“He moved from instrument to instrument as quietly as possible and blew my mind with his vocal performance and the beauty of that piece”: Prince’s collaborators on how he embraced The Beatles and recorded one of the most vulnerable ballads of his career

“He’d moved past the pop simplicity of Purple Rain – this was Gershwin-esque,” says drummer Bobby Z

Released in 1985, Prince’s Around The World In A Day is often considered his most psychedelic album – a conscious rejection of the pop stardom that had come from the success of the Purple Rain movie and soundtrack, released the year before.

But while this flower powered pivot was very much Prince’s idea, there were external factors at play, and in a new interview with Mojo to mark Around the World’s 40th anniversary (a Deluxe Edition will be released on 21 November), his former collaborators have been discussing how it came about and the key influences on Prince’s unlikely new direction.

Although Around The World In A Day ended up with a distinctly Sgt Pepper-esque sleeve, drummer Bobby Z – part of The Revolution, Prince’s band on the record – says that it took a while for Prince to fully appreciate The Fab Four’s genius.