Lionel Richie: I still get nervous before live shows but it doesn’t last all night long

He has been in the spotlight for almost 50 years, but Lionel Richie has confessed he still suffers from self-doubt before singing live.

The 66-year-old star has just announced he is to tour the UK again, with three nights at the O2 in July.

He told the Standard: “There’s a doubting period - always. My definition of a true artist is you’re an egotistical maniac with an inferiority complex.

"In other words, [you say to yourself] ‘You’re the greatest, you’re the greatest, you’re the greatest’, and then 15 seconds before you go on stage you go, ‘I don’t know... I don’t know,’ and then the lights come on and you go, ‘I know!’”

He poured cold water on reports of a forthcoming collaboration with Adele - saying the pair will not even be able to sit down together for at least 18 months.

Last week Richie had revealed he and Adele were in talks about writing together after fans made comparisons between her comeback single Hello and his 1984 hit of the same name.

He said: “How the question came up was, ‘Lionel, what about you and Adele?’ And I said, ‘I’m sure somewhere down the line we’re going to do this.’

"But right now she’s - and I said ‘but’ - she is concentrating on her album and starting her first big tour.

“So we’re about a year and a half away from any kind of collaborating at all because right now she’s going to be focused on staying healthy and making this tour work.

“So somewhere down there I would love to kidnap her and put her in a room somewhere, because she’s really a great writer. I’d love to work with her.”

Tickets are available from ticketmaster.co.uk.