Years before his son died, Eric Clapton was grappling with demons of another breed. His problems with drug and alcohol abuse had dominated a good part of his personal life for a long time, and there wasn’t much solace to be found in the fast-paced world around him. It wasn’t until he took an evening to himself away from all the madness and confusion that he found reprieve in a peculiar place. “In the ’80s, I was out on the road in a massive downward spiral with drink and drugs, I saw “Purple Rain” in a cinema in Canada. I had no idea who he [Prince] was, it was like a bolt of lightning!” Clapton later shared (per Song Facts).
Prince appeared before Eric Clapton on the big screen like a purple beam of ethereal light. Aside from the superb original soundtrack and vibrant exhibition of musical exceptionalism, “Purple Rain‘s” narrative explores themes of suffering, redemption, forgiveness, and healing. If even for a moment, the film offered something of an antidote to Clapton’s tumultuous and unmanageable life at the time. It also gave him the creative ammunition and emotional fodder to write a hit song. “In the middle of my depression, and the dreadful state of the music culture at that time it gave me hope, he was like a light in the darkness…I went back to my hotel, and surrounded by empty beer cans, wrote “Holy Mother,”” (via Song Facts).
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