CityLife

Richie's rapport is labour of love

BACK IN TOWN: Richie

LIONEL Richie is that rare thing – a superstar with the common touch.

The singer/songwriter who has composed and performed some of the most romantic ballads of our time, has won, amongst many awards, an Oscar, a Golden Globe and five Grammys.

He’s sold 100m records, enjoyed 22 Top 10 ten hits and yet remains, in spite of all that, a lovely man.

Ask Lionel what he’s proudest of achieving and with a huge grin he admits: “I’m just the proudest grandpa!

“Here I am supposedly a lyricist and I’m lost for words talking about my beautiful grand-daughter.

"Little Harlow Winter Kate Madden is one year and two-months-old and is a joy.

"She lives with her mother only five minutes away, so I see as much of them as possible and at last Nicole understands what being a parent is all about.”

Lionel’s referring to his adopted daughter, pictured right, Nicole who, after a troubled period in the media spotlight, is now enjoying her new role as a mother.

Twice married and divorced Lionel jokes: “I’m still paying the alimony to prove it.”

Yet he’s managed to maintain good relationships with his ex-wives.

“We’ve stopped fighting about who gets to see the baby first and Brenda, my college sweetheart and wife of 17 years, who is Nicole’s adoptive mother, goes visiting with me – can you believe that?”

With a 15-year-old son Myles and an 11-year-old daughter Sofia by his second wife, Diane Alexander, Lionel remains tremendously supportive of his adopted daughter, who first made headlines when she teamed up with school chum Paris Hilton for several television series and then was arrested for drug possession.

Lionel admits that was a difficult time.

“She kept saying sorry but I told her to stop apologising, use this second chance and I’ll be there. What else could I do?

“I knew that if I turned my back on her she’d be in a very dark place. I know people are fed up with this poor little rich girl thing but it’s not easy for children of celebrities to deal with the media attention.

“Nowadays you go out for dinner, your photograph’s taken by mobile-phone and ends up on YouTube before you’ve even left the restaurant.”

Michael Jackson is godfather to Nicole and, once again, Lionel has been supportive.

“I don’t turn my back on my friends. Michael will ring to ask for advice about his children and I always say to him: enjoy this time because once they start answering you back – then you’ll have real problems!”

The 60-year-old sixty year old superstar has had his own fair share of media attention over the years.

“I recently attended the Brit Awards and that was fascinating seeing all the new talent. It reminded me of our Grammy Awards.

Peers

“There’s nothing like being recognised by your peers in the industry – that means a lot. But it also reminded me of my early years with The Commodores, when we were young and excited about our success.

“We had big hair, even bigger shoulder pads and were heavily into rock ’n’ roll. Then one day I sat down and wrote Three Times A Lady, which people still tell me is their favourite love song or they played it at their wedding. But back then everyone told me I was mad to want to record it as it wasn’t commercial!”

Lionel proved them wrong and when he was invited to make a solo album that seemed the right time to go it alone.

“Boy was that a scary time. We were a team and walking on that stage for the first time on my own was both exciting and terrifying – but I loved it!

“I also wrote songs for other people. Years before I’d written Lady for Kenny Rogers – an old friend of mine – and I duetted with Diana Ross on Endless Love, which became a great hit in 1981.”

It’s more than 40 since Lionel first strutted his stuff on stage and he’s still entertaining audiences around the world.

Between 1981 and 1987, Lionel had 13 Top 10 singles with several number one hits, including Truly, All Night Long, Hello, Dancin’ On The Ceiling, Easy and the Oscar-winning Say You, Say Me, written for the film White Nights.

He was also nominated for an Academy Award for his musical collaboration with Quincy Jones on the film The Color Colour Purple.

Incredibly he still found time to write, with Michael Jackson, the Live Aid hit We Are The World.

British television viewers have seen him on shows like An Audience With Lionel Richie and Pop Idol, where he praised all the contestants and was particularly kind to Lemar.

But Lionel himself has been watching more television than normal lately.

“One of the proudest days of my life was when Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States of America. I’m a huge supporter of that man and what he represents.

“Although I was brought up on a college campus in Tuskegee, Alabama, I was mainly protected from racial abuse because I lived amongst intelligent people. Indeed I won a tennis scholarship and graduated with a major in economics.

Klan country

“But we were right in the middle of Klan country and, one hot day in town, when I was too small to read, I rushed to drink at a water fountain.

"I saw these men approach my daddy and it was the first time I heard the N-word.

“When I reproached him years later for not standing up to them, he told me that there had been a sign saying ‘Whites Only’ and that if he’d challenged them he wouldn’t have lived to be my father.

“That’s how bad it was back then. The fact that we now have a black president in the White House is incredible to me. I’ve only met Barack briefly but I look forward to singing in the White House one day – wouldn’t that be something!”

Meantime Lionel still gets a kick from performing and he’s always maintained a special rapport with his fans.

Far from being the kind of musician who claims only to write music for himself, he is constantly aware of his audience.

“We’ve been carrying on the greatest love affair for all my working life and when I write a song I always think: how will this sound to the fans? What will this mean to them? How will this play on the road?

"That’s the way I try to stay connected and what is great is to see so many young fans joining their parents in the audience – that’s really heart-warming.”

As usual, there’ll be the chance for fans to join in with Lionel when he returns here in a couple of weeks.

“Can I just ask the fans in Manchester one small favour? During the loud numbers it’s great when they all join in – it’s like the best karaoke night ever. But sometimes, in the quieter ballads, it’s difficult for me to hear the band.

“So – a plea from me – can you sing more quietly please?”

I’ll try Lionel... I promise, I will try.

Tickets for Lionel Richie's Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21 shows are priced £35, £55 and £75. Call 0844 847 8000.