Photo by Greg Cristman
Gregory R. Cristman

Nile Rodgers wrote a tribute to Bowie & Prince, playing Joe's Pub in January

Nile with Chic @ FOLD Fest 2015 (more by Greg Cristman)

Prince and David were both absolutely extraordinary geniuses who saw the world in ways unlike we see the world. I would have conversations with both of them about a ­specific object or situation, and they would look at it from a completely different ­perspective. Prince once said to me, “Nile, I’m really thinking about moving Paisley Park to Sweden. All the girls are beautiful, they drive Mercedeses and BMWs, and they can dance.” It was profound to him. I tried to see if he was joking — “C’mon, Prince, that’s the most superficial thing I ever heard of” — but he was not pulling my chain.

And with Bowie, we would have thorough discussions about what songs meant — except “China Girl.” I thought it was about speedballing, cocaine and ­heroin at the same time, because “China” was a type of heroin and “girl” was a name for cocaine. And I felt uncomfortable talking about drugs with him because I didn’t understand why a guy who was sober wanted to sing a song about speedballing. But that’s not what the song was about. – Nile Rodgers in Billboard

Nile Rodgers paid tribute to Prince and David Bowie in a thoughtful essay published in Billboard which is well worth reading. Nile spent most of 2016 on the road with his new version of Chic who toured with Duran Duran. He’ll cap off his year with Chic with an autism benefit at London’s Apollo on December 23.

In the new year, Nile will scale things back a bit with two intimate solo shows at NYC’s Joe’s Pub on January 23 & 28. No further details on what to expect but tickets go on sale Friday, December 16 at 2 PM. UPDATE: Tickets now go on sale Thursday, December 22 at 2 PM.