Lionel Richie Admits Deaths Of Muhammad Ali, Prince And David Bowie Have Been A ‘Wake Up Call’

Lionel Richie is living his life with new meaning following the deaths of his close friends Muhammad Ali, Prince and David Bowie.

The legendary singer, 66, is still processing the loss of the stars from his era, but has admitted that their untimely deaths have helped him to adopt a different attitude.

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“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 The Mirror. “Whatever it is I was planning on doing, I better do it now. There is no promise of next month, next year.”

“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. They’re a little older than me, but it’s still my class. My guys.”

Sadly, Bowie lost his battle with cancer in January, aged 69, and Prince was found dead at his Paisley Park home near Minneapolis, Minnesota in April, aged 57.

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More recently, former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali passed away aged 74, after suffering from Parkinson’s syndrome.

The ‘Easy’ singer admitted that he was “not ready” for any of the losses, but that the death of the Purple Rain star, in particular, caught him off guard.

He explained: “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.”

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The former Commodores member revealed that he is still happy to be working and touring, but is paying close attention to his wellbeing as he focuses on “surviving” his upcoming 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 endeavours to achieve his goal by taking on a fitness regime that combines muscle pilates with a healthy eating plan: "Stretching is everything,” he laughed. “The other secrets are water, sleep and a great diet.”

Sounds like the perfect plan to us!