Lionel Richie says Hello to Abu Dhabi ahead of his F1 after-race concert

Ahead of Lionel Richie's headline slot at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, we look back at the soul-pop legend's most seminal musical moments.

Lionel Richie returns to the UAE this weekend. Al Silfen

Lionel Richie says his biggest problem as he prepares for his show on Saturday at du Arena is choosing which tunes to play.

The soul-pop legend, who is performing as part of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after-race concerts, claims he is in the somewhat enviable position of having too many hit songs to pick from.

Many of them, he says, had to be left off the set list during his previous visit to the Emirates, in April 2014 when he performed at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre. This gave him the perfect excuse to return – and this time, he says he simply will not stop.

“You come back and you play more music – that’s what happens,” says Richie.

“The beautiful part is we left a lot of songs out – go figure that. So what we’re going to do now is come back and where we were supposed to stop at one point, we’re just going to keep going.”

Moreover, in these days of carefully choreographed set lists, the 67-year-old promises to keep it old school by taking spontaneous requests from the crowd.

Hardcore fans will welcome his promise that material from his early days with the Commodores – before going solo in 1982 – is likely to feature prominently.

“The beautiful part about it is we can mix and match,” says Richie. “So as the crowd screams out a song we’ll go: ‘OK, we’ll do that.’ There is a lot of Commodores in there – you’ve got to remember, though, we got Commodores, and the 1980s and the ’90s. So our problem is trying to figure out how to stop? How do we jump off?”

It sounds like we can look forward to a varied selection – but most music fans will be disappointed if they leave the arena on Saturday night without hearing these five seminal tunes.

Easy, 1977, by the Commodores

Richie began as a something of a saxophone-playing junior partner in six-piece soul-group the Commodores. Formed in 1968 from the ashes of two existing bands, the group were snapped up by the legendary Motown label. Richie changed both his and their fortunes with the 1977 single Easy, a ballad he wrote and sung that set the template for subsequent smash hits Three Times a Lady and Still.

Endless Love, 1981, with Diana Ross

This is arguably the tune that inspired Richie to go solo. With an ever-rising profile as the voice of the Commodores’ softer side, Richie was paired with Motown legend Diana Ross for this soppy ballad, the theme song from Franco Zeffirelli’s film adaptation of Scott Spencer’s novel of the same name. It sold two million copies in the US alone and Richie went solo the following year.

Truly, 1982

A brave stab in the dark, Truly proved to be the solo calling card Richie was hoping for, surpassing all reasonable expectations, winning a Grammy and establishing the then-33-year-old as a star in his own right. While far from a musical revolution from his Commodores' style, it helped to ensure his subsequent debut, self-titled solo album was a hit.

All Night Long (All Night), 1983

Whether he liked it or not, by the early 1980s Richie had built a reputation as a smooth crooner of soulful ballads – but this smash-hit single opened him up to a whole new audience. A timeless slab of pop mastery, it blends disco grooves with an ever-relatable chorus that ensures it remains a guaranteed dance floor-filler more than three decades later. Richard Marx contributed backing vocals – and let’s not forget Richie’s nonsense lyrics – “jambo jumbo” indeed.

Hello, 1985

The one he will be most remembered for, whether he likes it or not. There are few more memorable musical catchphrases than Richie's intimate greeting – "Hello, is it me you're looking for?" – and few can resist its soppy charms. The bonkers video casts Richie as an acting teacher struggling with unrequited love for a blind student. References in pop culture are numerous, from Scary Movie 4 and Shrek Forever After to Seinfeld and even an Ikea ad.

• Lionel Richie performs at du Arena, Yas Island, on Saturday, November 26 as part of the Yasalam after-race concerts. The show is open only to race-day ticket holders. www.yasmarinacircuit.com