"The recording of Prince was made on the first night of the 1984 Purple Rain tour in Detroit, I think at Cobo Hall in Detroit. I wasn't a big Prince fan, but I was there. I shot there for People magazine and UM. The tour was called the Purple Rain Tour because the movie Purple Rain had come out. I think a year earlier. Shortly before, the tour took advantage of the film's success. I guess there's a scene in the movie where Prince is lying in a bathtub and steam is rising from the water. When they played the concerto, the set designers were able to design the effect in a bathtub on stage. This made it look like steam was actually rising and water was rising from the bathtub. The strip that looks like a jet of water in the middle of the image is actually like that. Something similar to tinsel that you would stick on a Christmas tree, or aluminum foil, something like that.

So it's not water, it's essentially a light effect and a long exposure. Since it's so dark on stage, you leave the camera shutter open for a long time to get a decent exposure. But when there's movement on stage, it starts to look like a ghost, and that's how we got that effect. And there is no water in the bathtub. It's dry ice. Somehow, the smoke comes out from dry ice and the water is just aluminum tinsel. Here's how they did it.

One of the things I remember most about this show is that nothing was played." - NEAL

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The Story behind the Picture – by Neal Preston



Neal Preston - Exhilarated and Exhausted

BOOK TIP

Neal Preston is one of the greatest rock photographers of all time. "Exhilarated and Exhausted" is an unrestricted retrospective of his 40-year career. This was produced in collaboration with Neal and is the first time he has granted unrestricted access to his legendary archive – it is considered one of the most important and extensive photo collections in the music industry. This extraordinary band is a who's who of rock kings.

Neal has been the official tour photographer for Led Zeppelin, Queen, Bruce Springsteen and The Who, and has also photographed extensively the Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson and many more.

The book includes his portraits, backstage moments, live performances, post-performance highs and lows, and outtakes. Neal's photographs vibrate with a palpable and inimitable intensity. Neal is a true insider, and the images are brought to life by his liner text – a stunning insight into life as a rock 'n' roll photographer on tour.