The Alabama-born singer has the background, having grown up Episcopalian, and written the Commodores’ concert favourite, Jesus is Love. Richie also brings a sliver of the church to proceedings. Tonight, his adaptability produces a show that swings between raucous R&B and chocolate-box ballads, all of it fantastic. There were grumblings when he was added to the bill, but to complain that he abandoned his funk origins for a life of soft-soul crowd-pleasing is to miss the point of the man. It was undoubtedly his solo reign over the charts – the period that produced the indelible Hello and All Night Long, greeted here with wails of joy – that led to his being offered the Sunday heritage slot at this year’s Glastonbury. Otherwise, Richie is in fine fettle – better than he should be after 45 years in music, first as lead singer of the Commodores, then as one of the biggest solo artists of the 80s. One of the few signs of mileage is the way his voice has changed: the silkiness of his 70s/80s purple patch has given way to something a bit gruffer, which is especially evident in extended versions of party pieces such as Dancing on the Ceiling and Running with the Night. Richie wears his 65 years exceptionally lightly, and his stamina – steaming through nearly two hours of hits without a break – is that of someone half his age. “Y ou look very good for your age,” Lionel Richie says generously, addressing a full and delighted O2.

Lionel richie all night long