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Disco legend Nile Rodgers, Toyah and 10CC to headline Oxfordshire festival

Nile Rodgers and Chic
Nile Rodgers and Chic

ONE of the most accomplished songwriters, producers and artists of the past half-century, Nile Rodgers, is to top the bill at north Oxfordshire’s Cropredy Festival.

The artist, a stalwart of the disco scene and a much sought-after producer in the pop world, will headline the event, set up by folk-rock band Fairport Convention.

The artist will perform with his band Chic. He is joined on the line-up by 70s prog-rockers 10CC, Toyah & Robert Fripp, Kiki Dee & Carmelo Luggeri, Gilbert O’Sullivan, and the final ever UK performance by The Strawbs.

The festival will culminate as always with a three-hour headline set from hosts Fairport Convention.

The festival, formally known as Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, is the county’s longest-running and has previously played host to artists as diverse as Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, The Proclaimers, The Waterboys and Alice Cooper.

Unusually for music festivals, the event runs from Thursday to Saturday, with Sundays reserved for recovering from hangovers and watching village cricket. It runs from August 10-12.

Fairport Convention member and festival co-organiser Simon Nicol said: “I’m almost sinfully proud of this year’s Cropredy bill – every one of these acts is at the top of their game.

“In the context of what is already the nation’s friendliest Festival, this is a mega-weekend and must be the best ever!”

Oxford Mail: Toyah at Leeds Arena by Dave Lawrence
Oxford Mail: Toyah at Leeds Arena by Dave Lawrence

Toyah live. Picture by Dave Lawrence

Nile Rodgers is a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a multiple Grammy Award winning songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, and guitarist. As the co-founder of Chic, Rodgers pioneered a musical language that generated chart-topping hits like Le Freak – the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records, and sparked the advent of hip-hop with Good Times.

His work in the Chic Organisation including We Are Family with Sister Sledge and I’m Coming Out with Diana Ross and his productions for artists like David Bowie (Let’s Dance), Madonna (Like A Virgin) and Duran Duran (The Reflex) have sold over 500 million albums and 100 million singles worldwide while his innovative, trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk, Daddy Yankee and Beyonce reflect the vanguard of contemporary hits.

Tickets from fairportconvention.com