters to the side of the stage, so you couldn't even really see properly. I remember leaving early and getting to The Forum aftershow in plenty of time to be one-person-to-the-right of front-centre.

It's a shame, as Eileen did so much for us fans during what was one of the busiest times of Prince's carreer as far as releases of albums/singles/videos and just general info was concerned.

Anyone remember the letter Mayte wrote to Prince through Controversy? It was as if she couldn't send it directly to him so she sent it to the magazine instead(??).

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

That's why I'm telling you.

DavidEye said:

This is very true! Linda and I became very good friends. She worked with Prince and EM. Linda gave me all kinds of goodies all through her purple trip. Once I was talking w/her at the Park (on the phone) and she stated that Prince just walked past her barefoot. She was laughing so hard saying how cute he looked barefoot. She had many wonderful stories!! Her and EM had a major falling out...EM told Prince some BULL SHIT about what Linda had done. Yadda, yadda, and she was taken out of the Purple Circle. This hurt Linda very much!! She sold her collection and gave up her purple life. God she was an amazing painter! Linda where ever you are I MISS U!! Thank you so much for all you did for me. I was VERY lucky to know you! I still have everything you gave me. THANKS!

Thanx to you all for sharing your thoughts.

Basically, many of us seem to have similar memories.
It was a great time and Controversy was a great forum for us Prince fans in the early days.

I got to know a lot of people from all over the world and still have conctact to some of them (for about 15 years now).

I agree that it all went wrong when Controversy became too official. It lost its' charm as an independent source and somehow I liked it better in the days of lowkey fanmag with lots of fan input than the styled, multi-photo issues of the final days.

It seems to be true. If you get too close to the fire, it'll burn you for sure. It's everytime the same with Prince. He has always been a control freak.

Great to hear everyone's memories.

One of my lasting ones, was being given an Aftershow ticket from Eileen at Wembley just b4 she was stopped from handing them out. Couldn't go as we were on a coach and had no money to get back home (also left my two kids back there). Turns out, only about 500 tickets were handed out - did I cry. The show (apparently) was fantastic. Still have the ticket (intact).

Been to other aftershows since but that one will always remain in my memory - if I remember rightly it was 3lst July 1993 at the Forum - still have the press previews.

We have a lot to thank Eileen for.

that wembley show...i got to the controversy seating section, thought the seats were crap and went on to the pitch instead...only afterwards realising i missed out on the aftershow ticket hand out...oh, and the view on the pitch was rubbish too!!! DOH!!!

She was a very genuine and caring person.The magazine was produced with love and it shows.

The fallout came about after the Wembley arena concert , I had been to most of the shows on the greatest hits tour and having intitially spoken to her by phone it was great to meet her.I took my 5 year old daughter and typical Eileen she bought some badges and things for Hannah.

One of Prince`s staff ,a guy called Arthur ,who I believe was part of the security team asked a few young girls standing in line if they would give out flyers for the "official fan club - Controversy" , these flyers were advertising merchandise from Paisley Park , in return the girls were offered T-Shirts and premium seating.

They got their T-Shirts but the seats were non existent , they were tearful and complained to Eileen that she and her organisation had misled them - which was clearly not the case.

It was this that made her call it a day , her organisation had been hijacked in the hope of making a quick buck.

Although she got rid of most of her memorabilia during the closedown I saw her and spoke to her at a few of the Gold experience concerts - I remember her pointing out "Arthur" who was still part of Prince`s staff.

She was a cool lady who ran an excellent magazine and deserved better from the staff at Paisley Park

TheRainbowChild said:

Unfortunately, the issues run far deeper than that. I have a lot of respect for Eileen and how she conducted herself (especially during the 'phasing out' period). It's nice to see her efforts being acknowledged by the fans.

.
[This message was edited Wed Apr 2 1:17:09 PST 2003 by Anji]

Anji - you in the know then - from your profile, you are only aged 25 which would have made you 15 at the time of the split.

I'm sure if Prince read these reports now, he would be very sorry about the way Eileen felt about the fall-out.

Our memories will be with us for ever. I am still a great fan of Prince after 17 years but it hurts to think that Eileen's efforts were not always appreciated.

Anyone remember Controversy issue 1? The photocopied sheets!?!

I was reading it the other day.

Some people have a selective memory. Eileen was a great lady, but she never started the mag. Chris Dawson did, while he was running his Revolution Shop in Otley.

They ran it together for a while, then stole the show, and Chris did the Crystal Ball mag.

Anyone remember Prince being given a copy of Crystal Ball 1 and the latest Controversy on the tour bus at Wembley?

He threw the Controvery mag out the window, and kept Crystal Ball.

That night, on the last night of the Wembley Lovesexy show, Chris Dawson asked P to play his fave song, "Condition of the heart", and P did, saying "For Christopher".

Interesting information - great to hear some different news - thanks for that.

spud80 said:

Yes, Spud. I was probably 15 at the time. In terms of what actually happened, I am only aware of one side of the argument and that is Eileen's side. It's therefore not right for me to be making the situation any more of an issue than what it was. All I'm saying is that, from what I have been told, the issues actually run much deeper than what RainbowChild suggested.

.
[This message was edited Thu Apr 3 4:50:16 PST 2003 by Anji]

Those were definitely the days. Still have my copies, my black laminated membership card. Great reveiws, stories, glossy photo's, ticket opportunities, t-shirts (bought 2)...and remember the last issue where they auctioned off all that great stuff.

Mmmm fun.

blimey - the day we start speaking fondly of chris dawson is a day we ought to all hang our heads in shame...he ripped a great deal of people off.

hang on...he's not head of customer service with the npgmc is he???

letsgocrazy said:

Last I heard, he is still involved in the NPGMC. Whether he got the customer service dept, I don't know.

Funny thing is, Chris ripped some people off, Eileen ripped some people off, all because of broken promises by Prince.

Prince has ripped 10 times as many people off, and we still give him our money!!!

Gav said:

It was through paypal online, it is $150 which they convert to pounds using the exchange rate for that day, which on this day worked out at £93. I am sure it will all work out fine in the end but it's just taking a while that all.

Anji said:

Anji you are correct there were deep issues to these situations that none of us will probably ever know, but I will have fabulous lifelong memories from back then that I hope to never forget unless of course I become to old and catch alzheimers...heaven forbid..
[This message was edited Thu Apr 3 9:12:19 PST 2003 by pejman]

LINDA WHERE ARE U???

DavidEye said:

Nate said:

Damn right.
Chris Dawson ( a plumber from Otley!!!not that I have anything against plumbers!) had the good fortune to meet Prince during the Lovesexy tour , this seemed to give him delusions of grandeur.
He produced a decent magazine , but it didn`t have the love and attention of controversy.
He mismanaged his own accounts and ended up heavily in debt as he made a genuine pitch to be the "official magazine" , he lost out to Eileen , thats when he ripped off fans big time.

I remember excitedly receiving a mailout from his organisation promising an exclusive members only aftershow party with a live performance from Prince (after one of the Nude Tour concerts) , I shelled out £60 for 4 tickets .
A couple of days later I read in the paper it was a scam , the Police attempted to prosecute him as there was no agreement for an aftershow - this was a rip off that was nothing to do with Prince !
I never got my £60 back , the credit card company refused to have anything to do with my claim as it was less than £100.

A few weeks before the Nude tour he organised a fans get together in London with a Prince disco , and a live performance from "Paul Pavey and The Power People Grind" (sic) not a tribute band but Prince inspired and "the next big thing apparently".
The cost of coach fare and entry to the party was more than the cost of coach fare and concert ticket to the upcoming Nude tour which prompted many complaints , and there were also many complaints about the night itself - in fairness he did publish some of them in the magazine which seemed to change it`s name each issue (I`ve still got them)

I`m not aware of Eileen ripping people off , if she did I don`t think it was knowingly - in Chris Dawsons case he deliberately and maliciously ripped fans off to try to cover his debt , it is typical of the British justice system that he was never charged with fraud , the detective leading the investigation from the Met was really pissed off that no charges were bought to bear.

I would suspect Mr Dawson has gone back to his former trade , there are many opportunities to rip people off.
If he does still like Prince and reads this -
CHRIS DAWSON YOU OWE ME £60.

Reading everyone's replies, makes you realise what a lot of long-standing PRINCE fans we are.

Great to know that our ages are so varied - I was born in the same decade as PRINCE. A lot of you are younger but I am sure there are some fans who are older.

One thing it has made me do is look out my Controversy magazines and give them a quick look over.

Wow. I mean, if it's true that Eileen has nothing to do with Prince or his music these days that's some turn around. I spoke to her on the phone once. She was very helpful.

Speaking of mags, anyone remember the Truth Angel mag?

Two issues, great production values, slightly cultish articles and as soon as I sent them my subscrition money - they vanished!!

Anyone know the story there???

cosmicslop said:

Yeah I had a subscription too, for four a year apparently right? I never received any but did eventually get a refund.

funkystuff said:

why did she call him "his nibs"? I met lots of pen pals through controvery...I miss them Robyn where are you??? Janell???

cosmicslop said:

The Truth Angel was Chris Dawson as well I believe. That won't make people happy who got no refunds.

Chris started Controversy, then moved onto Crystal Ball, then came back with the truth angel site and mag.

He then joined the NPGMC crew in the big Love 4 one another drive.

He was running the Love 4 one another food drives and sales in the UK a few years back.

As far as I know, he does a lot of the site design, and his carpentry by day.

butterfli25 said:

I just looked this up. It says "his nibs" is a mock title used to refer to a self important man, usually in authority. It is modelled after the pattern of references to the British aristocracy, such as his lordship.

Sounds about right!

So Chris Dawson rips off loads of fans with the promise of a exclusive Prince aftershow THEN Prince prosecutes him and NOW Chris Dawson is working for Prince...makes a mockery of the whole thing if you ask me.