The Source of The Nile

Belfast Music Week was in the ascent this afternoon when Nile Rodgers arrived off an early flight from Bestival. He was a little groggy, but he carried it like a legend, with stories about Madonna and Timothy Leary, Michael Jackson and Debbie Harry. It was a pleasure to hear about the formation of Chic and the mad genesis of 'Freak Out'. The French thought he was singing abut money but on another continent they supposed that the lyric was, "L'Afrique, c'est chic..."

He kept talking to ATL's Paul McClean about the good fortune in his life but his application to the music was evident and his skill was clear. What a great raconteur also, giving us the lowdown on Jeff Beck's difficult album and then copping a hilarious David Bowie accent to explain how they made 'Let's Dance'. Apparently Dave was between record labels and Nile was a loose cannon after disco died, so they pulled it together on the singer's own finances in 17 intense days. It was Bowie's best-selling record.

Occasionally Nile would chop out some of those perfect rhythms on his Fender Strat. As an errant child, he was a whiz on the clarinet and could read music scores. A spell at the Apollo in Harlem talk him about the backbeat and the ferocious power of a good song. He has delivered plenty.