Biography delves into the album that became Prince’s crowning glory

The musician imbued Sign o’ the Times with style, swagger and commentary that captured the febrile atmosphere of the US in the 1980s and ’90s

Prince on his Sign o’ the Times tour in the Netherlands in 1987. Photo: Rob Verhorst/Redferns

Prince Rogers Nelson may have been just 28 when he released his greatest and most mythologised album. Sign o’ the Times was unveiled to the world on the final day of March 1987 and confirmed his status as one of the planet’s most singular talents.

Despite his youth, he was something of a music industry veteran. He had already brought out eight albums and was in such a remarkably rich vein of form in the mid-80s that scores of songs recorded went unreleased, even to this day.

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