The artist always known as Prince was dead to begin with. There was no doubt about that. Old Prince was as dead as a door-nail.

On April 21st 2016, I was following a winding country road through silver birch trees on my way to The Convent, a music venue & hotel outside Stroud where Kathryn Williams was holding a writing retreat for fellow musicians. I’d been invited down to hang out like a real rock n roller before the Friday night concert that rounded off the week. David Ford, Astrid Williamson, Ren Harvieu, Michele & Romeo Stodart, Graham Fellows & Adrian Utley were among the guests and a little end of term dance would follow the gig

The radio announced that Prince Rodgers Nelson had died at his Paisley Park compound in Minneapolis. The first third of that year had already given us the terrible loss of David Bowie, Alan Rickman, Terry Wogan, George Martin, Keith Emerson, Merle Haggard, Gary Shandling, Paul Daniels, Victoria Wood & Ronnie Corbett – like a swathe was being cut through entertainment culture.

Actually, Ronnie Corbett & Prince – similar stature, never seen in the same room but the point I am making is this was 7 years ago before Covid-19 was a glint in a pangolin’s eye.

Michele wrote ‘Tell Me’ which she premiered at the evening’s concert not more than 48 hours before. The Convent is located in ‘the middle of bloody nowhere’ so the early morning dew, a cup of hot cha, an acoustic guitar and the dawn chorus can help clear that fuzzy head. She says that the song flowed out of her almost fully formed in that quiet idyll in April 2016. There were a couple of pieces played that night which I fell in love with completely at first listen and ‘Tell Me’ was one. Soon Michele would open her live sets with it perhaps demonstrating her confidence in the song to captivate a room and set a mood.

Finally, after lockdowns and other projects, Michele has her third solo album ‘Invitation’ ready for release on 15th September and ‘Tell Me’ is the lead single.

It was the line _{‘Are there any of the other sides to me / That you couldn’t love?’} that hooked me when I first heard it. It’s such a vulnerable and honest admittance to our own shortcomings while trying to emphasise we are have so much more to offer in love and companionship. There is a desperation and longing that really tugs at you as you remember times wondering what you could do differently to make someone stay.

Brother Romeo’s sensitive piano swells as a slight defiance and confidence grows that all might not be lost and there is still some fight left. The final plea _{‘tell me it’s not over’} almost comes as an acceptance of reality. Michele’s vocal has such fragility with cracks and breaks conveying deep emotion but also a tenderness and steely determination.

For me, the arrangement of the song has a classic Bacharach \ David 60s ballad sound to it with echoes of the incredible run of singles Dusty Springfield had during that era. A bit of ‘I Close My Eyes and Count To Ten’s mystery and allure. In fact I think she wouldn’t have minded a lyric like this back in the day – no higher praise in my book

You can stream & buy the track from Michele’s Bandcamp page & preorder the ‘Invitation’ album due in September