0:00:01 > 0:00:02Ladies and gentlemen, here is Prince!
0:00:02 > 0:00:04APPLAUSE
0:00:04 > 0:00:06# I ain't got no money...#
0:00:08 > 0:00:11December 1979.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14Prince Rogers Nelson is making his first appearance
0:00:14 > 0:00:17on legendary US music show, American Bandstand.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22This is not the kind of music that comes from Minneapolis, Minnesota.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25- No. - You're very shy. Modest.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Interviewed by host Dick Clark,
0:00:27 > 0:00:30the young wannabe appears completely overawed.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32- How many instruments do you play? - Mmm...
0:00:34 > 0:00:36FAINT LAUGHTER
0:00:36 > 0:00:39- Thousands.- We'll be with you...
0:00:39 > 0:00:42One of those watching was his mentor Pepe Willie.
0:00:42 > 0:00:46I go, "What the hell happened to you, man?!" I was yelling at this guy.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50He says, "Pepe, it all hit me at one time.
0:00:50 > 0:00:53"Millions of people were watching me." He got stage fright.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56At that time he said to me,
0:00:56 > 0:01:00"That will never, ever happen again".
0:01:02 > 0:01:06Prince in his first motion picture!
0:01:06 > 0:01:10Five years later, Prince was on the verge of global fame,
0:01:10 > 0:01:16attending the premiere of a film based on his colourful young life...
0:01:16 > 0:01:17Purple Rain.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20# Are we gonna let de-elevator break us down
0:01:20 > 0:01:22# Oh no, let's go... #
0:01:22 > 0:01:24Purple Rain. Gosh.
0:01:24 > 0:01:26When he goes on stage and he plays,
0:01:26 > 0:01:30you lose yourself. The energy, the music, you just have lift-off!
0:01:32 > 0:01:36The thing about Purple Rain is it was the first music video movie.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39He gets down in that film, I mean, he gets DOWN.
0:01:39 > 0:01:41He's walking music. He IS music.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46Purple Rain set up this dichotomy in his career.
0:01:46 > 0:01:50Is this the guy who plays stadiums and sells 10 million records,
0:01:50 > 0:01:53or is this a musical genius
0:01:53 > 0:01:57who will follow wherever the inside of his brain takes him?
0:01:57 > 0:02:02Prince - gifted, outrageous, enigmatic.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06He captured the imagination of a generation with his diverse mix
0:02:06 > 0:02:11of musical styles and larger-than-life stage personas.
0:02:11 > 0:02:14Rock star and funkster.
0:02:14 > 0:02:16Guitar hero and sex god.
0:02:16 > 0:02:20# My name is Prince, the one and only... #
0:02:20 > 0:02:22This is The Artist Known As Prince.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Minneapolis, Minnesota.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45Freezing in winter, it lies on the banks of the Mississippi
0:02:45 > 0:02:50and is heavily populated by descendants of hard-working Scandinavian settlers.
0:02:50 > 0:02:54Minnesota was home to wartime sweethearts the Andrews Sisters
0:02:54 > 0:02:56and folk legend Bob Dylan,
0:02:56 > 0:02:58but there wasn't a strong tradition of black music.
0:03:03 > 0:03:07In 1970, African Americans made up only 5% of Minneapolis's population,
0:03:07 > 0:03:09and for the young Prince,
0:03:09 > 0:03:13it wasn't easy to track down the latest releases by his black musical heroes.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Minneapolis was hardly a bastion of urban music
0:03:16 > 0:03:19when Prince was growing up in the '70s.
0:03:19 > 0:03:23He talks about having got to the record store after school on Fridays
0:03:23 > 0:03:28to get the latest 45s by the Motown artists, or James Brown, Funkadelic,
0:03:28 > 0:03:31or whatever else he was into at that time.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34KQ92 is Minnesota's best album rock.
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Back then, everyone listened to one radio station, called KQRS.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39So you might be hearing
0:03:39 > 0:03:43Sly Stone one minute, Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana,
0:03:43 > 0:03:44Grand Funk Rail Road, Cream.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47All the cool rock stuff of the era.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50This is KQRS FM, Twin Cities album station.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Some rock'n'roll from Led Zeppelin.
0:03:53 > 0:03:56There wasn't a whole lot of black radio
0:03:56 > 0:03:57so we always tended to listen
0:03:57 > 0:04:02to more pop radio back in the day, and it influenced
0:04:02 > 0:04:05the kind of music that came out of there.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09Prince was immersed in all this rock, and different things
0:04:09 > 0:04:12that your normal black kid just ain't around.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Here in Minnesota, we were around it all the time - we had no choice.
0:04:18 > 0:04:20Born in 1958,
0:04:20 > 0:04:22the same year as Michael Jackson and Madonna,
0:04:22 > 0:04:25Prince Rogers Nelson's life was turned upside down
0:04:25 > 0:04:28when his jazz pianist father left the family home
0:04:28 > 0:04:30when he was just eight years old.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34His mother, a social worker, struggled to keep the family together.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38# Sometimes it snows in April...#
0:04:40 > 0:04:44Prince spent his teenage years living with various friends
0:04:44 > 0:04:45and family around the city,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49dreaming of following in his father's footsteps as a musician.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51I guess when his family broke up,
0:04:51 > 0:04:56it was a turning point for him, that he had to succeed.
0:04:56 > 0:05:01And maybe he had to try to prove something, looking for an identity.
0:05:01 > 0:05:04"Who am I? What am I going to become?"
0:05:08 > 0:05:11At 15, Prince was already an accomplished pianist.
0:05:11 > 0:05:13and played guitar in a band called Grand Central.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Local musician and producer Pepe Willie went to check them out in rehearsal.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22I knew he played keyboards as well as guitar.
0:05:22 > 0:05:25He takes the bass and he starts playing this amazing lick.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27You know, I mean, just playing.
0:05:27 > 0:05:31A few weeks later, Pepe was passing Prince's home
0:05:31 > 0:05:34when he heard a faint sound coming from the house.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Prince is down in the basement, playing drums.
0:05:38 > 0:05:43Do-do-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu-bu... You know, he played bass, he played drums, he played keyboards.
0:05:43 > 0:05:48I'm going like, "Wait a minute, wait a minute, this can't be right."
0:05:48 > 0:05:53And at that time I'm in the studio recording with my group, 94 East.
0:05:53 > 0:05:58So I said, "Prince... you've got to come to the studio.
0:05:58 > 0:06:02"Have you ever been in a recording studio?" He goes, "No".
0:06:02 > 0:06:06And we did five songs in four hours.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10I mean, he was such a professional at such a young age.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15And it just totally amazed me. It was like a kid in a candy store.
0:06:15 > 0:06:17As well as mastering different instruments,
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Prince taught himself basic studio techniques.
0:06:20 > 0:06:25When he was 17, he recorded some of his own songs at a local studio run by an Englishman, Chris Moon,
0:06:25 > 0:06:29who played the demo to Minneapolis marketing guru, Owen Husney.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32# Hey, lover, I got a sugarcane... #
0:06:32 > 0:06:37He says, "It's one kid, he's 17, he's writing everything,
0:06:37 > 0:06:41"playing everything and singing everything." And I was like...
0:06:41 > 0:06:44"OK, I got to sit down."
0:06:44 > 0:06:50The very first minute that I met Prince, I saw the drive.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52I could see the fire in his eyes.
0:06:52 > 0:06:57While the songs weren't all that great, I definitely heard
0:06:57 > 0:07:00the quality of the musicianship,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03the dedication, the passion, the sincerity.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06It just screamed at me right through the music.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12Husney secured Prince a three-album deal with Warner Records in 1978.
0:07:12 > 0:07:16The young pretender insisted on being allowed to produce his own music,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20but first had to prove his studio skills to the label's executives.
0:07:20 > 0:07:26He walks out and lays down a drum track, perfect.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Goes back in, lays down a bass track, perfect.
0:07:30 > 0:07:32A perfect rhythm section was built.
0:07:32 > 0:07:36About halfway through, after laying down keyboards and guitars,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40didn't even get to the vocals yet, they called me out into the hallway.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45"We think he's got record sense. And we think he can pull it off."
0:07:47 > 0:07:52The first album was more of an introduction, of "Here's who I am".
0:07:52 > 0:07:57The first cut, For You, it's an a cappella. Simply fantastic.
0:07:57 > 0:08:02# My life with you
0:08:02 > 0:08:06# I share. #
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Even growing up with him and knowing him,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10he's like people that you see and you go,
0:08:10 > 0:08:15"Man, he's so talented, he should be making records."
0:08:15 > 0:08:17And then, bam, he's making records.
0:08:17 > 0:08:20And he's playing all the instruments, which I thought was amazing.
0:08:20 > 0:08:23Despite being an impressive technical and creative achievement,
0:08:23 > 0:08:26the album made little impact on the R&B charts.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29For You - that's not really pop music.
0:08:29 > 0:08:33That's saying, "Look what I can do." And I think he wanted to do that,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35to show, "I'm not your average guy."
0:08:35 > 0:08:38For You was recorded in California,
0:08:38 > 0:08:43but Prince was single-minded in his determination to build his career from Minneapolis.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49Prince was determined not to leave, but to stay here and make it.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54He'd joked before that those long winters keep the bad people out,
0:08:54 > 0:08:57but it also keeps you in the house, composing.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00So don't underestimate the value of him having stayed here
0:09:00 > 0:09:06so much of his early career, in developing himself as a musician and as an artist.
0:09:06 > 0:09:11Having played all the instruments on the album, Prince needed a band that could play his music live.
0:09:11 > 0:09:15I saw this ad in the local music paper that said,
0:09:15 > 0:09:17"Warner Brothers recording artist
0:09:17 > 0:09:20"seeks guitarist and keyboard player."
0:09:20 > 0:09:24And I knew that there was only one person within 500 miles
0:09:24 > 0:09:27that had a Warner Brothers record deal.
0:09:27 > 0:09:32As the auditions progressed, it was clear this wouldn't be your average R&B or funk band.
0:09:32 > 0:09:38You had this band that was not only multiracial, but also men and women.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42It was kind of like Fleetwood Mac meets Sly and the Family Stone.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46# I've got a message sayin'
0:09:46 > 0:09:48# All the squares go out... #
0:09:48 > 0:09:53The model for Prince's band was late '60s funk legends Sly and the Family Stone,
0:09:53 > 0:09:58one of the first bands to have a racially integrated, multi-gender line-up.
0:10:00 > 0:10:06I think he was after a group that could make the crossover in America between black and white music.
0:10:06 > 0:10:11And I did ask him, "Why did you hire me?" And he said...
0:10:11 > 0:10:13# You got that look. #
0:10:13 > 0:10:17"You're white, you're blonde, you have blue eyes
0:10:17 > 0:10:21"and you can play funky keyboards."
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Completing the original line-up of what later became known as The Revolution
0:10:27 > 0:10:31was Bobby Z on drums and Andre Cymone on bass.
0:10:31 > 0:10:37The new band played their first gig at the Capri Theatre, Minneapolis in January 1979.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41Prince was very nervous. It was going to be the first time
0:10:41 > 0:10:45that any of the label executives from Warner Brothers had seen
0:10:45 > 0:10:47the result of their lab experiment.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54The first time he was playing with an all-new band, there was definitely star quality.
0:10:54 > 0:10:58Did I think he was going to be a superstar? Too early to tell.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00But definitely there was a magnetism about him.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03It was an historic show. But as a show,
0:11:03 > 0:11:07I would've asked for my money back if it would've been me!
0:11:07 > 0:11:10MUSIC: "I'm Yours" by Prince
0:11:12 > 0:11:17I thought they were good. But Warner Brothers thought that
0:11:17 > 0:11:20he wasn't quite ready to go out on tour yet.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23So he got the band more tight.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27And by the time the second album came out, he was ready.
0:11:34 > 0:11:38# I wanna be your lover
0:11:38 > 0:11:42# I want to be the only one that makes you come running... #
0:11:42 > 0:11:47Prince's self-titled second album was built on the same R&B sound as For You,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51but his confident swagger behind the mic masked a different personality.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55# They say I'm so shy, yeah
0:11:55 > 0:11:59# But with you I just go wild... #
0:11:59 > 0:12:05He was obviously very, very, very shy, but at the same time,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09not awkward or antisocial.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Once you got to know him, he was anything but.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Actually a major practical joker and prankster.
0:12:15 > 0:12:20'He was already acting like a star, but in fact he was terribly shy, genuinely shy.
0:12:20 > 0:12:25It wasn't an act. It was not an ego thing.
0:12:25 > 0:12:28He was very much inside.
0:12:28 > 0:12:34# I wanna be the only one you come for, yeah... #
0:12:34 > 0:12:38I Wanna Be Your Lover reached the top of the American R&B charts
0:12:38 > 0:12:43and Prince was invited to the country's number one television music show, American Bandstand.
0:12:43 > 0:12:44All right!
0:12:44 > 0:12:48'Dick Clark goes, "I heard that you play multiple instruments.
0:12:48 > 0:12:50'"How many instruments do you play?"
0:12:50 > 0:12:52How many instruments do you play?
0:12:54 > 0:12:55I am waiting for him to answer him.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57And Prince goes...
0:12:57 > 0:12:59Mmm...
0:13:01 > 0:13:03FAINT LAUGHTER
0:13:03 > 0:13:06Then Dick Clark started talking to him, he would just go "Yes...
0:13:08 > 0:13:11"No.." Couldn't carry on a conversation.'
0:13:11 > 0:13:12Maybe.
0:13:12 > 0:13:14You're very shy, modest.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18This very public crisis of confidence proved to be a defining moment
0:13:18 > 0:13:20in the career of the young artist.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25He could not control that. It scared him to death.
0:13:25 > 0:13:29At that time he said to me, "That will never happen again."
0:13:38 > 0:13:42He came to the band and said, "OK, here's what we're going to do.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46"Everyone in the band is going to have a distinct personal image
0:13:46 > 0:13:48"that we're going to project.
0:13:48 > 0:13:51"I am going to just portray pure sex."
0:13:51 > 0:13:53# Head
0:13:53 > 0:13:56# 'Til you're burnin' up... #
0:13:56 > 0:14:00The trenchcoat and bikinis - who saw that coming? Not me.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04He turned heads because of the way he looked.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07He was diminutive in his stature. He wore heels.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09My God, who was doing that back then?
0:14:09 > 0:14:12# 'Til your love is red, talkin' head... #
0:14:14 > 0:14:18'It was a liberating time in music and the arts anyway.'
0:14:18 > 0:14:21The so-called sexual revolution was peaking
0:14:21 > 0:14:25and it was just before AIDS brought all that to a screeching halt.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29It was kind of the sky was the limit. Most people who were broadminded were just,
0:14:29 > 0:14:32"Bring it on. Whatever you've got, bring it"
0:14:34 > 0:14:36# If you're looking for somewhere to go
0:14:36 > 0:14:38# Girl I'll take you to a movie show
0:14:38 > 0:14:41# We can sit in the back and I'll jack you off... #
0:14:41 > 0:14:44'It was particularly brave for a black artist'
0:14:44 > 0:14:50to go up against the traditional conventions of black masculinity.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54Rock'n'roll is always had this androgyny as part of the rockstar thing,
0:14:54 > 0:14:59whether it's Iggy Pop or the New York Dolls or Jagger, there's a tradition of that.
0:14:59 > 0:15:01But no one of colour was doing that.
0:15:01 > 0:15:04Prince did it in a way where it was an expressive kind of thing
0:15:04 > 0:15:07as opposed to, "I am pushing it to sell records."
0:15:07 > 0:15:11Seeing a guy wearing suspenders and still finding it sexy -
0:15:11 > 0:15:15do you know what I mean? It was amazing how he managed to do that.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18# Sexuality... #
0:15:18 > 0:15:23This new persona allowed Prince to express himself musically without revealing his true self.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27The air of mystery surrounding him grew when his managers banned all interviews.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31The enigma that Prince created is that less is more.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35Also Prince is not the kind of person that is just going to tell you his life story
0:15:35 > 0:15:37right out there.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41In the element of doing that, people want to know more, to read more about you.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45They can't get enough. But if your music is damn good, which his is -
0:15:45 > 0:15:47bingo, you've hit it. Home run time.
0:15:54 > 0:15:59# She saw me walking down the streets of your fine city
0:16:03 > 0:16:07# Kinda turned me on when she looked at me and said, "Come here"... #
0:16:07 > 0:16:10Determined not to be pigeonholed as an R&B artist,
0:16:10 > 0:16:16he set out to appeal to a wider audience with his 1980 album Dirty Mind.
0:16:16 > 0:16:21# My sister never made love to anyone else but me
0:16:21 > 0:16:25# She's the reason for my sexuality... #
0:16:25 > 0:16:30Now he was mixing rock and new wavey, punky stuff -
0:16:30 > 0:16:32things that were happening at that time.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35All sorts of bands from that era,
0:16:35 > 0:16:39like the Cocteau Twins, were a big, big influence.
0:16:39 > 0:16:43Roxy Music. Gary Numan.
0:16:43 > 0:16:47# If I open my door in cars... #
0:16:47 > 0:16:51'He would listen to them, whether to study, to understand the rhythms,
0:16:51 > 0:16:55'he would go to sleep listening to these records.'
0:16:55 > 0:16:56And you'd wake up to them.
0:16:56 > 0:17:02Dirty Mind was the final album of Prince's original three-record deal with Warners
0:17:02 > 0:17:06and their gamble was looking high-risk, with no sign of a commercial breakthrough.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10# When you were mine
0:17:10 > 0:17:12# I gave you all of my money... #
0:17:12 > 0:17:17The turning point was Rolling Stone did a review of the record
0:17:17 > 0:17:22that was just glow-in-the-dark. It was the greatest thing since the Beatles.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25So at that point, people started adopting the attitude,
0:17:25 > 0:17:28"Let's back off and let him do what he does."
0:17:28 > 0:17:30Following this glowing review,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33Prince continued to explore new sounds with his band The Revolution,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35now featuring Lisa Coleman on keyboards.
0:17:35 > 0:17:40But for this prolific musical dynamo, one band was never going to be enough.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55In 1981, Prince signed a new deal with Warners,
0:17:55 > 0:18:00and with the label's backing, formed a succession of new bands to perform his work.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02# I don't like this groove
0:18:02 > 0:18:05# Try and give me something I can croon to
0:18:05 > 0:18:09- # Don't you want to come with me? - Do you think I'm a nasty girl? #
0:18:09 > 0:18:14In addition to writing the songs, Prince also produced Nasty Girl's Vanity 6,
0:18:14 > 0:18:17experimental jazz fusion combo, The Family...
0:18:17 > 0:18:20# Woah no
0:18:21 > 0:18:23# Woah, oh... #
0:18:23 > 0:18:26..and under the pseudonym Jamie Starr, one of his many alter egos,
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Prince was also the puppet master behind funk band The Time.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33# America, have you heard?
0:18:33 > 0:18:37# Got a brand-new dance, and it's called the Bird... #
0:18:37 > 0:18:42The Time starred some of Prince's hometown buddies, including Jimmy Jam, Jellybean Johnson,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44and Morris Day on vocals.
0:18:45 > 0:18:49They joined Prince on tour as his support act,
0:18:49 > 0:18:54and with their energetic funk and choreographed shows, soon had a cult following of their own.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57'You play in the black urban areas and the people go nuts.'
0:18:57 > 0:18:59'The black crowds would eat us up'
0:18:59 > 0:19:04and sometimes he'd have a little problem when he comes out there doing his rock thing.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08'We had really come into our own as a band.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12'And Prince was torn. Sometimes like a happy father,'
0:19:12 > 0:19:15watching his kids go out there.
0:19:15 > 0:19:20But then when we toured with him, he had this big light show
0:19:20 > 0:19:22and we'd get about four lights.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25Prince was absolutely a control freak.
0:19:25 > 0:19:29But the thing I remember the most about working with Prince is his work ethic.
0:19:29 > 0:19:37He would come and rehearse The Time. He'd rehearse us through our shows for three or four hours.
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Then he'd go and work with The Revolution for three or four hours.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43# Taxi! Taxi! #
0:19:46 > 0:19:50Then he'd go to the studio, and come back the next day
0:19:50 > 0:19:53with a cassette and go, "This is what I did in the studio last night."
0:19:53 > 0:19:55And put it in and it's like...
0:19:55 > 0:19:58SINGS INTRO TO "1999"
0:19:58 > 0:20:03We're going, "Man, are you kidding me? When did you do that?"
0:20:03 > 0:20:05"Last night." "When?!"
0:20:05 > 0:20:07"After my band practice."
0:20:07 > 0:20:10It's like, "OK, when do you sleep, man?"
0:20:13 > 0:20:15# The sky was all purple
0:20:15 > 0:20:19# There were people running everywhere
0:20:21 > 0:20:24# Trying to run from the destruction
0:20:24 > 0:20:26# You know I didn't even care
0:20:28 > 0:20:33# Cos they say two thousand zero zero, party over
0:20:33 > 0:20:34# Oops, out of time
0:20:37 > 0:20:42# So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999. #
0:20:42 > 0:20:47The 1999 album was designed to appeal to a mainstream audience
0:20:47 > 0:20:50and included the radio-friendly Little Red Corvette.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55DJ: 92.5 FM, it's 9:18 and Prince, Little Red Corvette.
0:20:55 > 0:20:57# I guess I shoulda known
0:20:57 > 0:20:59# By the way you parked your car sideways
0:20:59 > 0:21:02# That it wouldn't last. #
0:21:02 > 0:21:06But by 1982, radio wasn't the only way of reaching audiences across America.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11MTV had launched the previous year
0:21:11 > 0:21:15and was increasingly influential in promoting new music.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19ANNOUNCER: MTV Music Television. We are here all day and all night.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22MTV was as much a product
0:21:22 > 0:21:25of the ethnically segmented marketplace as anything
0:21:25 > 0:21:26but two things happened.
0:21:26 > 0:21:30# Beat it, beat it Beat it, beat it
0:21:30 > 0:21:32# No-one wants to be defeated. #
0:21:32 > 0:21:36Michael Jackson had Eddie Van Halen play on a song called Beat It
0:21:36 > 0:21:39and then right behind it, Little Red Corvette broke.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42And between those two songs and videos,
0:21:42 > 0:21:45that was a significant shift.
0:21:45 > 0:21:47# Little Red Corvette
0:21:48 > 0:21:52# Baby, you're much too fast, oh
0:21:52 > 0:21:54# Little Red Corvette. #
0:21:54 > 0:21:58Where many acts were experimenting with story-based videos,
0:21:58 > 0:22:03Prince used MTV to showcase his talent as a live performer.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Prince was great for video, man.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08He was perfect for the MTV and that whole video generation then
0:22:08 > 0:22:12because he was different. He had raw sexuality going on. He could play, he wasn't a fluke.
0:22:12 > 0:22:14He could sing like a bird.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17# I guess I shoulda closed my eyes
0:22:17 > 0:22:22# When you drove me to the place Where your horses run free. #
0:22:22 > 0:22:26I just remember very, very literally seeing
0:22:26 > 0:22:28the impact the song was having
0:22:28 > 0:22:33reflected in the make-up of the audiences in the shows.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38This tidal wave of white was hitting the arena every night!
0:22:38 > 0:22:41And the audience was getting whiter and whiter and whiter
0:22:41 > 0:22:43as that song was climbing the charts.
0:22:43 > 0:22:44# Oh, yeah
0:22:44 > 0:22:46# Little Red Corvette. #
0:22:46 > 0:22:50Little Red Corvette finally delivered Prince's first Top 10 hit
0:22:50 > 0:22:52on the US Billboard chart.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55But just as they were breaking into the big-time, Dez Dickerson
0:22:55 > 0:22:57left the band and was swiftly replaced
0:22:57 > 0:22:59by guitarist, Wendy Melvoin.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02Keen to capitalise on his chart breakthrough,
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Prince embarked on the most ambitious project of his career.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09ORGAN PLAYS
0:23:10 > 0:23:12# Dearly beloved... #
0:23:12 > 0:23:16We first got a drift of the idea of Purple Rain during the 1999 tour.
0:23:16 > 0:23:21You know, like, "Yeah, right!" I was probably the most sceptical of anybody in the camp. It's like,
0:23:21 > 0:23:23"Who the hell does he think he is?
0:23:23 > 0:23:27"Great artist, it's a fun tour, love working for him but a movie? Get outta here."
0:23:27 > 0:23:30I don't think anybody took the idea seriously but Prince.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Riding high on the success of the 1999 album,
0:23:33 > 0:23:35Prince convinced Warner Records and Pictures
0:23:35 > 0:23:37to support his vision for a feature film.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Loosely based on events in his own life and filmed in Minneapolis,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43Purple Rain starred Prince
0:23:43 > 0:23:46as The Kid and supported by newcomer Apollonia Kotero,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50his band, The Revolution, and their nemesis, The Time.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54Here was an unproven star making a movie in Minneapolis?!
0:23:57 > 0:24:00With a rookie director and unknown cast,
0:24:00 > 0:24:02it was a huge gamble for all involved.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Do you have any experience?
0:24:04 > 0:24:09# If you don't like the world you're living in
0:24:09 > 0:24:10# Take a look around... #
0:24:10 > 0:24:13But by the time of the film's Hollywood premiere in July '84,
0:24:13 > 0:24:16word was out that Purple Rain was a must-see,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20and an A-list of stars gathered for the biggest night of Prince's career to date.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25As Prince entered the theatre that night, no-one,
0:24:25 > 0:24:28not even Prince, could've predicted the impact of the film.
0:24:28 > 0:24:30MC: His Royal badness, Prince!
0:24:34 > 0:24:36MUSIC: "When Doves Cry" by Prince.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40The movie was set up by When Doves Cry
0:24:40 > 0:24:45which was the first single from it. And how does Prince give you
0:24:45 > 0:24:48one of those riveting things that you can't get away from?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Have you ever heard a Number One song on the radio
0:24:51 > 0:24:52that didn't have bass?
0:24:55 > 0:24:59There's like a three-note hook and it's like, "That's it!
0:24:59 > 0:25:02"It's a million-seller, forget about it." It's, you know...
0:25:02 > 0:25:05Anybody who had pop ears recognised that was going to be
0:25:05 > 0:25:08an absolutely drop-dead huge single.
0:25:08 > 0:25:11# Dig, if you will, the picture
0:25:11 > 0:25:15# Of you and I engaged in a kiss
0:25:15 > 0:25:19# The sweat of your body covers me
0:25:19 > 0:25:23# This is what it sounds like When doves cry. #
0:25:24 > 0:25:27It's just a song that resonates, I think for all of us
0:25:27 > 0:25:32who have relationships that are turbulent.
0:25:32 > 0:25:34What I really love is the imagery.
0:25:34 > 0:25:39You know, to say, "this is what it sounds like when doves cry."
0:25:39 > 0:25:40What does that sound like?
0:25:40 > 0:25:43You know, it's... You know what it is.
0:25:43 > 0:25:46When Doves Cry was Prince's first Number One
0:25:46 > 0:25:48on the US Billboard charts, but for many,
0:25:48 > 0:25:52the film's highlight was a performance that showed just how far he'd come
0:25:52 > 0:25:55since his traumatic appearance on American Bandstand.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58MUSIC: "Purple Rain" by Prince.
0:26:11 > 0:26:15# I never meant to cause you any sorrow
0:26:20 > 0:26:23# I never meant to cause you any pain
0:26:28 > 0:26:31# I only wanted one time to see you laughing
0:26:34 > 0:26:38# I only wanted to see you laughing
0:26:38 > 0:26:41# In the purple rain
0:26:41 > 0:26:45# Purple rain, purple rain. #
0:26:46 > 0:26:48You listen to the influences of that song.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52That song could've been done by a country artist, you know.
0:26:52 > 0:26:57It's very mainstream, Mid-Western United States rock'n'roll.
0:26:57 > 0:27:00# Purple rain, purple rain. #
0:27:00 > 0:27:03There's no funk in that thing at all!
0:27:03 > 0:27:08There's no R&B in that song, it's just straight-ahead, anthemic rock 'n' roll.
0:27:08 > 0:27:15# I only wanted to see you bathing in the purple rain
0:27:15 > 0:27:19# I never wanted to be your weekend lover... #
0:27:21 > 0:27:25Because the song itself is very cinematic and emotional,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29and you couple that with the visual element of the film
0:27:29 > 0:27:32and it's hard not to have a hit.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36That was the perfect song at the perfect time.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39# Baby, I could never steal you from another... #
0:27:39 > 0:27:43Purple Rain was a very conscious decision to try to take
0:27:43 > 0:27:47all these different styles and ideas he was swimming around in
0:27:47 > 0:27:50and laser-focusing them down to something that would be
0:27:50 > 0:27:55so accessible to a dance audience and a rock audience,
0:27:55 > 0:27:56to a male and a female audience.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59That would make him this kind of sex god
0:27:59 > 0:28:05and also this crazy guitar hero that heavy metal kids would respect.
0:28:05 > 0:28:06GUITAR SOLO
0:28:24 > 0:28:27Hollywood's history with bringing rock'n'roll
0:28:27 > 0:28:28to the screen wasn't good.
0:28:28 > 0:28:32I think it's fair to say that it may be the first time
0:28:32 > 0:28:36that the excitement of that kind of a rock'n'roll concert
0:28:36 > 0:28:40was really, really brought to the screen as vividly as it was.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43# I'm not your lover I'm not your friend
0:28:43 > 0:28:47# I am something that you'll never comprehend
0:28:47 > 0:28:50# No need to worry No need to cry... #
0:28:50 > 0:28:53I dug the fact that Prince showed everybody,
0:28:53 > 0:28:55"You know what, I'm going to show you how to get down.
0:28:55 > 0:28:57"I'm not just a recording artist.
0:28:57 > 0:28:58"I'm-a get down."
0:28:58 > 0:29:01And he gets down in that film. I mean, he gets... DOWN.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05He performs his ass off, man. That's what Purple Rain was.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08It's like, "You might not understand me, you might not even know me yet.
0:29:08 > 0:29:11"This is my world I'm going to present to you.
0:29:11 > 0:29:12"Come into my world."
0:29:12 > 0:29:14# Darling, if you want me to... #
0:29:14 > 0:29:18I think what we underestimated was that Prince was representing a trend
0:29:18 > 0:29:21in which Minneapolis was a little ahead of the curve
0:29:21 > 0:29:22compared to most of America
0:29:22 > 0:29:27and that was the idea that mixed audiences here, reflecting
0:29:27 > 0:29:30his band, could actually be in the same club grooving to the same music,
0:29:30 > 0:29:33dancing with each other without any self-consciousness.
0:29:33 > 0:29:36It was a statement that really hadn't been made
0:29:36 > 0:29:38in mainstream culture as yet.
0:29:38 > 0:29:45So Prince had really brought all of these people together,
0:29:45 > 0:29:49you know, for the love of his music, his performance,
0:29:49 > 0:29:52his style of entertainment.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55Prince won an Oscar for Best Soundtrack
0:29:55 > 0:29:57and the film grossed over 80 million.
0:29:57 > 0:30:00For the first time since The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night,
0:30:00 > 0:30:03a pop act simultaneously held Number One
0:30:03 > 0:30:06at the box office, album and single charts.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16But his elevation from musical maverick to poster boy
0:30:16 > 0:30:18wasn't without controversy.
0:30:18 > 0:30:21# I knew a girl named Nikki
0:30:21 > 0:30:24# I guess you could say she was a sex fiend
0:30:24 > 0:30:27# I met her in a hotel lobby
0:30:27 > 0:30:31# Masturbating with a magazine... #
0:30:31 > 0:30:33I bought the Purple Rain album for our 11-year-old
0:30:33 > 0:30:36and I didn't know that Darling Nikki was on it,
0:30:36 > 0:30:38and I felt that it was inappropriate for her
0:30:38 > 0:30:42and her eight and six-year-old sisters to hear a song describing a girl masturbating
0:30:42 > 0:30:45in a hotel lobby with a magazine.
0:30:47 > 0:30:50The film carried an R rating in America, suitable for 17-year-olds,
0:30:50 > 0:30:55but the music industry didn't have a similar rating for song lyrics -
0:30:55 > 0:30:59a fact seized upon by influential members of the Parents Music Resource Center.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02I had no warning. In fact, all I knew was that Prince
0:31:02 > 0:31:04was the new creative teen idol on the scene.
0:31:04 > 0:31:08# Nikki started to grind... #
0:31:08 > 0:31:10The 1985 congressional hearings
0:31:10 > 0:31:12into song lyrics resulted in records
0:31:12 > 0:31:17having warning stickers for explicit sexual and violent content.
0:31:17 > 0:31:20It's easy to look back at the '80s and Madonna and Prince
0:31:20 > 0:31:23and say it was this time of liberation and expression,
0:31:23 > 0:31:28but really, what was so powerful about those guys was this was the Ronald Reagan America -
0:31:28 > 0:31:30in some ways,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32the most socially conservative era
0:31:32 > 0:31:35that the United States had ever seen before.
0:31:37 > 0:31:42From the early days, the sexual nature of Prince's songs and shows
0:31:42 > 0:31:45had attracted its fair share of controversy.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49# I just can't believe all the things people say
0:31:51 > 0:31:53# Controversy... #
0:31:53 > 0:31:56Yet behind the raunchy image was an artist torn between the erotic
0:31:56 > 0:32:00and the spiritual - themes that have remained centre-stage
0:32:00 > 0:32:02throughout his career.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04# Do I believe in God?
0:32:04 > 0:32:06# Do I believe in me?
0:32:06 > 0:32:08# Yeah
0:32:08 > 0:32:10# Controversy... #
0:32:10 > 0:32:13He's always been immensely spiritual
0:32:13 > 0:32:15and God has always been a part of his work.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19He began to juxtapose the blatantly sexual stuff
0:32:19 > 0:32:21with, sort of, oddly religious things.
0:32:21 > 0:32:25I think the first real manifestation of that was in Controversy.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28# Our Father, who art in Heaven... #
0:32:28 > 0:32:33He put the Lord's Prayer in the middle of the song,
0:32:33 > 0:32:35and, increasingly, that became kind of a motif,
0:32:35 > 0:32:39where there'd be something really, really raunchy and sexual
0:32:39 > 0:32:42followed up by something really religious.
0:32:42 > 0:32:44# Our daily bread
0:32:44 > 0:32:46# And forgive us our trespasses... #
0:32:46 > 0:32:50The tensions and the conflict between sex and religion
0:32:50 > 0:32:54sit at the very heart of the history of black popular music.
0:32:54 > 0:32:58Whether it was Sam Cooke or whether it was Marvin Gaye,
0:32:58 > 0:33:01and certainly, with Prince, there's always been
0:33:01 > 0:33:04this undercurrent of this big spiralling spirituality.
0:33:04 > 0:33:11He will substitute the subject of his affections from God to love.
0:33:11 > 0:33:13The refrain at the very end of the song Anna Stesia,
0:33:13 > 0:33:17from the Lovesexy album - "Love is God, God is love
0:33:17 > 0:33:19"Girls and boys love God above..."
0:33:19 > 0:33:20# Love is God
0:33:20 > 0:33:23# God is love
0:33:23 > 0:33:28But the chorus is, "Anna Stesia, come to me, talk to me, ravish me."
0:33:28 > 0:33:30# Anna Stesia, come to me
0:33:30 > 0:33:31# Talk to me
0:33:31 > 0:33:33# Ravish me
0:33:33 > 0:33:35# Liberate my mind... #
0:33:35 > 0:33:38There has always been this kind of rubbing
0:33:38 > 0:33:43of the tectonic plates of sex and God.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Those are the biggest questions. He's making music that's never been afraid
0:33:46 > 0:33:48to go straight at those biggest questions.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52# If you ask God to love you longer
0:33:52 > 0:33:56# Every breath you take will make you stronger... #
0:33:56 > 0:33:57Later in his career,
0:33:57 > 0:34:00it's become much more the defining part of his work.
0:34:00 > 0:34:04This is obviously something that he's struggled with for his career
0:34:04 > 0:34:06and will struggle with for all of his life.
0:34:06 > 0:34:09# Tonight the truth will be told
0:34:09 > 0:34:11# And this time I was listening Listen to me now
0:34:11 > 0:34:15# Let's go down to the holy river
0:34:15 > 0:34:19# Let's go down to the holy river
0:34:19 > 0:34:22# Let's go down, down, and down. #
0:34:30 > 0:34:34# She wore a raspberry beret
0:34:34 > 0:34:39# The kind you find in a second hand store
0:34:39 > 0:34:42# Raspberry beret
0:34:42 > 0:34:46# I think I love her
0:34:47 > 0:34:50# Built like she was She had the nerve to ask me... #
0:34:50 > 0:34:53In 1985, Prince followed the anthemic rock of Purple Rain
0:34:53 > 0:34:57with the psychedelic album Around The World In A Day.
0:34:57 > 0:35:01There were still colours in his palate that he hadn't used yet.
0:35:01 > 0:35:05He was surrounded by an increasingly broad spectrum of people,
0:35:05 > 0:35:06that brought different ideas.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10You know, so his whole scope was still broadening.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13# She wasn't too bright
0:35:13 > 0:35:16# But I could tell when she kissed me
0:35:16 > 0:35:18# She knew how to get her kicks
0:35:18 > 0:35:21# She wore a raspberry beret... #
0:35:21 > 0:35:24You listen to that album, it's experimental-sounding to me.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27Pretty complicated technically.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30He was literally playing exactly what he heard in his head
0:35:30 > 0:35:32in one take.
0:35:32 > 0:35:36Kind of like Mozart used to write parts to symphonies down,
0:35:36 > 0:35:39hear it in his head and he'd just write it out on paper.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41He was in and out of the studio constantly
0:35:41 > 0:35:45and it seemed like, more than at any other time in his career,
0:35:45 > 0:35:47just brilliant music was passing through him.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49# Uh... #
0:35:52 > 0:35:56It was as if this huge flower had finally just blossomed.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00# Don't have to be rich to be my girl
0:36:00 > 0:36:04# You don't have to be cool to rule my world
0:36:04 > 0:36:08# Ain't no particular sign I'm more compatible with
0:36:08 > 0:36:14# I just want your extra time and your...
0:36:14 > 0:36:15# Kiss
0:36:15 > 0:36:16# Yes... #
0:36:16 > 0:36:20During the mid '80s, Prince combined his talent for writing smash hits
0:36:20 > 0:36:22with studio experimentation -
0:36:22 > 0:36:24a combination that peaked with the release
0:36:24 > 0:36:26of a groundbreaking double album in 1987.
0:36:26 > 0:36:29# Oh, yeah... #
0:36:29 > 0:36:33You knew when you heard Sign O'The Times, it was history.
0:36:33 > 0:36:35There weren't many musical instruments.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38It was kind of futuristic sounding - it was very sparse.
0:36:38 > 0:36:41But the lyrical content was incredible.
0:36:41 > 0:36:45He was speaking about the situation of the world in a really unique
0:36:45 > 0:36:46and different way.
0:37:09 > 0:37:12Sign O'The Times, he's almost rapping on that.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14That was very inspirational to me,
0:37:14 > 0:37:16especially in the beginning of my career,
0:37:16 > 0:37:20to try to write more songs that were kind of like...
0:37:20 > 0:37:23Would jab at you and then punch you with a line.
0:37:34 > 0:37:38It is the rhythm plus the instrumentation plus the delivery
0:37:38 > 0:37:42that just makes for something that was truly distinctive to me,
0:37:42 > 0:37:44that was sort of that one moment
0:37:44 > 0:37:48where he hit everything out of the park.
0:37:48 > 0:37:51# It's silly, no? When a rocket ship explodes
0:37:51 > 0:37:53# And everybody still wants to fly
0:37:56 > 0:37:57# Some say a man... #
0:37:57 > 0:38:03No-one was touching the writing, the explorative nature
0:38:03 > 0:38:04of that album.
0:38:04 > 0:38:07He was trying different recording techniques. I mean,
0:38:07 > 0:38:11he was one of the first to do that whole thing of singing a vocal
0:38:11 > 0:38:14and speeding it up to create an alter ego,
0:38:14 > 0:38:16in his case, Camille,
0:38:16 > 0:38:19and then, on If I Was Your Girlfriend,
0:38:19 > 0:38:24you had Camille going, # If I was your girlfriend... #
0:38:24 > 0:38:26# Would you remember
0:38:26 > 0:38:28# To tell me all the things you forgot
0:38:28 > 0:38:31# When I was your man? #
0:38:31 > 0:38:33I mean, you had the backing vocals,
0:38:33 > 0:38:37which was his voice tuned down, so it was really slow, like this.
0:38:37 > 0:38:41I was like, "I've never heard ANYTHING like that!"
0:38:41 > 0:38:43# Would you run to me
0:38:43 > 0:38:44# If somebody hurt you
0:38:44 > 0:38:49# Even if that somebody was me? #
0:38:49 > 0:38:51When he did the characters like Camille,
0:38:51 > 0:38:53you didn't know who he was or what he was trying to be
0:38:53 > 0:38:54and maybe he didn't know.
0:38:54 > 0:38:58He just thinks he's got different people that are inside him
0:38:58 > 0:39:00and he shifts into that persona.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03Does he shift into those personas for music? Absolutely.
0:39:03 > 0:39:04# Housequake
0:39:04 > 0:39:06# In your funky town
0:39:06 > 0:39:07# Housequake
0:39:07 > 0:39:09# And the kick drum is the fault
0:39:09 > 0:39:11# We got to rock this mother Say housequake
0:39:11 > 0:39:13# Uh
0:39:13 > 0:39:16# We gotta rock this mother Say housequake, uh... #
0:39:16 > 0:39:19This landmark album signalled the end of an era.
0:39:19 > 0:39:21The Revolution was disbanded and Prince signed up
0:39:21 > 0:39:23a new crop of brilliant musicians
0:39:23 > 0:39:27such as Eric Leeds on saxophone and sultry percussionist Sheila E.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32# Damn! We got to get off You know what I'm talking about
0:39:32 > 0:39:33# On the one, y'all say
0:39:33 > 0:39:34# Housequake Top of your body... #
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Sheila.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40His spectacular live shows contained elaborate choreography and design,
0:39:40 > 0:39:43with Prince directing every aspect of the operation
0:39:43 > 0:39:45with his usual attention to detail.
0:39:45 > 0:39:49In every four, you need the long snare roll, right?
0:39:49 > 0:39:51The thing that gets to be crazy is that
0:39:51 > 0:39:55we will learn the show and then the next day, he'll change it,
0:39:55 > 0:39:58as if we didn't learn anything, and start all over again.
0:39:58 > 0:40:02# Just my imagination... #
0:40:02 > 0:40:05The rehearsal process for Prince
0:40:05 > 0:40:08is kind of a process of self-discovery
0:40:08 > 0:40:11and once we go through the several months of actually learning
0:40:11 > 0:40:13the material and really learning the music,
0:40:13 > 0:40:15then we go into the production rehearsal.
0:40:15 > 0:40:17And it's real tedious work.
0:40:17 > 0:40:21It is not enjoyable for anybody, probably least of all Prince.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24BAND PLAYS "Sister" ON VIDEO
0:40:27 > 0:40:30It's a bad spot for you there.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39When he goes on stage, you just lose yourself.
0:40:39 > 0:40:43The energy, the music... You just have lift-off.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45He's just the ultimate showman.
0:40:45 > 0:40:47Yeah, oh, Alphabet Street!
0:40:47 > 0:40:50- AUDIENCE:- Yeah, oh, Alphabet Street!
0:40:50 > 0:40:52Yeah, oh, Alphabet Street!
0:40:52 > 0:40:54- AUDIENCE:- Yeah, oh...
0:40:54 > 0:40:57As if performing these physically demanding sets wasn't enough,
0:40:57 > 0:41:01Prince would often rush away to play all-night sessions
0:41:01 > 0:41:04at his now legendary after-show parties.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08These gigs are still a big draw,
0:41:08 > 0:41:11with Prince inviting other musicians to jam with him,
0:41:11 > 0:41:17from Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood to an unsuspecting 18-year-old singer.
0:41:17 > 0:41:20Suddenly, he goes, "We have Mica Paris here tonight
0:41:20 > 0:41:22"and I'd like her to sing."
0:41:22 > 0:41:25And then I had no choice. And it was Just My Imagination
0:41:25 > 0:41:27by the Temptations.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31# It was just
0:41:31 > 0:41:36# My imagination... #
0:41:36 > 0:41:41I know that song for some reason. I was so nervous I actually forgot the words.
0:41:41 > 0:41:44# Just my
0:41:44 > 0:41:47# Just my imagination... #
0:41:47 > 0:41:50There seemed no limits to Prince's energy and passion for music.
0:41:50 > 0:41:54Keen to keep his song-writing and producing talents in-house,
0:41:54 > 0:41:59Warners offered him his own label - Paisley Park Records.
0:42:06 > 0:42:10Running his own label gave Prince a thirst for being in control
0:42:10 > 0:42:12of every aspect of his creative world -
0:42:12 > 0:42:17not only the music, but also film-making, design and wardrobe.
0:42:17 > 0:42:20And in 1988, he built his own Paisley Park Studios
0:42:20 > 0:42:24on the outskirts of his hometown, Minneapolis.
0:42:24 > 0:42:28There was an aspect of Prince that was very Howard Hughes-ish,
0:42:28 > 0:42:30wanting to have an isolated environment
0:42:30 > 0:42:33from not just the public but the industry.
0:42:33 > 0:42:36Since the early days, Prince had refused interviews
0:42:36 > 0:42:41and tried to control what was said about him by girlfriends and those within the camp.
0:42:41 > 0:42:42# U got that look... #
0:42:43 > 0:42:47Paisley Park, with its 24-hour studios, grand designs
0:42:47 > 0:42:50and a wardrobe department fit for royalty
0:42:50 > 0:42:53was a perfect creative hideaway, but it came at a price.
0:42:53 > 0:42:58You know, a multi-million dollar oversized complex,
0:42:58 > 0:43:00it became a very expensive playground for him.
0:43:00 > 0:43:04You could certainly make the argument that he didn't need
0:43:04 > 0:43:07a wardrobe staff of ten people that were constantly manufacturing
0:43:07 > 0:43:12clothing for he and his band and any girlfriend and anybody else he decided to dress.
0:43:12 > 0:43:15I don't think he ever gave a thought to the expense of it.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18It was just part of that fantasy, that Howard Hughes idea that...
0:43:18 > 0:43:22"Now we don't even have to leave the complex to shop for clothes."
0:43:22 > 0:43:24# I have only had one lover
0:43:24 > 0:43:28# Since I was 12 years old... #
0:43:28 > 0:43:31One of the first singers to record for the Paisley Park label
0:43:31 > 0:43:33was former girlfriend Jill Jones,
0:43:33 > 0:43:37who appreciated Prince's ability to get the best out of his artists.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40# But there's something about you, baby... #
0:43:40 > 0:43:44He had a tremendous way of making people feel comfortable.
0:43:44 > 0:43:47He was not a stickler for "No, no, no, no."
0:43:47 > 0:43:49And if you could do something to surprise him
0:43:49 > 0:43:53and you could get that moment, he was cool with that.
0:43:54 > 0:43:57Prince was also keen to use the label to produce some of his
0:43:57 > 0:44:01musical idols, such as legendary gospel singer Mavis Staples.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05Those were moments that were just so incredible for him,
0:44:05 > 0:44:09because they were singing and they surprised in the studio
0:44:09 > 0:44:11and that's just, like, joyous.
0:44:11 > 0:44:15He came on the phone. He said, "Mavis, how would you like to go in the studio tomorrow?
0:44:15 > 0:44:20I said, "What are we going to do?" He said, "I have this song I've written, a gospel song."
0:44:20 > 0:44:23I said, "Wait - let me look at your lyrics here."
0:44:23 > 0:44:27What he first told me is, "God is coming, like a dog in heat."
0:44:27 > 0:44:33I said, "Wait a minute, Prince! 'God is coming, like a dog in heat'?!"
0:44:33 > 0:44:36He said, "But wait, Mavis - you got to hear the rest."
0:44:36 > 0:44:39He's looking for soldiers with strong feet.
0:44:39 > 0:44:43And I just said, "Well, all right, then. We can go with that."
0:44:43 > 0:44:45Just think about that when you're doing it
0:44:45 > 0:44:48because we're together now, and we got something to say, right?
0:44:48 > 0:44:53It's really interesting, working with him and watching him.
0:44:53 > 0:44:54He works the board.
0:44:54 > 0:44:58When we go in, he sends the engineer out and he does everything.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02# God is alive... #
0:45:05 > 0:45:06Oh, I got a live one here.
0:45:06 > 0:45:08MANIACAL LAUGHTER
0:45:08 > 0:45:11The financial strain of running a studio complex was balanced
0:45:11 > 0:45:14by a growing demand for his music,
0:45:14 > 0:45:17including a song for Tim Burton's blockbuster movie Batman,
0:45:17 > 0:45:20that reached the top of the US charts in 1989.
0:45:22 > 0:45:24Get the funk up!
0:45:24 > 0:45:25Batman!
0:45:25 > 0:45:27He was so prolific that he could even afford
0:45:27 > 0:45:32to give away some of his songs, such as Manic Monday for one of his favourite bands,
0:45:32 > 0:45:33The Bangles.
0:45:33 > 0:45:36# It's just another Manic Monday
0:45:36 > 0:45:38# Oh-oh
0:45:38 > 0:45:40# I wish it was Sunday
0:45:40 > 0:45:42# Oh-oh
0:45:42 > 0:45:44# Cos that's my fun day... #
0:45:44 > 0:45:48And in 1990, Sinead O'Connor's cover of Nothing Compares 2 U
0:45:48 > 0:45:52was the first Prince song to reach number one in the UK Charts.
0:45:52 > 0:45:58# I know that living with you, baby, was sometimes hard
0:46:00 > 0:46:07# But I'm willing to give it another try
0:46:07 > 0:46:12# Nothing compares
0:46:12 > 0:46:15# Nothing compares
0:46:15 > 0:46:17# To you... #
0:46:20 > 0:46:24During the early '90s, Prince continued to be as prolific as ever
0:46:24 > 0:46:27with his latest band, the New Power Generation.
0:46:27 > 0:46:29# Cream
0:46:29 > 0:46:31# Get on top
0:46:31 > 0:46:33# Cream
0:46:33 > 0:46:35# You will cop
0:46:35 > 0:46:37# Cream
0:46:37 > 0:46:40# Don't you stop
0:46:40 > 0:46:42# Cream Sh-boogie bop
0:46:42 > 0:46:45# You're so good... #
0:46:45 > 0:46:49His band to this day, the super-sized NPG's early line-up
0:46:49 > 0:46:52included vocalist Rosie Gaines and Prince's future wife,
0:46:52 > 0:46:54dancer and singer Mayte.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57When the 1991 album Diamonds And Pearls was a global hit,
0:46:57 > 0:47:00there seemed little threat to Prince's commercial appeal.
0:47:00 > 0:47:04# Diamonds and pearls...
0:47:05 > 0:47:08# Would you be a happy boy or a girl?
0:47:10 > 0:47:16# If I could I would give you the world
0:47:16 > 0:47:21# All I can do is just offer you my love... #
0:47:21 > 0:47:25However, Prince's now-familiar mix of ballads, funk,
0:47:25 > 0:47:28rock and raunchy lyrics were losing ground to the latest sounds.
0:47:28 > 0:47:32# Competition's payin' the price I'm gonna knock you out... #
0:47:32 > 0:47:38One thing that happened to him was that really he had lost contact with the black audience.
0:47:38 > 0:47:40Black tastes in music had changed. Rap had happened.
0:47:40 > 0:47:42# And I'm just gettin' warm... #
0:47:42 > 0:47:48He at first completely rejected rap and said it wasn't valid.
0:47:48 > 0:47:52Well, with Prince, I mean, with anybody, it's easy to be down on hip-hop.
0:47:52 > 0:47:56He probably said, "This is what's coming through the mainstream
0:47:56 > 0:48:00the most, and I take issue with that.
0:48:00 > 0:48:01# Don't
0:48:01 > 0:48:04# Don't believe the hype... #
0:48:04 > 0:48:06But then he started to get deeper
0:48:06 > 0:48:09and deeper into what was done behind the scenes.
0:48:09 > 0:48:12That is when Prince's understanding of hip-hop and rap
0:48:12 > 0:48:14started to become, you know, a little different.
0:48:14 > 0:48:16# My name is Prince
0:48:16 > 0:48:18# And I am funky... #
0:48:18 > 0:48:20Prince is the ultimate musician.
0:48:20 > 0:48:24So eventually, you know, he was able to absorb what was going on,
0:48:24 > 0:48:28the great aspects, leave the bones to the side
0:48:28 > 0:48:31and use it in his music.
0:48:31 > 0:48:34# My name is Prince and I am funky
0:48:34 > 0:48:37# When it comes to funk
0:48:37 > 0:48:38# I am a junkie
0:48:38 > 0:48:41# I know from righteous
0:48:41 > 0:48:43# I know from sin
0:48:43 > 0:48:46# I got two sides And they're both friends... #
0:48:46 > 0:48:50But his flirtation with hip-hop wasn't the commercial success
0:48:50 > 0:48:52Prince had hoped for.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56Like any other artist, he very predictably started lashing out
0:48:56 > 0:48:59at his label and holding them accountable for that.
0:48:59 > 0:49:01What artist has ever blamed his or herself?
0:49:01 > 0:49:04The relationship between artist and label collapsed.
0:49:04 > 0:49:08Prince demanded to release albums as soon as he produced them,
0:49:08 > 0:49:12but as record sales started to slump, Warners put pressure on him
0:49:12 > 0:49:14to record less and promote more.
0:49:14 > 0:49:15# My name is Prince
0:49:15 > 0:49:17# And I am funky... #
0:49:24 > 0:49:26On June the 7th, 1993,
0:49:26 > 0:49:29The Artist announced to the world that Prince was dead,
0:49:29 > 0:49:32and he was now to be identified by an unpronounceable symbol.
0:49:32 > 0:49:34# There's a mountain
0:49:34 > 0:49:37# And it's mighty high
0:49:37 > 0:49:40# You cannot see the top
0:49:40 > 0:49:42# Unless you fly... #
0:49:42 > 0:49:46Since his first album in '78, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince
0:49:46 > 0:49:50had demanded and been given total control over his recordings.
0:49:50 > 0:49:53Now Warners wanted to restrict how much he released,
0:49:53 > 0:49:57leading to a public battle over the control of his music.
0:49:59 > 0:50:02There was a theory in the industry at that time
0:50:02 > 0:50:06where you'd release an album every two years and tour for 18 months...
0:50:06 > 0:50:08# If you ain't gonna break the mould... #
0:50:08 > 0:50:12..sell zillions of records, go back in the studio and make another record and start all over again.
0:50:12 > 0:50:16He didn't want to know about that.
0:50:18 > 0:50:22A few years ago when I spoke to him he said,
0:50:22 > 0:50:25"I make a record - by the time it's out, I've made another record.
0:50:25 > 0:50:27"By the time I tour, I've made a third record.
0:50:27 > 0:50:30"And the label is insisting that I go back
0:50:30 > 0:50:33"and promote this thing that I made two records ago."
0:50:35 > 0:50:40The normally reclusive artist came out of hiding to voice his grievances with the label
0:50:40 > 0:50:43as he attempted to break free from Warners.
0:50:43 > 0:50:47I'm here with the New Power Generation and The Artist Formerly Known As Prince
0:50:47 > 0:50:48is a member of the band.
0:50:48 > 0:50:52He's agreed to his first television interview in over a decade,
0:50:52 > 0:50:54but is refusing to answer any questions.
0:50:54 > 0:50:55You seem to be fighting for freedom.
0:50:55 > 0:50:58What is it that you want to be free from
0:50:58 > 0:51:02when you are talking about your record company? Maybe Mayte could tell me what?
0:51:02 > 0:51:06In your job, can you leave it if you want to?
0:51:06 > 0:51:09- Yeah, I can.- Well, in the record industry, you can't.
0:51:11 > 0:51:14'They advance you a bunch of money to make your album.'
0:51:14 > 0:51:17Then you pay them that money back through your record royalties,
0:51:17 > 0:51:20but at the end of the day, they still own it!
0:51:20 > 0:51:24Part of the reason they owned him is because of contracts he signed
0:51:24 > 0:51:28and the agreements he made and money he took from them, that you cannot undo.
0:51:28 > 0:51:35He was having a lot of trouble with them owning him, hence the word "slave" on the side of the face.
0:51:35 > 0:51:41# How beautiful the words have to be
0:51:43 > 0:51:47# Before they conquer every heart... #
0:51:47 > 0:51:50A lot of people had no idea what he was talking about
0:51:50 > 0:51:53when he was painting "slave" on his face
0:51:53 > 0:51:56and talking about how the label was controlling his music
0:51:56 > 0:51:59and keeping it down and not letting him put out what he wanted to put out.
0:51:59 > 0:52:02I think now everybody understands those issues.
0:52:02 > 0:52:07If you lined up every superstar artist there is they would all say "Thanks, he was right."
0:52:07 > 0:52:12He was the only one that had the courage to fight it.
0:52:12 > 0:52:18# If I came back as a dolphin would you listen to me then?
0:52:18 > 0:52:21# Would you let me be your friend? #
0:52:21 > 0:52:25History will never deny that Warners was incredibly supportive
0:52:25 > 0:52:27of Prince throughout their relationship
0:52:27 > 0:52:31and the support they showed him in terms of the freedom he had
0:52:31 > 0:52:34to record and produce wherever, whenever,
0:52:34 > 0:52:38how often he wanted to, at whatever cost - nothing was ever questioned.
0:52:38 > 0:52:42I can't think of another artist who enjoyed that kind of freedom
0:52:42 > 0:52:44or took advantage of it to the point that Prince did.
0:52:44 > 0:52:48Like a lot of marriages, it reached a point when it no longer worked.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50It was really just that simple.
0:52:54 > 0:52:55# Could you be
0:52:57 > 0:53:01# The most beautiful girl in the world?
0:53:04 > 0:53:06# It's plain to see... #
0:53:06 > 0:53:08Even in the midst of his battle with Warners,
0:53:08 > 0:53:14Prince maintained a knack for writing smash hits and celebrated his first UK number one
0:53:14 > 0:53:16with The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.
0:53:17 > 0:53:22# When that day turned into the last day... #
0:53:22 > 0:53:27When his contract with Warners came to an end in '96,
0:53:27 > 0:53:28he reverted to his own name.
0:53:28 > 0:53:32No longer slave to a recording deal, Prince was now free
0:53:32 > 0:53:35to distribute his music whenever and however he wanted.
0:53:42 > 0:53:43# Sweat
0:53:47 > 0:53:48# Sweat
0:53:51 > 0:53:53# Sweat... #
0:53:53 > 0:53:57Prince is on record as saying he is going to record a song every day until the day he dies.
0:53:57 > 0:53:59# Workin'
0:53:59 > 0:54:02# Workin' up a black sweat
0:54:02 > 0:54:06# Workin' I'm workin' up a black sweat... #
0:54:06 > 0:54:11He is as good now as he is ever been, but the way that he releases the music makes it hard sometimes
0:54:11 > 0:54:14for people to pay attention.
0:54:14 > 0:54:18A good example of that is when he released Emancipation.
0:54:18 > 0:54:22It's a huge three-hour triple disc set that takes a long time to get through.
0:54:22 > 0:54:25Then he released a four-CD box set with Crystal Ball.
0:54:25 > 0:54:28# If I had a dollar for every time... #
0:54:28 > 0:54:32The output was so extraordinary that there wasn't time to listen to it or think about it.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35# Then it hit you like a fist on a wall
0:54:35 > 0:54:39# Who gave you life when there was none at all?
0:54:39 > 0:54:44# Who gave the sun permission to rise up every day? #
0:54:46 > 0:54:49Prince is so much of a perfectionist
0:54:49 > 0:54:53that I think people could get lazy at his brilliance
0:54:53 > 0:54:56and also get numb to the fact that
0:54:56 > 0:55:00he can release high standards at any given time,
0:55:00 > 0:55:02at an enormous rate.
0:55:02 > 0:55:06# Let's go down to the holy river... #
0:55:06 > 0:55:11From Christian rock to jazz, funk and pop anthems,
0:55:11 > 0:55:15this prolific artist has to date recorded more than 30 solo albums.
0:55:17 > 0:55:20A musical chameleon who has followed his creative instincts,
0:55:20 > 0:55:24he is the ultimate entertainer.
0:55:24 > 0:55:26And from pioneering marketing to blockbuster shows,
0:55:26 > 0:55:30Prince Rogers Nelson remains a force to be reckoned with.
0:55:30 > 0:55:32# Musicology
0:55:32 > 0:55:34# All right
0:55:34 > 0:55:36# Musicology... #
0:55:39 > 0:55:42The most remarkable thing about Prince today is this is a guy
0:55:42 > 0:55:46who hasn't had a contemporary hit record in many years
0:55:46 > 0:55:51but still draws at the box office, unlike anyone else of his generation.
0:55:51 > 0:55:55He's out-paced Madonna, he's out-paced Janet Jackson.
0:55:55 > 0:55:59There isn't another phenomenon on the planet quite like Prince these days.
0:55:59 > 0:56:03# You must have heard it on the news this morning
0:56:03 > 0:56:07# Congratulations, a new star is born
0:56:07 > 0:56:10# Sun to shadow Rose to a thorn
0:56:10 > 0:56:13# There ain't no fury like a woman scorned... #
0:56:17 > 0:56:21When he's on stage, he owns everybody.
0:56:21 > 0:56:27If you've never seen him perform and you see him perform for the very first time, you're hooked.
0:56:27 > 0:56:29You are hooked.
0:56:29 > 0:56:33# You must have dug it when you did your thing... #
0:56:33 > 0:56:36He's a true artist, a love of music, a true genius
0:56:36 > 0:56:39and that is why we're still talking about him.
0:56:39 > 0:56:43# At last I can tell you what I've known so long
0:56:43 > 0:56:48# My heart's been crying out to sing this song
0:56:48 > 0:56:52# I don't care who knows it
0:56:52 > 0:56:55# Cos there's nothing wrong
0:56:55 > 0:56:57# Te amo corazon... #
0:56:57 > 0:57:01There are fans who just want whatever he can put out there.
0:57:01 > 0:57:05As an artist, that's a great place to be, but you can't have that,
0:57:05 > 0:57:10and also an expectation that everything is going to be consistent,
0:57:10 > 0:57:13everything's going to be a hit, each one will be bigger than the last one.
0:57:13 > 0:57:17Those are different trajectories.
0:57:17 > 0:57:21# Can't bear the thought of another day apart
0:57:21 > 0:57:25# My heart, my heart
0:57:25 > 0:57:27# Corazon... #
0:57:29 > 0:57:32He is the most complete rock star there is.
0:57:32 > 0:57:35Play every instrument, dance, visionary, designs his look,
0:57:35 > 0:57:41his costume, manages the marketing, building the mystery.
0:57:41 > 0:57:44No one in the history of popular music
0:57:44 > 0:57:49has been able to do all of that with such mastery the way Prince has done that.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52# Come on now
0:57:52 > 0:57:55# Get funky
0:57:56 > 0:58:00# Ow! Come on! #
0:58:02 > 0:58:06He started by creating a mystery and he keeps adding to the mystery.
0:58:06 > 0:58:11Rather than peeling away the layers, he's added more layers.
0:58:11 > 0:58:13We're more inquisitive about him than ever.
0:58:17 > 0:58:22There is of course the Prince that plays up to the enigma.
0:58:22 > 0:58:26People from the outside might think of him as being a man of few
0:58:26 > 0:58:31words and desperately shy, but of course he's not really.
0:58:31 > 0:58:38He's quite playful. Sometimes quite coquettish, I'd even say!
0:58:38 > 0:58:40The mystery has continued to surround him.
0:58:40 > 0:58:45There is always this aura and this mystique around him
0:58:45 > 0:58:48and there's never a sense that we've got him figured out.
0:58:59 > 0:59:02Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd