Lockdown is done and we think we are all pretty done with it too. All we want to do is get back to some sort of normality, enjoy life and, let’s be honest, party. If you were to write a guest list of artists to play at our party, we reckon The Soundcrash Funk & Soul Weekender has got it absolutely perfect.
They are presenting a very special day of Disco, Soul Reggae and Funk. NILE RODGERS & CHIC will be performing at the brand new open air location at Alexandra Head, Cardiff Bay for a massive all day event. Joining them will be UK Soul legends Soul II Soul, Craig Charles, David Rodigan and many more!
The Funk & Soul Weekender is pretty legendary with parties up and down the UK. It’s been a tough time for Rob & The Soundcrash Team but they’ve been working hard to get things in place, and we’re pleased to say they are set to bring us one amazing party in Cardiff in August.
If you combine all record sales that NILE RODGERS has waved his magical musical hand over, you’d get some eye-watering figures. In fact, his collaborations with such iconic artists as David Bowie, Diana Ross and Madonna have sold over 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide. More recently, his work with Daft Punk, Disclosure, Sam Smith and other artists have secured his place as one of music’s greatest living legends.
For those of us who remember the start of it all, it was all about Chic and Sister Sledge, both of which we saw back in the day and even now remember what great gigs they were. Nile is out touring again and he gets to Swansea in the summer on his rescheduled date, along with CHIC, for what promises to be one of the best parties of the year.
If we said that Nile is award winning, that would be the understatement of the year. He is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, a three-time Grammy Award-winner, and the chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Known for his “chucking” guitar style, Rolling Stone wrote that
“the full scope of Nile Rodgers’ career is still hard to fathom.”
Think it’s time for a bit of music maestro please, so let’s go right back with the original, which sounds as fresh now as it did on the day I bought the 7 inch single……
Formed as the Big Apple Band in 1972 with bassist Bernard Edwards, and never underestimate just how important Bernard was to the sound. Chic released their self-titled debut album in 1977. It included the hit singles “Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)” and “Everybody Dance”. A year later, C’est Chic produced the hits “I Want Your Love” and “Le Freak”, with the latter selling more than 7 million singles worldwide.
The song “Good Times” from the 1979 album Risqué was a number one single on the pop and soul charts, and became one of the most-sampled songs of all time, “ushering in” hip-hop via The Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”, inspiring Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust”, and anchoring the Daft Punk hit “Around the World”. Difficult to know which one to play here. Let’s keep it old school.
With Bernard, Nile wrote and produced music for other artists, including “He’s the Greatest Dancer” and “We Are Family” for Sister Sledge and “I’m Coming Out” for Diana Ross. After Chic’s breakup Nile produced “a string of the post-disco era’s biggest albums and singles”, including David Bowie’s Let’s Dance, “Original Sin” by INXS, Duran Duran’s “The Reflex” and “Notorious”, and Madonna’s Like a Virgin. He later worked with artists including The B-52s, Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, The Vaughan Brothers, Bryan Ferry, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, and Daft Punk, winning three Grammy Awards in 2014 for his work on their incredible album Random Access Memories.
Here’s Nile talking about collaborations……
Renowned the world over for their electric outdoor performances at festivals like Glastonbury and Coachella, Nile Rodgers and CHIC are quite simply the ultimate party band. The timeless hits including ‘Everybody Dance’, ‘Le Freak’, and ‘Good Times’ will be sounding out across Singleton Park alongside the rhythm of Rodgers’ ‘Hitmaker’ guitar, this will go down as one of Swansea’s most memorable summer parties.
But this isn’t only Nile and Chic, this is a day to keep us on our feet till we drop. SOUL II SOUL are special guests on the day, and if you’ve not seen them live, you’re in for a treat.
The iconic British band have been playing their classic album live for a few year now, and we’re sure we’ll get a good helping of songs from ‘Club Classics Vol 1’ on the day.
The double Grammy Award winning and five-time Brit Award nominated band are set to play 15 dates in the UK next year, including a date at London’s Royal Albert Hall, featuring a stunning production and we get to see them, on that tour, in Cardiff. Before that of course, they’ll be here this year as part of the Soundcrash day.
With huge hits including ‘KEEP ON MOVIN’ (which sold over a million copies in the US alone) and the UK number one single ‘Back To Life (However Do You Want Me)’, Soul II Soul progressed from being one of the leaders of the 1980’s warehouse scene to pioneering British black music around the world, and securing commercial success for themselves and the huge amount of artists they have influenced.
During the course of their stellar career the band have sold over 10 million albums worldwide and main man Jazzie B was awarded an OBE for services to music in 2008, as well as winning an Ivor Novello Award for Inspiration, as “the man who gave British black music a soul of its own”.
Actor and DJ CRAIG CHARLES will keep the party going, we can guarantee that. From the empty space of Red Dwarf to the cobble’s of Coronation Street Craig will be spinning more flavoursome funk that you can shake a stick at.
DAVID RODIGAN (MBE) is a DJ best known for his selections of reggae and dancehall music, he has played on stations including Radio London, Capital 95.8, Kiss 100, BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 2 and BFBS Radio. To have Dave in Cardiff is a
There is so much more planned for the day itself and we’ll bring you the latest as we get it over the coming weeks.
The Funk & Soul Weekender gets to Alexandra Head in Cardiff Bay on Sunday 19th September. As you can imagine tickets are already selling fast, if you’d like more details and to get yours, go HERE.
And for no other reason than it’s our favourite, here’s a song Nile will definitely (we hope) blast out in Cardiff, even though it wasn’t a Chic hit…….
And if you’re a fan of Nile and Chic, they are heading back to South Wales next year for a special party in Singleton Park in Swansea. All those massive hits will be played and a few extra from the special guest on the day – Trevor Horn.
We must pay tribute to the support on this show TREVOR HORN. We have to admit here in the office, we’re more than a little excited that Trevor is playing the gig. Not only is he a fantastic live performer, but without any doubt he is one of our most prolific and successful producers. If we were to go through the songs he’s worked on and the artist who have gone through his studio, it would take us the length of his set in Swansea.
But here’s a few to be going on with……
- ROD STEWART
- ROBBIE WILLIAMS
- OLLY MURS
- YES
- PET SHOP BOYS
- LISA STANSFIELD
And of course, the incredible Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
And we know for a fact that when Trevor performs his biggest hit, you’ll be sining along to every word. Yes, this was him.
NILE RODGERS & CHIC, with TREVOR HORN supporting, get to Singleton Park in Swansea on the rescheduled date of Friday 29th July 2022, with the gates opening at 4:30pm, and this is his ONLY Welsh show of the year. Tickets are on sale now and all current tickets will be valid for the new date. Prices are £59.06 with hospitality rickets checking in at £140.63. You can get yours right here NILE