The Jewels Of The Nile

“It’s funny when you think of all the moments in your career that may have been one of the best! As well as the thousands of people lining the Mall singing along to ‘We Are Family’, you could see the royal family and you knew that they knew the song!” laughs Nile Rodgers, clearly amused that he played an indirect part in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. ‘That was amazing to me, the royal family nodding their heads mouthing the lyrics!”

In advance of his upcoming Irish shows, the legendary New Yorker has taken time out of his hectic schedule to chat to Hot Press. The band’s festival season is jammed full of dates in what Rodgers has dubbed excitedly on his website Chic’s Biggest Summer Of Love. Indeed there was much affection on display recently in Manchester when Johnny Marr joined the band on stage for a sterling rendition of ‘Le Freak’.
“Johnny and I became friends about a year ago,’ explains Nile. ‘One of the guys from Duran Duran told me that Johnny had named his son after me which I thought was interesting to say the least! But now I have met Nile and he and I are good friends, he is a pretty damn fine guitarist himself! I just love Johnny’s entire family, they are wonderful people.”
“I used to love The Smiths,” he continues. “I’ve watched Johnny’s career as it developed and I could tell from his style that he wasn’t the typical guitarist of his genre. But I didn’t know that the mutual admiration society was so strong between us!”
As well as a packed tour schedule Rodgers also has several music projects on the go, one of which is a collaboration with French disco duo Daft Punk.
“I’ll let them do all the talking about that,’ he avers. ‘It’s a great concept, it’s really amazing. I’ve known Guy and Thomas for so long and we’ve been trying to do something together for years. They came over to my apartment, so at least we know I showed up at the recording studio! That’s as much as we’ll say, it’s going to be phenomenal though.”
The last time Hot Press spoke to Rodgers was in advance of the publication of his compelling biography Le Freak, a star-studded account of his disco years and time at the production helm for Madonna, David Bowie, Duran Duran, INXS and many others. If Rodgers was to be remembered for one project what would it be?
“That’s not fair!” he smiles. “I always sort of target David (the pair have worked on several projects but most famously Bowie’s Let’s Dance album) because he didn’t have a record deal at the time and neither did I, so we got together and it really was us against the world. It built a really strong bond. I have also had a long, long relationship with Duran Duran and I saw INXS the other day in Australia. There is just so much stuff in my life that there’s no way I could pick any one because frankly if it had not been for Diana Ross saving us after ‘Disco Sucks’ I don’t even know if I would have gotten the chance to do Bowie.”
Over the past few months Nile has had to deal with the passing of two of his close contemporaries, Donna Summer and Robin Gibb. Despite their moving in very similar artistic circles Rodgers never recorded with Summer, but has only warm memories of his friend.
“Donna and I appeared together once on a television special for VH1 and even though she and I were so close to each other and hung around with the same people, we never worked together. You’d think if any two artists should have come together it would have been Donna Summer and Chic! Instead we were with Diana Ross which on paper doesn’t seem to make nearly as much sense. Donna was lovely though. And Robin Gibb, he was such a nice guy, sadly the last time I spoke to him was on a television special we did about the death of Michael Jackson. Robin had a great sense of humour and was a wonderful person.”
Nile’s Big Apple Band supported the Jackson 5 on their American tour in 1973, which was the beginning of a lifelong friendship.
“My relationship with Michael was amazing,” he enthuses. “We met when he was a really young teenager. I was an ex-Black Panther and a bit of a rebel, and Michael just thought I was the coolest guy in the world because I was so anti-authority and his father was the ultimate authoritarian. I used to read hippy comic books to Michael but I would hide them inside normal commercial comic books. So his dad would see the cover and think I’m reading him some harmless book and meanwhile I’m reading The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers!”
And is Nile looking forward to his Irish visit?
“I have to say every time we play in Ireland it gets more and more fantastic, the fans are incredible. One night after we played these two guys ran down down the street after our car and started undressing! I was like, ‘Wow dudes it’s cold, we’re not in Ibiza bro!’ They were so pumped up after the show, it was incredible! Every time we play it gets better. It’s going to be a blast.”

Chic play the Galway Arts Festival (July 19); Mandela Hall, Belfast (August 1) and Liss Ard, Skibbereen (4)