Purple Rain turns 40 this year: Celebrate with limited edition Purple Rain splatter vinyl

"Well, for starters, you have to purify yourself in the waters of Lake Minnetonka." This line is spoken by Prince in his first acting role in the 1984 movie Purple Rain, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. The movie is a rock musical featuring outstanding performances by Prince and his band, The Revolution.

The film is directed by Albert Magnoli, known for the 1989 buddy cop movie Tango & Cash which stars Sylvester Stallone, Kurt Russell, Jack Palance, and Teri Hatcher. Magnoli co-wrote the screenplay with William Blinn and would eventually become Prince's manager.

The Lake Minnetonka quote fits nicely as the movie was filmed in Prince's hometown of Minneapolis, where the lake is located. He portrays The Kid, the talented yet troubled frontman of The Revolution, one of three house bands at the First Avenue nightclub. He uses his music to escape his traumatic home life, rehearsing by day and performing at night.

He meets Apollonia, the aspiring singer who is newly arrived in Minneapolis. She befriends Morris Day, singer of The Time, another house band at the club, and nemesis of The Kid. Day, knowing The Kid and his band are the superior performers, does everything he can to steal the show and his girl.

Purple Rain soundtrack on vinyl

The Purple Rain album was released weeks ahead of the movie premiere and won two Grammy Awards, Best Rock Performance by a Group and Best Album of Original Score Written For A Motion Picture, two American Music Awards, a Brit Award, and an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the film and the album, NPG Records is re-releasing the soundtrack to present Prince’s own 2015 Paisley Park Remaster on 140g Purple Splatter vinyl in a mirrorboard sleeve with the original inner sleeve and poster. The album is expected to ship beginning August 7 and is available for pre-order. This Limited Edition, one-off pressing is available exclusively via the Prince Store and Minneapolis’s own Electric Fetus record store.

The album, Prince's first No. 1, featured many of Prince's most famous songs, including the title hit, "When Doves Cry," "Let's Go Crazy," "I Would Die 4 U," and more. The sexually explicit single "Darling Nikki" was considered risqué and is one song that sparked Tipper Gore and the Parents Music Resource Center's implementation of the Parental Advisory stickers.

Purple Rain cast

The majority of the cast appear as themselves including members of The Revolution, The Time and Apollonia 6.

• Prince - The Kid
• Apollonia Kotero - Apollonia
• Morris E. Day - Morris
• Olga Karlatos - The Kid's mother
• Clarence Williams III - Father, a.k.a. "Francis L."
• Jerome Benton - Jerome
• Billy Sparks - Billy
• Jill Jones - Jill
• Dez Dickerson - Dez
• Wendy Melvoin - Wendy
• Lisa Coleman - Lisa
• The Revolution - themselves
• The Time - themselves
• Apollonia 6 - themselves

Purple Rain is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time by many publications.