By STACEY MULLEN

THE death of Prince shocked the world of music to the core last year as another incredible artist had passed too soon.

But the Purple One's legacy lives on through popular tribute act Purple Rain who come to Glasgow this month - and promise to give fans a chance to celebrate an innovative artist whose music defined the 80s.

"The whole music industry has lost something great when he passed away. I completely thought I would retire from doing all this, and still be able to go and see him play," said Purple Rain's singer Jimi Love.

He added: "He was a one off. It still dawns on me now that you will never get to see him live again."

Purple Rain have been together for almost 12 years with Jimi starring as the unsurpassed Prince

He fronts a horn section, backing vocals and keys with his full nine-piece band who will perform at the o2 ABC on Saturday, April 15.

He said: "We have been dying to get to Scotland for years and finally we are coming, we can’t wait.

"I know when Prince played in Glasgow with 3rdEyeGirl, it sounded like it was huge party up there."

The singer, however, explained that the show is bittersweet for fans who would often come together as one 'purple' family for Prince concerts.

Now they are doing it through this tribute band who are touring the UK with their show.

He explained: "We have a strong relationship with the fan clubs and now our shows have expanded out to a wider base of people.

"When he was touring, part of it was meeting with all these groups of people.

"There is such a huge community of fans of his and that was part of the experience.

"For us and for a lot of the people that come to see us, this is now kind of the way we all get to meet up. It's like a big purple family."

Jimi has had a long musical career having played in all sorts of bands from a young age.

He said: "This band I started nearly 12 years ago but I did all sorts of stuff before that.

"I have been in an original, reggae and blues band. It is a real cocktail of music.

"It is good because it makes you a better musician when you are able to do more styles rather than focus on one thing."

He got into Prince at the age of 10 and it is fair to say the obsession is one that has stayed with him.

He said: "My godfather played me the Purple Rain album in his car and instantly I heard Let’s Go Crazy and I was like wow, who is this?

"I did all the chores I could, saved up some money and that was the first album I ever bought."

He added: "I was always into his music. I went through other phases like rock, rap and goodness knows what else. But Prince was the constant there.

"I think a lot of it is down to the fact he is so eclectic. There are so many different styles he covered and did amazingly well. But he is still doing it in his way.

"Certainly from a musicians point of view, the different styles and genres you go through are incredible for just one gig."

Having a variety of musical tastes has, however, stopped Jimi from being able to pick a favourite Prince track.

He copped out: "It is hard to pick, there are so many.

"I love Let's Go Crazy and The Beautiful One is a great number to do. But I couldn’t really pick a favourite.

"It is hard to pick a setlist because he has a whole load of tunes and then we will be like what about this one or that one but we can't fit them all in."

The one thing Purple Rain do promise the fans though is all the hits.

He said: "There is loads of the hits which everyone will know. There is a lot of the less commercial ones but they might be real fan favourites.

"The show is basically a massive party, and it is two and a half hours of all of the songs as a Prince fan you want to hear.

"Come along to the show, it will surprise you.

"It's not tacky or trying to be a copycat. We are fans playing the music of our hero which we love to play.

"It will make you sing, dance and smile."

For tickets, visit http://www.seetickets.com/tour/purple-rain-a-celebration-of-prince