How can U just leave me standing? ...in search of Prince Rogers Nelson.

INTRO

3mins - Alan takes on new responsibilities at Paisley Park - from 'off-road road manager' to Vice President of PRN Productions.

7mins - President of Paisley Park Records for 3 years 'until I left'.

10mins30s - Working with George Clinton and Mavis Staples on new records, in a challenging marketplace.

13mins - Differences of opinion on the joint venture with Warner Bros...and the need to provide hits.

15mins - "What made you part company with Prince?"

18mins - "He's got an album every 9 months, that he wants to release..."

20mins - Was Lovesexy a difficult thing to work on, and was it a tour that lost money?  

21mins30s - The challenge with the Lovesexy album on U.S. Radio

25mins - Working with D'Angelo...and reminiscing about his live performances.

26mins30s - Alan names his favourite ever tour to work on.

32mins - D'Angelo's struggles with fame, and the celebrity aspect of the music business.

34mins - An extraordinary talent...

39mins - The complicated lives, and legacies, of artists such as James Brown and Prince...

44mins - James Brown's Star Time Box Set liner notes, and a Grammy Award taking pride of place.

48mins - A special memory with Prince and Susan Moonsie...but also D'Angelo.

52mins - Alan's Book...and farewell, for now.

How Can U Just Leave Me Standing? In Search of Prince... is produced and arranged by Sam J. Bleazard - but couldn't exist without the fabulous contribution from all of our guests!
The show also features significant original music compositions from Gavin Calder.
LINKS
Please follow me on Instagram and Facebook if you'd like to interact with the show on social media.
Email me at: bleazas@hotmail.com if you have any ideas for future episodes, or if you'd like to share any feedback on the show.
#prince4ever #love4oneanother

INTRO

3mins - Persuading Prince not to go onto the beach in Rio in high heels? Easier said than done.

9mins - Prince has a rare attack of nerves approaching the Purple Rain premiere in 1984, Alan is on hand to maintain calm.

16mins - The Revolution are crestfallen at the end of the Purple Rain tour, how difficult was it for Alan at the centre of that dynamic?

24mins30s - Did Alan feel he got to know a little bit of the man along the way?  

30mins30s - What was it like having a family member in his band?

35mins30s - Alan is a nervous wreck the day brother Eric comes to meet Prince for the first time...

39mins - Alan and Sam discuss the Hit n Run tour

44mins - Was Prince trying too hard to prove a point with Crystal Ball?

50mins - The Black Album: dark night of the soul, or trying to bridge to hip-hop?

How Can U Just Leave Me Standing? In Search of Prince... is produced and arranged by Sam J. Bleazard - but couldn't exist without the fabulous contribution from all of our guests!
The show also features significant original music compositions from Gavin Calder.
LINKS
Please follow me on Instagram and Facebook if you'd like to interact with the show on social media.
Email me at: bleazas@hotmail.com if you have any ideas for future episodes, or if you'd like to share any feedback on the show.
#prince4ever #love4oneanother

INTRO

3mins - Childhood years, growing up and the effects of the Civil Rights movement

5mins - A 3-year old child fascinated by records spinning in a jukebox

6mins - Pete Seeger, Rock n Roll and the 'scratchy 45s'...and then soul music comes along.

7mins30s - James Brown! 'The composite of everything I'd liked in music...'

9mins - Career memoir coming out in November 2026... "It's got to be funky: my life in music"

10min30s - "Questlove calls me the Forrest Gump of the Funk..."

12mins - "Get the James Brown guy..."

14mins30s - Any particular qualities that kept Alan in the game when times got tough?

20mins - First exposure to James Brown the man, as opposed to the artist?

23mins - A (very) brief stint with Kool & The Gang...  

29mins - JB meets the Black Panther Party...and continues to hold court.

31mins30s - Processed hair out - Afro in... 'hugely significant at that time'.

34mins - Harder working than even James Brown?? 'What makes you say that?'

35mins30s - When Prince wanted to record, he just went downstairs...

37mins - Was Prince's obsession with music unhealthy at a point? "There's got to be other things in his life that'll suffer...but who am I to say?"

40mins - Prince was the diametric opposite personality type to James Brown.

42mins30s - Alan joins Prince mid-way through the 1999 'Triple Threat' Tour...and all is not well.

47mins30s - Alan finds he's dressed like an accountant, or the tax man?

51mins30s - Every tour has 'one of those nights...this was one of those nights'.

54mins30s - Malfunctions on-stage, conspire to create a huge anti-climax on 'Baby I'm A Star'...!

58mins - Alan has to rally the troops, a storm is coming.

60mins - Alan is summoned to see Prince in his room for a de-brief...before sharing news the artist doesn't want to hear.

64mins - Prince and his team fly to Dallas to watch the Jacksons Victory Tour.

How Can U Just Leave Me Standing? In Search of Prince... is produced and arranged by Sam J. Bleazard - but couldn't exist without the fabulous contribution from all of our guests!
The show also features significant original music compositions from Gavin Calder.
LINKS
Please follow me on Instagram and Facebook if you'd like to interact with the show on social media.
Email me at: bleazas@hotmail.com if you have any ideas for future episodes, or if you'd like to share any feedback on the show.
#prince4ever #love4oneanother

INTRO

2mins - Prince's High School days and local Talent Shows with Cousin Chazz Smith

3mins30s - Mark Brown (aka BrownMark) discusses growing up in Minneapolis, the club scene and a 'sense of segregation'.

5mins30s - Author and Journalist Neal Karlen shares his memories of Minneapolis in the late 1970s, and Prince's childhood mischief.

9mins - Chazz and Prince go exploring in the local neighbourhoods on the lookout for musicians and band members...they meet future New Power Generation member Sonny Thompson along the way.

15mins - First Manager Owen Husney talk about the 'original Prince'. "He was just a kid, he was 18 when I met him...he took the bus to my house."  

17mins30s - "I realised what had to be done for him. He was just a guy from North Minneapolis...as much as I admired his talent, I knew he was vulnerable."

19mins - "Controversy creates awareness...", Owen and Prince prepare to do anything to get attention, studying P.T. Barnum and Colonel Tom Parker along the way.

22mins - Understanding the magic required to be a star. "He could see down the tunnel, he knew how talented he was..."

23mins30s - Guitar tech and Luthier Dave Rusan talks about his experience trying out for a very early version of Prince's group... at Del's Tire Mart.

29mins30s - Meeting Prince for the first time, as a cook in a local Minneapolis restaurant, and cooking him pancakes. "He looked like a rock star."

31mins30s - Dr. Casci Ritchie on The Life and Legacy of Prince's Fashion. "It's one of my favourite eras of Prince to look at, because he's really messy...and there's a relatability to it."

35mins - "He is figuring out things. He was always borrowing people's clothes." Prince obsesses about borrowing keyboardist Gayle Chapman's boots.

37mins - Founding member of The Revolution Lisa Coleman discusses her teenage years, how she got the gig, and came to meet Prince. "It sounds a bit like Introverts anonymous!"

How Can U Just Leave Me Standing? In Search of Prince... is produced and arranged by Sam J. Bleazard - but couldn't exist without the fabulous contribution from all of our guests!
The show also features significant original music compositions from Gavin Calder.
LINKS
Please follow me on Instagram and Facebook if you'd like to interact with the show on social media.
Email me at: bleazas@hotmail.com if you have any ideas for future episodes, or if you'd like to share any feedback on the show.
#prince4ever #love4oneanother

Intro

2mins - Catching up with Mayte, an eruption of rescue dogs... and a strict pet policy in the UK.

5mins - Mayte's motivation for the recent TEDx Talk 'Love Without Words: from Prince's stage to animal rescue.'

7mins30s - The need for silence in a modern age, and the silent language.

9mins - What were the main lessons from Mum & Dad? "They were very supportive, as a dancer..."

11mins30s - Independence as a teenager, and fame as a child and as a young woman, with proud parents... "I had a cheque-book at 8!"

15mins - "Being Puerto Rican, they would always ask me, are you white or you black?" Belonging, and proving your worth growing up.

16mins - Being on Prince's payroll as an employee...and assuming it was only ever going to be one project. 'You're doing all the dancing.'

19mins - Funk Nights with The NPG... who would be the wildest? The brown bag tour.

22mins - Borrowing Mayte's mascara, clothing and pulling it off!

24mins - Prince's women and the secret codes...

25mins - Mayte considering another book... '

27mins - Sam asks Mayte about The Prince Estate, 'not a lot of communication right now...', and her feelings on the vault recordings.

27mins30s - "My measurements were the code to the safe..."

29mins - Memories of Prince in the recording studio...Chaos & Disorder.

31mins30s - Prince's inability to stop. 'For me it was a shock...'. Having to leave Paisley Park, after being around Prince from aged 17 to aged 25.

32mins - Finding a new role after leaving Prince's Paisley Park world, as an actor.

37mins30s - Philanthropic work and the future? Live4Love charities.

43mins - Final thoughts on Prince - 'people don't realise how short life is...'

How Can U Just Leave Me Standing? In Search of Prince... is produced and arranged by Sam J. Bleazard - but couldn't exist without the fabulous contribution from all of our guests!
The show also features significant original music compositions from Gavin Calder.
LINKS
Please follow me on Instagram and Facebook if you'd like to interact with the show on social media.
Email me at: bleazas@hotmail.com if you have any ideas for future episodes, or if you'd like to share any feedback on the show.
#prince4ever #love4oneanother