Music legend Lionel Richie has been admitted to intensive care after falling ill during a concert, just two months after another worrying health scare forced him to cut a performance short.
The 77-year-old singer checked himself into hospital following his Saturday night performance at The Muny in St Louis, Missouri, where he had appeared to struggle towards the end of the show.
Richie was performing his much-loved hit All Night Long when he reportedly asked his team to bring him a chair, completing the final song of the night while seated.
Following the concert, the Grammy-winning star went to hospital as a precaution and was admitted to the intensive care unit while doctors carried out tests.
Sources close to the singer have said doctors are investigating possible dehydration, with Richie reportedly hopeful of being discharged from hospital on Tuesday.
The hospitalisation comes only two months after the Hello singer suffered another health scare during the opening night of his Sing a Song All Night Long tour with Earth, Wind & Fire.
During that June performance in St Paul, Minnesota, Richie told the audience he was feeling dizzy and attempted to continue the show while seated.
“When you’re feeling dizzy, sit your ass down,” he joked with the crowd at the time.
But Richie was ultimately unable to finish the concert, with a member of his band later returning to the stage to tell disappointed fans the singer was too unwell to continue.
Two subsequent concerts were postponed on doctors’ advice so Richie could “rest and return to full health”.
Thankfully, the veteran performer was back on stage within days and later reassured concerned fans that he was recovering well.
“Thank you for every message, every kind word, and for all your love,” he wrote on social media in July. “I’m doing well, and I’m grateful for all of you.”
Richie has been touring alongside Earth, Wind & Fire and currently has a lengthy break before his next scheduled performance, which is listed for September 26 in San Francisco.
There has been no official announcement that the concert will be affected by his latest hospital stay.
Richie, whose career spans more than five decades, first found international fame with the Commodores before becoming one of the biggest solo artists of the 1980s.
His enormous catalogue of hits includes Hello, All Night Long, Dancing on the Ceiling, Say You, Say Me and Three Times a Lady.
For now, fans around the world will be hoping the music icon takes all the time he needs to recover before getting back on the ceiling – or anywhere else.
Images: Instagram
