mxdwn.co.uk » Nile Rodgers & CHIC https://www.mxdwn.co.uk all that matters in music in the UK Tue, 16 Jun 2026 17:45:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=4.1 Nile Rodgers is crowned Global Icon at Rolling Stone UK’s 2024 Awards https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/nile-rodgers-is-crowned-global-icon-at-rolling-stone-uks-2024-awards/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/nile-rodgers-is-crowned-global-icon-at-rolling-stone-uks-2024-awards/#comments Sat, 23 Nov 2024 16:05:57 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=103198 The disco and soul legend, Nile Rodgers has been named this year’s Global Icon by Rolling Stone UK ahead of their 2024 Awards. The Rolling Stone UK Awards will see its second annual ceremony take place at London’s Roundhouse on November 28, where Rodgers is said to be present to receive one of the most prestigious awards of the night.

The announcement of Rodgers as the well-deserved recipient of the award came soon after Rolling Stone UK revealed this year’s shortlisted nominees for other major categories including: The Breakthrough Award, The Artist Award, The Album Award and the Song of the Year Award.

The Global Icon Award is selected with support from Visit West Hollywood, which awarded the same title to heavy metal icon, Ozzy Osbourne last year.

This year’s recipient of the Global Icon Award, Nile Rodgers has an impressive and legendary career spanning over five decades. As co-founder of the prominent disco band, Chic, known from their timeless tracks from the 1970s, ‘Le Freak’, ‘Good Times’ and ‘Everybody Dance’, Rodgers has had a pivotal presence in the creation of the industry’s most influential tracks.

Rodgers has experimented beyond the genres of disco, funk and soul within his expansive discography. He has become well-immersed in R&B, rock, pop, dance and electronic dance during his time in the industry.

The now-72-year-old songwriter and producer couldn’t have been more deserving of the Global Icon Award having sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide. These very impressive figures have established Rodgers as one of the industry’s greats. He has had a substantial influence in the industry, while being a figurehead of funk, he has also served significant contributions as producer to pop culture’s most memorable hits.

One of Madonna’s most popular tracks, which has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide, ‘Like A Virgin’ was produced by Rodgers in 1984, who at first, was against producing the song over dislike of its hook, came to like the track after admitting the song had got stuck in his head during the time of its recording.

Along with ‘Like A Virgin’, Rodgers has produced: David Bowie’s 1983 hit ‘Let’s Dance’ part of Bowie’s album of the same name which sold 10.7 million copies worldwide; Diana Ross’ most listened to tracks ‘I’m Coming Out’ and ‘Upside Down’; Sister Sledge’s ‘We Are Family’ and Daft Punk’s ‘Get Lucky’ from 2013, which features vocal contributions from Pharrell Williams. The track of which spent four weeks on the UK’s Official Singles Chart, which became the second best-selling single of 2013 and Rodger’s first-ever UK million seller.

Rodgers has been an innovative pioneer to the music industry for over 50 years, following popular trends whilst honing his craft as an influential figure in funk and soul. The now-awarded Global Icon doesn’t seem any closer to putting away his Fender Stratocaster, as the icon is currently touring as part of his ‘Nile Rodgers & Chic’ ensemble performing across the UK, South America and Europe during the rest of 2024 and 2025.

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/nile-rodgers-is-crowned-global-icon-at-rolling-stone-uks-2024-awards/feed/ 0 Kaiser Chiefs Announce New Album And 2024 UK Tour https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/kaiser-chiefs-announce-new-album-and-2024-uk-tour/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/kaiser-chiefs-announce-new-album-and-2024-uk-tour/#comments Wed, 25 Oct 2023 22:04:22 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=66433 World famous British band Kaiser Chiefs delighted fans recently with the news of their upcoming eighth studio album. The band, fronted by ex The Voice judge Ricky Wilson, are due to drop the highly anticipated album, titled Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album, on March 1st 2024. You can pre-order or pre-save the LP here.

The new album, produced by Amir Amor of Drum & Bass band Rudimental, will feature the band’s two previously released singles “Jealousy” and “How 2 Dance”. In addition to this, the “Love’s Not A Competition” singers dropped a brand new track today (October 25) featuring none other than musical legend Nile Rodgers.

When speaking about how the new track, titled “Feeling Alright”, Ricky Wilson said “On the first day with Nile Rodgers, he said, ‘What have you got?’ We searched through some jams we had and this was a song that stood out to him. The band loved playing it round and round, and it must be fun to play but we never really knew where it would find a home. Nile turned out to be the best estate agent and found it a home almost immediately. He also brought in Amir, who turned out to be our housemate for the entire record. A good place to start!”

“Nile Rodgers is a force to be reckoned with,” Ricky stated. “He does make you think about dancing quite a lot! He’s an amazing man to write songs with.”

The full tracklist for Kaiser Chiefs’ Easy Eighth Album is:

  1. “Feeling Alright”
  2. “Beautiful Girl”
  3. “How 2 Dance”
  4. “The Job Centre Shuffle”
  5. “Burning In Flames”
  6. “Reasons To Stay Alive”
  7. “Sentimental Love Songs”
  8. “Jealousy”
  9. “Noel Groove”
  10. “The Lads”

In case that wasn’t enough for fans, Kaiser Chiefs have also shared details of a UK tour taking place next Spring. Tickets go on sale at 9am BST on Friday November 3rd, and will be available here.

Fans can also access a pre-sale by pre-ordering the group’s new album via their official website before 8:55am GMT next Tuesday (October 31). You can do that by clicking here.

Tour dates:

11/04/2024 – International Riviera Centre – Torquay
12/04 – Winter Gardens – Eastbourne
12/04 – Dreamland – Margate
16/04 – Globe – Stockton
17/04 – Civic – Wolverhampton
19/04 – Empress Ballroom – Blackpool
20/04 – Troxy – London
21/04 – Flippers Roller Boogie Palace – London

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/kaiser-chiefs-announce-new-album-and-2024-uk-tour/feed/ 0 Nile Rodgers & Chic Announce 2024 UK Tour https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/nile-rodgers-chic-announce-2024-uk-tour/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/nile-rodgers-chic-announce-2024-uk-tour/#comments Wed, 25 Oct 2023 16:45:44 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=66416 Legendary musician Nile Rodgers and his band Chic have announced a very exciting UK tour set for next summer. The disco pioneers will be performing 5 shows across the UK next year, kicking off their tour in June 2024.

Rodgers co-founded the group Chic with Bernard Edwards in the late 70’s and has since gone on to write, produce and perform on records that have sold more than 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide.

“Thrilled to announce we’re bringing the ‘Good Times’ back across England and Wales in 2024!” Rodgers shared in a social post on October 23. “Mark your calendars because we’re gonna light up the night, celebrate life, and dance like there’s no tomorrow.”

In addition to Nile Rodgers and Chic, British Pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and viral Pop band Deco will be supporting on the whole tour.

General sale tickets will become available this Friday (October 27th) at 9am BST. You can purchase tickets here. Presale tickets for all dates excluding July 13th (Dreamland, Margate) are available now and can be purchased here.

In other Nile Rodgers news, the musician recently featured on British New Wave band Duran Duran’s latest single “Black Moonlight”. This collaboration is not the first time Rodgers and Duran Duran have worked together, as the Chic co-founder also produced the “Hungry Like The Wolf” band’s 1986 album Notorious. When speaking of the collaboration, Duran Duran keyboardist Nick Rhodes said “Nile Rogers is a force of nature. When we get into a room, we start playing, and magic happens. Nile always says that CHIC is his first band, and Duran Duran is his second.”

Moreover, the band’s frontman Simon Le Bon added “‘Black Moonlight’ is this classic Duran Duran-Nile Rodgers collaboration. When Nile started playing his guitar in the studio, he really inspired everyone with his riff, and the song just kind of wrote itself.”

You can find dates for the upcoming Nile Rodgers and Chic 2024 UK tour below.

Tour dates:

16/06/2024 – The Piece Hall – Halifax
23/06 – Southampton Summer Session – Southampton
07/07 – Bedford Park – Bedford
11/07 – Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod – Llangollen
13/07 – Dreamland – Margate

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/nile-rodgers-chic-announce-2024-uk-tour/feed/ 0 Melanie C and Mark Owen Confirmed To Join Lineup For BBC Radio 2 Live https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/melanie-c-and-mark-owen-confirmed-to-join-lineup-for-bbc-radio-2-live/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/melanie-c-and-mark-owen-confirmed-to-join-lineup-for-bbc-radio-2-live/#comments Wed, 15 Jun 2022 21:02:45 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=56737 The line-up for this year’s BBC Radio 2 Live event has now been confirmed, the announcement was made on the morning of Tuesday 14th June 2022 via The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show. The annual live event is usually held at London’s Hyde Park but this year sees the two-day event held in a new venue. Set to take place on 17th-18th September 2022, the global network’s beloved celebration of live music will be held at Leeds’ Temple Newsam Park.

Leader of the Leeds City Council, Councillor James Lewis has given a statement concerning the event’s new home, “It’s hugely exciting to see such a star-studded line-up of world-class artists being announced and we can’t wait to see them in Leeds for what will be an incredible occasion for music lovers and for the city as a whole. It’s also a massive endorsement for Leeds and its growing reputation as the place to see some of the biggest names in music. Temple Newsam is the ideal stage for this kind of spectacular event too and we can’t wait to give these amazing acts a proper Leeds welcome.”

The impressive line-up announced by veteran DJ Zoe Ball reads like a who’s who of popular music, set to take the stage on Sunday are Melanie C and Mark Owen. Joining the Spice Girl and former Take That band member are George Ezra, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Emeli Sandé, Olly Murs and M People frontwoman Heather Small. Further legendary British artists are set to perform on Saturday, scheduled to perform on the event’s first day are Simple Minds, Tears For Fears, iconic girl group Bananarama, Ella Henderson, “Ruby” hitmakers Kaiser Chiefs, Craig David and Sophie Ellis-Bextor.

Concerning the upcoming event, Head of Music for Radio 2 Jeff Smith has given the following statement, “We’re so pleased to be announcing the stellar artist lineup for Radio 2 Live, as our annual event spreads its wings for the first time across the UK. This year we will be in Leeds with two days of incredible music from an amazing lineup of musicians. Having been without it for so long we all really appreciate how important live music is to all our lives and so we invite everyone to join us for Radio 2 Live in Leeds at Temple Newsam Park or to listen or watch our weekend via BBC Sounds or iPlayer.”

The annual event will be returning to a traditional live format this year after the COVID-19 pandemic forced previous years to be reconfigured to meet the then-established guidelines. In 2020 and 2021 the event was renamed BBC Radio 2 Live at Home and consisted of concerts held in Cardiff, Manchester, Belfast and Glasgow. Further details concerning the lineup are yet to be announced, BBC radio 2 have established that two more acts for both dates will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

For those unable to attend, the event will be broadcasted live across the BBC’s network stations. The live music extravaganza will also be made available to watch on-demand via BBC Sounds and BBC iPlayer. Music fans will also be able to catch the festival’s highlights on 24th September 2022 via BBC Two. Tickets will be available to purchase from Thursday 16th June 2022 at 8 am via this link.

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/melanie-c-and-mark-owen-confirmed-to-join-lineup-for-bbc-radio-2-live/feed/ 0 Annual Concert ‘The Stars Come Out To Sing At Christmas 2021’ Now Available To Stream https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/annual-concert-the-stars-come-out-to-sing-at-christmas-2021-now-available-to-stream/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/annual-concert-the-stars-come-out-to-sing-at-christmas-2021-now-available-to-stream/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2021 23:12:23 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=51129 Last week saw artists from all avenues of the entertainment industry come together to raise money for Nordoff Robbins. On the 14th December 2021, a star-studded roster participated in the annual charity event ‘The Stars Come Out To Sing At Christmas 2021’ which raised over £200,000 for the UK’s most successful music therapy charity. Nordoff Robbin’s Christmas Carol concert took place live at London’s St. Luke’s Church, the event was made available to stream on Sunday 19th December 2021.

All proceeds from the event were donated to Nordoff Robbins to ensure that the continuation of the charities positive influence. The donated funds will enable the charity’s music therapists to continue their important work to utilise music’s power to help those suffering from mental and physical difficulties. A statement from the charity’s website describes their work, “At Nordoff Robbins, we stand for music and believe in the value of music for all people in our society. Our vision is to live in a world where through music therapy, human potential is recognised regardless of profound disability, illness or social exclusion.”

The annual fundraising concert was hosted by music icon Nile Rodgers and included headline acts Sir Rod Stewart, Imelda May and Jess Gillam. Sir Stewart treated ticketholders to a setlist including the hit single “Have I Told You Lately” and the festive classic “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”. The singer then concluded the show with an improvised rendition of the classic “Shake, Rattle And Roll”. Dublin born singer also delighted the audience with a set including her 2021 hit “Don’t Let Me Stand On My Own” as well as a reading of her poem “Home”. May was also joined on stage by Sir Stewart and the duo performed an emotional duet of “Grace”. Gillam also adhered to the festive theme and performed a rendition of “Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence”.  The event’s host also took to Instagram to announce the event, within the post Rodgers also provided link to the charity.

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Nile Rodgers (@nilerodgers)

The event also saw performances from Shakira, Eurythmics Songbook featuring David A. Stewart along with special guest Beverley Knight, Enrique Iglesias and Lindsey Buckingham, The event’s host Nile Rodgers also performed with his band CHIC, all acts performed at St. Luke’s Church and all performances are available to stream. The event’s stream also features accessible sets from previous years’ line up, past acts available to stream include Neil Young and Robbie Williams.

The Christmas concert also included a treat for literature fans, actors gave readings from celebrated texts. Clarke Peters read from The Journey of the Magi by T.S Eliot, the American actor is best known for his work in The Wire. The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy was read by English actress Alice Eve and Rory Bremmer read from King John’s Christmas by A.A. Milne.

The event’s host Nile Rodgers has given the following statement expressing the charities’ importance, “Get together with family and friends and settle down for a musical treat from the comfort of your own sofa for Christmas carols with a difference as The Stars Come Out To Sing At Christmas 2021 – to help raise vital funds for a whole range of people who need it most, including children with autism who rely on music therapy for a sense of connection and those affected by life-limiting illnesses or disability. Nordoff Robbins believes in the value of music for all people in our society – which is why it’s so close to my heart. I understand the power of music and have witnessed how music therapy can connect people who may otherwise feel isolated or disconnected from the world. It’s the universal values that we can all express through music that brings us together in a unique way. I’m honoured to be hosting this special online concert for the second year running, bringing together some of my friends from the music world, including one of my favourites – Sir Rod Stewart – who feel just as passionately as I do about the important work of Nordoff Robbins.”

Click here to stream the concert and discover more about Nordoff Robbins.

]]> https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/annual-concert-the-stars-come-out-to-sing-at-christmas-2021-now-available-to-stream/feed/ 0 Standon Calling Reveals Additional Names for 2019 Line-Up which sees Special Guests Friendly Fires Join Headliners Rag ‘N’ Bone Man and Wolf Alice https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/standon-calling-reveals-additional-names-for-2019-line-up-which-sees-special-guests-friendly-fires-join-headliners-rag-n-bone-man-and-wolf-alice/ https://www.mxdwn.co.uk/news/standon-calling-reveals-additional-names-for-2019-line-up-which-sees-special-guests-friendly-fires-join-headliners-rag-n-bone-man-and-wolf-alice/#comments Wed, 27 Feb 2019 15:36:04 +0000 http://www.mxdwn.co.uk/?p=10491

Standon Calling has revealed the second wave of names that will be performing at the 2019 festival, after having announced it’s first round of acts for 2019 a couple of weeks ago. Among the names at the top of the second wave of acts are, Hertfordshire locals, Friendly Fires who have joined the already star-studded line up of Standon Calling, 10 years after they headlined in 2009. The music, comedy and arts festival will take over Standon Lordship near Ware between Thursday the 25th of July and Sunday the 28th of July 2019.

Hailing from the nearby town of St. Albans, Friendly Fires will be joined by Mahalia, Roisin Murphy, Steam Down, Kawala, Emma McGrath, Fangclub, Babeheaven, and Hattie Whitehead. The second wave of acts announced today (February 27), will see headliners and special quests Friendly Fires join the rest of the headliners which includes bluesman Rag ‘N’ Bone Man, Mercury-Prize winners Wolf Alice, and Nile Rodgers & CHIC.

Standon Calling Festival founder, Alex Trenchard, said: “It was brilliant to see such a great reaction to our first wave of artists, and we’re delighted to add even more special names and performances for Standon Calling 2019. Friendly Fires’ 2009 Standon Calling performance remains one of the most all-time memorable Standon Calling moments. They’re one of the best bands I’ve ever seen live and this St Albans band’s homecoming special guest show is going to be mind-blowing.”

The following acts are also on the bill and joining the already stellar line-up are IDLES, Lewis Capaldi, Band Of Skulls, Kate Nash, The Big Moon, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Go! Team, The Cuban Brothers, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Sea Girls, The Joy Formidable, Warmduscher, Flamingods, Steam Down, Kawala, The Daniel Wakeford Experience, Elvana, The She Street Band, Sado Opera, Iris Gold, Laurel, Emily Burns, Saint Agnes, Meggie Brown, Honey Lung, The Howl & The Hum, and Juniore, with more names still to be announced.

Standon Calling poster

Festival director Alex Trenchard added: “With the likes of Róisín Murphy, Mahalia and Steam Down joining today – and the unmissable Sado Opera – it’s undeniably our greatest Standon Calling line-up to date, and one that has me counting down the days to July already.”

The following acts are also on the bill, and will be joining the already stellar line-up is DJ Sets from: Erol Alkan, Simian Mobile Disco, Crazy P Soundsystem, Norman Jay, Fleetmac Wood, La Fleur, Luke Solomon, Justin Robertson, Menendez Brothers,  Eli Escobar, Defect, Soho Radio, Groove Garden, Hospitality, and many more. Meanwhile, the energetic Russell Kane will be headlining the Comedy stage along with Angela Barnes and Abandoman, with children’s favourites Dick & Dom taking the reins over at Family Entertainment, with more still to be revealed.

With more acts still to be announced this summers festival is already shaping up to be an epic event that is not to be missed. Tier 4 tickets for the festival have just been released, and are available now starting at £159 for weekend camping tickets. For more info and everything else head over to the Standon Calling website.

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