And so, the Slave returns to the Chains of the Master.
Prince signed to Warner Brothers records in 1977 and they released the biggest albums of his career - among them Purple Rain, Sign O The Times and the soundtrack to Tim Burton's Batman movie in 1989.
But by the time of 1991's Diamonds and Pearls, the relationship had soured.
"He didn't want to be told what to do any more," the star's publicist Chris Poole told his biographer, Matt Thorne.
Specifically, he wanted to be able to release more music, more often. Furthermore, he felt he should own the original master tapes for his hit albums.
When Warners disagreed, on both counts, Prince began appearing in public with the word "Slave" written across his face, and changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol - leading the press to christen him The Artist Formerly Known As Prince.
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Pop star Prince has a signed a major deal with Warner Bros Records, the label he famously fell out with nearly 20 years ago.
The split was so acrimonious that Prince called himself a slave and changed his stage name to a symbol.
Now Prince says the new deal will see a release of his classic album Purple Rain in time for its 30th anniversary.
He will also regain ownership of master recordings made during his previous deal with Warner Bros.
"A brand-new studio album is on the way and both Warner Bros Records and Eye (sic) are quite pleased with the results of the negotiations and look forward to a fruitful working relationship," Prince said in a statement.
The Purple Rain album was released in 1984, as was the cult film of the same name.
Sauce:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27081344