Horniness, frenzy, forever: With “Purple Rain” Prince lets the madness loose in June 1984. To mark the anniversary of a milestone in pop culture that is still more than astonishing today.
When it starts, people look stupid. Apparently that’s the normal reaction, the expected effect, and at least to some extent the impression can be factually backed up. There are many videos online that specifically document what people said and did and, above all, how they looked when they heard Prince’s “Purple Rain” for the first time. And it’s funny to see how a 40-year-old album still triggers the same reactions today as it did in the strange, distant time when it was brand new.