Nile Rodgers

It’s been a long time coming. But as the sun dipped below the gantries of the Belfast shipyard, the perverse sense of a new dawn rising was palatable among the two thousand-strong crowd that had packed into the Custom House Square to see Nile Rodgers kick off a new era of post Covid gig-going .

And who better than the supremo behind chart topping disco/funk act Chic to get the party started? Indeed, it was an old Chic track that kicked off proceedings the rather understated Cheer, but that soon segwayed into a minimix of classics including Dance, Dance Dance and Everybody Dance. Not that anyone needed to be told twice.

Right fromt the first note this event-starved crowd was ready to embrace the occasion and get in the gig groove and party like it was 2019.

Anyone in the throng unaware of this genuis’s past repertoire, Nils provided a quick cramming lesson running through some of the hits he had penned for others kicking off with a couple made famous by former Supreme Diana Ross - I’m Coming Out and Upside Down - and a Sister Sledge double, He’s the Greatest Dance and We Are Family.

There were bemused looks from some of the assembled when the opening bars of Madonna’s Like a Virgin echoed around the open air arena. Those looks turned to smiles and smiles translated to dance resulting in mass delight.

And still they came. Bowie’s Modern Love. Duran Duran’s Notorious. Daft Punk’s Get Lucky with the show’s climax being the Chic classic Good Times.

And indeed the good times were back. How we missed them.