✦ Controversy – UK Reissue Single: Dec. 1993

A Hits‑era revival that turned a 1981 classic into a Top 5 UK smash

✦ Summary

Controversy was reissued in the United Kingdom on December 6, 1993 as a multi‑format single on Warner Bros. Records (W0215), designed to promote The Hits 1, The Hits 2, and The Hits/The B‑Sides. Arriving three months after the compilations, this UK‑exclusive release paired the 1981 title track edit with a curated selection of deep cuts and remixes not included on the Hits sets — including The Future (Remix), Glam Slam, D.M.S.R., Anotherloverholenyohead, Paisley Park, and New Power Generation Pt. II.

The strategy worked: the single peaked at No. 5 on the UK Gallup Singles Chart, becoming one of Prince’s biggest UK hits of the early ’90s. Issued across two CD editions, a 7-inch picture disc, cassette, and a 12-inch promo, it stands as a clever companion piece to the Hits era and a celebration of Prince’s early‑’80s provocateur energy.

✦ Highlights

• Released December 6, 1993 in the UK on Warner Bros. Records

• UK‑exclusive reissue to promote The Hits collections

• Peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart

• Two CD editions, 7-inch picture disc, cassette, and 12-inch promo

• B‑sides curated as a Hits‑era extension, spotlighting tracks omitted from the compilations

• Features the 3:35 edit of the 1981 classic

✦ Track Details

7-inch Single / Cassette (W0215 / W0215C)

A: Controversy (Edit) — 3:35

B: The Future (Remix) — 6:25

CD Single – Edition 1 (W0215CD1)

1: Controversy (Edit) — 3:35

2: The Future (Remix) — 6:25

3: Glam Slam — 5:04

4: D.M.S.R. — 8:15

CD Single – Edition 2 (W0215CD2)

1: Controversy (Edit) — 3:35

2: Anotherloverholenyohead — 3:58

3: Paisley Park — 4:41

4: New Power Generation (Part II) — 2:57

12-inch Promo (SAM 1278)

A: Controversy (Edit) — 3:35

B: D.M.S.R. — 8:15

Label: Warner Bros. Records

Original track produced, arranged, composed, and performed by Prince (1981)

Additional tracks sourced from respective album eras

✦ Chart Performance

United Kingdom: No. 5 — UK Singles Chart

International: UK‑only commercial release

✦ Discography

Hits Era Singles:

Peach — Single: 1993

Nothing Compares 2 U — Reissue: 1993

Controversy — UK Reissue Single: Dec. 1993

The Hits/The B‑Sides — Compilation: 1993

✦ Prince Era Mini‑Timeline

Sept. 1993 — The Hits/The B‑Sides released

Dec. 6, 1993 — Controversy reissued as UK single

Early 1994 — Work begins on The Gold Experience

✦ Glam Flashback

The 1993 Controversy reissue is one of the smartest catalogue moves of Prince’s ’90s Warner era — a bridge between the rebellious electricity of 1981 and the retrospective glow of The Hits. By pairing the classic edit with deep cuts and remixes, the single became both a chart success and a collector’s delight. Its Top 5 UK peak shows just how strongly Prince’s early‑’80s fire still resonated more than a decade later.

✦ Sources

Prince Vault, Discogs, 45cat, AllMusic, Rate Your Music, Wikipedia, Official Charts Company, Billboard Chart History, YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gazNwzC4H0