Lionel Richie is living his life with meaning following the deaths of fellow superstars David Bowie and Prince.
Richie, 66, was friends with both musicians, who passed away this year (16), and Lionel is still processing the loss, admitting their untimely deaths have helped him adopt a new ‘seize the day’ attitude.
“Every time we get a reminder like this, I use it as a big wake up call to get on with my life,” he told British newspaper The Mirror. “Whatever it is I was planning on doing, I better do it now. There is no promise of next month, next year.”
Bowie lost his battle with cancer in January, aged 69, and Purple Rain star Prince was found dead at his Paisley Park home near Minneapolis, Minnesota in April, at the age of just 57, and the fact their ages are close to the Easy singer’s has not been lost on Lionel.
“I always thought I would be the hippest old guy that ever lived, hanging out with all the youngsters – but we’re losing the youngsters,” he continued. “Prince caught me off guard. I was not ready for that one. Thank God we have his music to always play. But I want you here personally, I want you present. I want to see you every day.”
While Richie mourns the loss of his pals, he is happy to be still working and touring, and is focused on “surviving” his upcoming series of concerts in the UK.
“Trying to preserve the body is my new ordeal – making sure I survive this thing called rock ‘n’ roll,” he added. “The new way of touring is where you actually try to survive the tour. You try to make it as comfortable as possible.”
Lionel hopes to achieve his goal by combining muscle pilates with a healthy eating plan on the road: “Stretching is everything,” he laughed. “The other secrets are water, sleep and a great diet.”
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