Prince had established himself as a force to be reckoned with live by the time he got to recording PURPLE RAIN – and the subsequent album and movie proved to be one of the big hits of 1984 – and paved the way for the potential to be as big a movie star as they come.
Part semi-autobiographic, part music rock drama, PURPLE RAIN is the story of The Kid (Prince), the product of a troubled home, who finds solace in music in his home town of Minneapolis where he plays the First Avenue club with his band (his then real-backup band The Revolution). Into the mix comes an ambitious singer (Apollonia) and a rival band (The Time) who are determined to stop him from making it in the business…..
The plot is secondary in this case to the music that is on show – and it is here that the film scores highly, particularly in the climactic set that bristles with energy – and reminded us of how powerful a stage presence this late, great talent was.