During one October weekend in 1991, not long after Prince released “Diamonds and Pearls,” his 13^th studio album in as a few years, a whole lot of fans from across the USA and beyond, descended on Minneapolis for what could be the primary and only Controversy Convention.

The decision was put out by Eileen Murton, founder and editor of the London-based Controversy Magazine, which, since 1986, had been billed because the official publication of the international “Prince Fan Network.”

Those that made the trek participated in a full slate of events and plenty of found their option to the sleepy suburb of Chanhassen simply to see Paisley Park from the surface. They took in First Avenue, sought out other historic Prince-related sites, and were even hosted at Prince’s Glam Slam where they mingled with members of the Recent Power Generation, who also signed copies of the brand new record.

And, to their surprise and delight, the fans ultimately found themselves in the corporate of Prince, who was seated nearby as they took in a performance by The Steeles just across the corner on the Positive Line.

Among the many fortunate souls in attendance that fall was Antonio Garfias. A native of East Chicago, Indiana, Garfias made the 533-mile drive from his dorm room at Purdue University. “At the chance of sounding corny,” he says of the experience, the weekend was “magical.”

He continued, “Fans from all around the globe coming together to have fun our love for one man’s music. Prince literally brought us together. All of us arrived as strangers, but that didn’t matter. We met recent friends. Listened to amazing music. We danced, partied. We lived 4 love. And we did all of it in Uptown! Yes, magical sums it up quite nicely.”

“Diamonds and Pearls” would prove to be Prince’s most commercially successful album since “Purple Rain,” and stays so to today, having been certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, British Phonographic Industry, and a number of other more international certifying bodies.

Now, just a bit greater than 32 years later, “Diamonds and Pearls” is being released in multiple formats as each a Super Deluxe (SDE) and Deluxe Edition, the fourth Prince album to receive such treatment since 2017.

Party Prefer it’s 1991

To mark the occasion, the Prince Estate and Paisley Park hosted a release party on Friday night, October 27. Similar to in 1991, fans from far and wide made their way out to Chanhassen to have fun. 

The Super Deluxe Edition of “Diamonds and Pearls,” which is accessible in 12-LP or 7-CD sets and features a Blu-ray disc with greater than three hours of video content, was made available for purchase throughout the party, with an additional perk for individuals who bought it on site.

As well as, the originally remastered album, the 2023 version of “Diamonds and Pearls,” incorporates a complete of 62 more audio tracks, including 15 single or b-side remixes and edits; 14 live tracks from the legendary January 1992 Glam Slam concert; and 33 unreleased recordings from Prince’s famed vault, which include outtakes, alternate versions, and not less than 10 songs he later gave to other artists like Mavis Staples, Rosie Gaines, Jevetta Steele, Louie Louie, Martika and El DeBarge.

The festivities began with a panel discussion, moderated by award-winning audio engineer Chris James, and featuring former Recent Power Generation band members, keyboardist Tommy Barbarella, and emcee and dancer Tony Mosley.

James, who mixed the SDE of Diamonds in Pearls, certainly one of the newest albums to be remastered using Dolby’s Atmos technology, led an interesting, insightful, and infrequently hilarious discussion during which Barbarella and Mosley shared, amongst other things, how they got here into Prince’s employ, the conditions under which they left the Prince camp, why it was so vital for Prince to all the time give the fans something recent, and what a typical day at Paisley Park was like.

“We used to call it mandatory fun,” explained Mosley, when recounting how after several hours of rehearsal, the band is perhaps called into wardrobe, should rehearse some more, after which should stay for a late-night party. Or, in essence, how days often turned to nights, after which, into days again.

When addressing just how amazingly prolific Prince was, Barbarella remembers seemingly countless studio sessions, where they’d record, record again, and record some more until all of it became a “blur.”

“More often than not we didn’t even know what the tracks we were working on were for,” he added, “The band spent an entire day within the studio completing song after song. When it was over, we’d recorded Carmen Electra’s entire album. We just didn’t realize it ‘til we were done.”

One in all the funniest moments was Mosley’s tale of how Prince docked his pay after he secretly arranged a hang gliding experience while in Brazil for the Rock in Rio festival after Prince explicitly told him to not achieve this.

“You guys are too integral to what we’re doing,” Prince told him, “I can’t have you ever jumping off of cliffs.”

Mosley scheduled his session for early within the morning, considering he’d be back before Prince ever knew he was gone. Yet as soon as he got back to the hotel, Prince called and summoned Mosely as much as his room.

“I figured he desired to discuss a brand new song or something,” said Mosley, unable to contain his amusement, “Someway, he already knew. I don’t know the way he did that. But he all the time knew.”

Getting Sentimental

When asked about among the things they remembered most about their former boss, Mosley spoke to his trepidation in adding the hip hop element that he dropped at the band.

“How were his hardcore fans going to reply to this,” Mosley thought, “those that’d been around since “Dirty Mind,” since “Controversy,” while also remembering that Prince himself had once dissed rap in his 1987 track “Dead On It.”

“Prince all the time said to me, ‘Tony write for yourself. In the event that they prefer it, they prefer it. And in the event that they don’t, so be it. But not less than you’ve told your truth.’”

And that was one other thing Mosley emphasized, the chance Prince gave people to stretch out beyond their very own comfort zones, to perform things they never imagined they might.

“Call the Law,” the b-side to “Money Don’t Matter 2 Night,” featured Mosley on lead vocals. Prince loved the song and desired to make a video, which Mosley soon came upon he was expected to direct. Not knowing where to start, he remembered Prince’s advice and decided to live his truth.

“I called Spike Moss, we got our crew together and headed over North,” noted Mosley, “We filmed along Plymouth Avenue, North Commons Park. People and places that were familiar to me, that meant something to me growing up. I never thought I’d direct a video. Nevertheless it all worked out.”

As for Barbarella, certainly one of the things he considered often after Prince’s passing, and even talked about together with his daughter, was the special place he had in his heart for individuals who were misunderstood. 

“He was so brave,” says Barbarella, “And he was unabashedly himself. In any respect times, all the time.”

He added, “Nevertheless it was greater than that. Prince all the time made space for the outcasts, the misfits, the ‘Strays of the World’ so to talk (a reference to the 1993 Prince and the NPG song). Prince made it okay to be different. What’s more, is that he made it cool.”

Glam Slammin!

After a brief break, fans were treated to the whole video presentation of Prince and the NPG’s aforementioned impromptu gig at Glam Slam in January 1992, which can also be included on the blu-ray of the “Diamonds and Pearls” SDE.

A rather abridged version of the show was screened at Celebration 2022, and the audience response on Friday night mirrored that of those that first saw the video within the Paisley Park soundstage some 16 months ago.

The energy, each onscreen and within the room, was electric as fans were in a position to relive that night Prince and the NPG previewed their upcoming tour and ripped through nine of the 13 songs on “Diamonds and Pearls,” in addition to earlier hits and a few songs that wouldn’t appear until the following record later that 12 months.

A requisite to fiddling with Prince, everyone on stage that night was at the highest of their game. Nonetheless, next to Prince himself, perhaps nobody shined brighter than the one and only Rosie Gaines, whose vocal prowess was showcased repeatedly throughout the performance, and particularly, on the album’s title track and her duet with Prince during “Nothing Compares 2 U.”

To make sure, the highlights from the concert were far too many to say, however the 10-plus minute rendition of “The Sacrifice of Victor,” which heavily featured Minnesota’s Family of Gospel, The Steeles, and the five-piece force of nature generally known as the Hornheadz, definitely stands out amongst them.

You may all the time leave it to Prince so as to add some levity to any situation. As he and the band ran afoul of the Minneapolis City ordinance on the time that prohibited live music past the hour of 1 a.m., Prince playfully taunted the officers who’d arrived to shut him down.

“Where the police at?” he blurted into his microphone – which drew audible laughs from those watching on the massive screen at Paisley Park – before continuing on with the finale and disappearing into the night once he decided it was over.

Following the screening of the 1992 concert, fans mingled within the NPG Music club, browsed the gift shop, and danced within the soundstage as certainly one of Prince’s longtime resident DJs, Lenka Paris, spun her purple music magic late into the night.

Very similar to Antonio Garfias did three many years ago upon the unique release of “Diamonds and Pearls,” one other Prince super fan shared his thoughts on the album’s SDE release and the amazing night he’d just shared with so many friends.

Known by friends as Peter Bravestrong (certainly one of the pseudonyms Prince famously used when traveling), he tells the MSR, “As a fan for greater than 40 years, certainly one of the things I cherish most are those ‘special’ days where there may be some type of Prince-related event. Today was certainly one of those days.”

“I’ve been eagerly anticipating the Super Deluxe Edition of Diamonds and Pearls. And just as I purchased the unique album the day it was released in 1991, I did the identical today. Then, to spend the night at Paisley Park, surrounded by so many purple friends, feeling Prince’s spirit. The panel, the concert, the vibe. It was magic. And it’ll be purple bliss for me these next several weeks as I absorb the whole lot on this amazing box set.”