Press Release: October 2014

Celebrating 30 years of Purple Rain, Radio Riddler present Purple Reggae - an all-star tribute to Prince's most iconic work

"Prince is the reason I started playing music. I grew up on this album. It’s the soundtrack to my life' and this is a tribute to him from me." 
Frank Benbini of Radio Riddler and Fun Lovin’ Criminals 

“I've always been a huge fan of reggae music and have great respect for Prince as a songwriter/producer. To marry the two was a challenge but well worth the 5 years it took to create 'Purple Reggae''.

Brian Fast Leiser of Radio Riddler and Fun Lovin' Criminals

It’s 30 years since the release of one of the most influential albums of all time, Prince's Purple Rain. In celebration of the milestone, Radio Riddler present their first full-length album ‘Purple Reggae’, a loving tribute to a pop genius in their own unique style that's been approved by the Purple Prince himself.

A labour of love that's been five years in the making for the production outfit, Purple Reggae started life as an experiment between Fun Lovin' Criminals' Frank Benbini and Brian Fast Leiser, aka Radio Riddler in between their remixes for the likes of Coldplay and Lily Allen. Initially convinced their idea of a reggae tribute to their musical hero wouldn't work, the duo were pleasantly surprised with their first efforts and the idea snowballed from there, with a who's who of the music world clamouring to pay tribute to one of the most iconic performers of all time.

Frank Benbini’s‘ The Beautiful Ones’ has already garnered a lot of attention during Radio Riddler’s live shows so it's only fitting that joint curator of the project – with Fun Lovin’ Criminals’ partner Brian Fast Leiser - and self confessed Prince super fan’s tribute will be the first single from the album. Benbini says,“It’s one of our favorite Prince songs of all time.  Even with our reggae twist it's not lost its soulful impact and in capturing the live visual performance we think makes for a great video”.  Suggs has hailed his own take on 'Let's Go Crazy' as a "piece of genius" whilst UB40’s Ali Cambell has received critical acclaim for his take on the title track Purple Rain. Radio Riddler themselves approached Sinead O'Connor, who, having reached international success with her take on Prince track 'Nothing Compares 2 U', they expected to dismiss their request but she was delighted to join them in the studio to record 'I Would Die 4 U'.

Rock and blues singer Deborah Bonham, The Slits singer Hollie Cook, US songwriter Citizen Cope, and soul starlet Beverly Knight have also leant their talents to the album.  Their diverse vocal styles over a reggae backdrop have resulted in a fresh, unique, perfectly-crafted tribute that will inspire as much affection as Purple Rain did 30 years ago.

The album ‘Purple Reggae’ is out now through MITA.

The Single ‘The Beautiful Ones’ is released October 12th.

For further details, or to request pictures or an interview, contact Cat Hockley at Fifth Element on 0207 722 0000 or email cat@fifthelement.