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Prince - Purple Rain

Sounds of the 80s with Gary Davies Class of 84
Episode 1 of 6

Trevor Nelson goes track-by-track through the album that turned Prince into a worldwide star, recalling the era via archive footage and memories of Prince's engineer Susan Rogers.

In the summer of 1984, Prince released Purple Rain - his sixth studio album, which accompanied his film of the same name. This combination transformed Prince into a worldwide star.

Having released five albums, Prince was already successful in his home market of America, but here in the UK, the single 1999 had been his only hit, reaching the Top 30 in 1983. But the Purple Rain album marked a turning point, with its singles When Doves Cry, Let’s Go Crazy and Purple Rain becoming classics. The Purple Rain film offered a visual introduction to Prince in an era – as remembered by Trevor – when there were frustratingly few outlets on British TV that showed music videos.

As well as archive footage from Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Two's Whistle Test and Prince at the 1985 British Music Industry Awards, Professor Susan Rogers of Berklee Music College talks about what it was like to work with Prince in specially recorded recollections. Susan joined Prince in the summer of 1983 as his engineer, and one of her first tasks was installing a mixing console into a leased Minnesota warehouse, for the purpose of turning it into a rehearsal space – however the songs Let's Go Crazy and Computer Blue which appear on Purple Rain are the versions they recorded there.

Alongside the breakthrough status of Purple Rain in 1984, Trevor reminds us of Prince’s links to other artists around that time, sometimes via pseudonyms which made the extent of his talent and work harder to track. And there’s also the matter of his songs with explicit lyrics, that became part of an infamous list and resulted in the American music industry agreeing to instigate content warning labels on future releases.

28 minutes

Last on

Wed 24 Jul 2024 03:00
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2

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Bruce Springsteen – Born In The USAClass of 84

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Sade - Diamond LifeClass of 84

See all episodes from Sounds of the 80s with Gary Davies

Music Played

  • The Revolution

    When Doves Cry

  • Prince & The Revolution

    The Beautiful Ones

  • Prince & The Revolution

    Take Me With U

  • Prince & The Revolution

    Let's Go Crazy

  • The Revolution

    Computer Blue

  • The Revolution

    Computer Blue ("Hallway Speech" Version)

  • The Revolution

    Darling Nikki

  • Sheena Easton

    Sugar Walls (Dance Mix)

  • The Revolution

    I Would Die 4 U

  • Prince & The Revolution

    Baby I'm A Star

  • Chaka Khan

    I Feel For You

    • The Divas Of Dance (Various Artists).
    • Telstar.

  • Prince & The Revolution

    Purple Rain

Broadcasts

  • Sun 16 Jun 2024 00:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2
  • Wed 24 Jul 2024 03:00
    Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 2