It is almost thirty years since Prince Rogers Nelson released his first album. In that time he has been a superstar; a recluse; an inspiration; an enigma; a slave; and a symbol. But throughout all these changes he has remained a prodigiously talented singer, songwriter, performer and musician. From the highs of "Purple Rain" and "Sign O" The Times" to the bitter quarrels and commercial failures of the 1990s, he has remained a compulsively creative force and a unique voice in rock, pop, soul or whatever music he turns his hand to. In this major critical biography, Brian Morton dissects the man behind the artist and shows emphatically why Prince still matters in the twenty-first century.