Every single person in Prince’s life had a part in Prince’s destiny.
Markbrown’s role here (was it Markbrown who did this or Bobby?) was to encourage P NOT to let anyone run him out of town.
Yes it’s true. Ps Pride was probably in the way, maybe a little fear too. He was most likely angry and maybe a little stunned or scared and refused to go back and perform for people who would “treat him like that”.
Ultimately though, he came around. What was more important was that he face that crowd and his fear and pride, and play for himself.

Once you stare down your own pride in a huge way one time, you then have that experience that you can do things you thought you couldn’t forever.

THIS is the stuff if Prince's life that I look at. I just love his example.
[Edited 1/25/18 8:33am]

anangellooksdown said:

Every single person in Prince’s life had a part in Prince’s destiny. Markbrown’s role here (was it Markbrown who did this or Bobby?) was to encourage P NOT to let anyone run him out of town. Yes it’s true. Ps Pride was probably in the way, maybe a little fear too. He was most likely angry and maybe a little stunned or scared and refused to go back and perform for people who would “treat him like that”. Ultimately though, he came around. What was more important was that he face that crowd and his fear and pride, and play for himself. Once you stare down your own pride in a huge way one time, you then have that experience that you can do things you thought you couldn’t forever. THIS is the stuff if Prince's life that I look at. I just love his example. [Edited 1/25/18 8:33am]

Exactly.

That's a part of where 'Prince the superstar' feel started i guess.

anangellooksdown said:

Every single person in Prince’s life had a part in Prince’s destiny. Markbrown’s role here (was it Markbrown who did this or Bobby?) was to encourage P NOT to let anyone run him out of town. Yes it’s true. Ps Pride was probably in the way, maybe a little fear too. He was most likely angry and maybe a little stunned or scared and refused to go back and perform for people who would “treat him like that”. Ultimately though, he came around. What was more important was that he face that crowd and his fear and pride, and play for himself. Once you stare down your own pride in a huge way one time, you then have that experience that you can do things you thought you couldn’t forever. THIS is the stuff if Prince's life that I look at. I just love his example. [Edited 1/25/18 8:33am]

It was Dez, who encouraged Prince to comeback to the Stones.

Vannormal said:

That is probably a part of his coming into who he would be. Yes.
And what he would teach others. That they can do things they think they can’t.

PennyPurple said:

anangellooksdown said:

Every single person in Prince’s life had a part in Prince’s destiny. Markbrown’s role here (was it Markbrown who did this or Bobby?) was to encourage P NOT to let anyone run him out of town. Yes it’s true. Ps Pride was probably in the way, maybe a little fear too. He was most likely angry and maybe a little stunned or scared and refused to go back and perform for people who would “treat him like that”. Ultimately though, he came around. What was more important was that he face that crowd and his fear and pride, and play for himself. Once you stare down your own pride in a huge way one time, you then have that experience that you can do things you thought you couldn’t forever. THIS is the stuff if Prince's life that I look at. I just love his example. [Edited 1/25/18 8:33am]

It was Dez, who encouraged Prince to comeback to the Stones.

Aparently. Yes, I read that too.

Worth mentioning Dez in this story indeed.

But Prince went back, that's something he had to do (sort of) on his own - for himself.

-

I should check some Rolling Stones biographies to see whatever more we can find out from other points of view.

OldFriends4Sale said:

Holey Moses, that's a big crowd. Seeing this photo just gives a clearer ideal of the incident. It would be hard to believe that being rejected by even just a fraction of that crowd wouldn't be a traumatic experience. And because it was a Rolling Stones crowd, even more so.


I wonder how many of them garbage throwers/booers eventually ended up becoming Prince fans? I'm sure it was a lot. I know Purple Rain(the album) got their attention...

[Edited 2/2/18 3:49am]

Vannormal said:

CherryMoon57 said:

Read this :

it's a comment by a fan on this video of W&L (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QENP0mxEGTo),

He's someone who was there during one of the shows. very interesting :

oneal dawg3 months ago

The most profound thing that came out that day was this: After Prince and the band got off stage, maybe an hour later, there was a girl in the crowd with a radio blaring. She had it on a radio station that was playing a variety of music. Prince's hit song "Sexy Dancer" comes on, and people were getting into it around us. I had to speak up. I said "you guys like that song playing right now?" They all said "yeah this is cool". I replied "that's funny, because you just booed him off stage"! Total silence. Total, awkward, silence. They had no idea who Prince was. I'll never forget that day

Amazing...them damn idiots! Because of a mob mentality, they messed themselves out of a potentially wonderful experience.

eugenius said:

When I was a kid, my family had ON TV (it was a subscription cable service, it's competitor was Select TV). Anyway, ON TV offered a live simulcast of one of those two Rolling Stones shows and they broadcast the opening acts, one being Prince. I didn't really get into Prince until a few months before 1999 came out (I was only 11 when the Stones incident happened) so I wasn't aware that the guy who getting boo'd was Prince, but it was indeed him. Does anyone else recall ON TV broadcasting the event? I remember the J. Geils Band performing too.

Obviously, this was pre-VCR so it was impossible to record, but there has to be video of this out there somewhere.

I'm as big a Stones fan/collector as I am Prince. I've got every show from the 1981 tour and all the known video. I've never heard of/seen video of this show. I gotta ask around about this now!

warewolf95 said:

eugenius said:

When I was a kid, my family had ON TV (it was a subscription cable service, it's competitor was Select TV). Anyway, ON TV offered a live simulcast of one of those two Rolling Stones shows and they broadcast the opening acts, one being Prince. I didn't really get into Prince until a few months before 1999 came out (I was only 11 when the Stones incident happened) so I wasn't aware that the guy who getting boo'd was Prince, but it was indeed him. Does anyone else recall ON TV broadcasting the event? I remember the J. Geils Band performing too.

Obviously, this was pre-VCR so it was impossible to record, but there has to be video of this out there somewhere.

I'm as big a Stones fan/collector as I am Prince. I've got every show from the 1981 tour and all the known video. I've never heard of/seen video of this show. I gotta ask around about this now!

Oh, Hey !

Thank you so much !

I already started looking/surfing the net to find some useful or more info (lokked up several sites in English, French, German and Dutch). Nothing found yet.

-

Possibly there isn't much to find (yet). Hopefully sometime in the future more things will pop up.

I'm already glad that there are people out there (of some age of course still willing to tell stories of what they experienced during these shows.

Hopefully Jagger or Keith or one of the others could tell some more about it is any way.

It's all I/we can hope for.

eugenius said:

When I was a kid, my family had ON TV (it was a subscription cable service, it's competitor was Select TV). Anyway, ON TV offered a live simulcast of one of those two Rolling Stones shows and they broadcast the opening acts, one being Prince. I didn't really get into Prince until a few months before 1999 came out (I was only 11 when the Stones incident happened) so I wasn't aware that the guy who getting boo'd was Prince, but it was indeed him. Does anyone else recall ON TV broadcasting the event? I remember the J. Geils Band performing too.

Obviously, this was pre-VCR so it was impossible to record, but there has to be video of this out there somewhere.

Avatar function not currently working, so quit trying. We have asked to have it fixed to no avail.

In the book Old Gods Almost Dead, the incident gets one paragraph on page 462. Author Stephen Davis writes that "The Stones, incredulous, watched the video feed in their dressing room (Charlie "Cor! 'e's in his bloody underwear!")".
So it must have been filmed. Whether or not that recording still exists, is a different matter of course.

NorthC said:

In the book Old Gods Almost Dead, the incident gets one paragraph on page 462. Author Stephen Davis writes that "The Stones, incredulous, watched the video feed in their dressing room (Charlie "Cor! 'e's in his bloody underwear!")". So it must have been filmed. Whether or not that recording still exists, is a different matter of course.

Well that's wonderful.

Let's hope it'll pop up one day.

Thank you so much !

warewolf95 said:

If you find the footage, you will have the basis for a sweet documentary. I can’t believe its not out there.

Do you think Prince ever played for so many people in his entire life ?

I hardly can imagine...

From the looks of this picture, this is... enormous !

It's understandable somehow from his reaction to a crowd like this.

I would reconsidder (not) returning as well...

Good for Prince he did !

-

It would be great that some video would pop up some day.

I'm still hoping.

JoeyC said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Holey Moses, that's a big crowd. Seeing this photo just gives a clearer ideal of the incident. It would be hard to believe that being rejected by even just a fraction of that crowd wouldn't be a traumatic experience. And because it was a Rolling Stones crowd, even more so.


I wonder how many of them garbage throwers/booers eventually ended up becoming Prince fans? I'm sure it was a lot. I know Purple Rain(the album) got their attention...

[Edited 2/2/18 3:49am]

Vannormal said:

Do you think Prince ever played for so many people in his entire life ?

.

He's done festival shows which could be seriously large, but unfortunately PrinceVault isn't data driven, so you cannot sort concerts by attendance.

.

Also, if you think 94,000 is large, there have been (free) concerts where millions of people were present: https://en.wikipedia.org/...d_concerts

BartVanHemelen said:

Vannormal said:

Do you think Prince ever played for so many people in his entire life ?

.

He's done festival shows which could be seriously large, but unfortunately PrinceVault isn't data driven, so you cannot sort concerts by attendance.

.

Also, if you think 94,000 is large, there have been (free) concerts where millions of people were present: https://en.wikipedia.org/...d_concerts

Well, you're faster than me. ))

Thank you though.

I found it as well. Quite impressive... isn't it ?

I mean, what the hell is there to be seen/heard when you're - let's say - halfway the crowd of a 3,500,000 ? Are you still able to hear something ? see something ? Amazing...

hardly unbelievable.

-

Well Prince possibly played large festival shows like you say.

PrinceVault does have some info here and there, but they are more estimations.

It's in fact quite strange that he didn't do big big stadiums in the US. Of course he played stadiums, but i'm talking about 100.000 or plus crowds. He possibly wasn't that big of a gig to book.

-

Although the (short) show he did during the Superbowl game... I just found out he played for nearly 75.000 people there !

(Super Bowl Half Time Show XLI: Miami - 74,512​)