It’s rare to hear a music megastar heap praise on a Tory MP but Chic’s Nile Rodgers reckons Esther McVey is “awesome”.
(Lorraine Kelly, who worked with her on GMTV, isn’t quite as keen, but nevertheless...)
Nile says McVey “touched my heart and really understood” his quest to force fair payment for songwriters from streaming giants. He spoke as he attended the launch of a shop yards from where David Bowie posed as Ziggy Stardust to mark what would have been his 75th birthday.
Nile was also joined by Boy George, Bob Geldof and Jonathan Ross at Heddon Street in central London.
He said: “Songwriters haven’t got a raise for 75 years – I mean come on.
“How can that be? There would be no music industry without songwriters – we’re the foundation.”
Nile confronted MPs at a select committee last year and last week the Competition and Markets Authority agreed to probe streaming sites, thanks largely to his hard work. The star, who has produced songs with Madonna and Diana Ross, said: “There’s no verdict or outcome but it’s a start.
“I am so thankful there is at least dialogue. The way the contracts have been formed with streaming companies has left us out.
“We can’t even do proper audits –there’s no business in the world you can’t audit except ours. That’s ridiculous.”
It’s music to his ears.
Nile recently opened up about the rise of dance music in lockdown.
Asked why he thinks its had such a revival, he told NME : "Because it touches your soul! You don’t have to be in a club with other people. I’ll go on TikTok and see somebody dancing in their kitchen to a song that I’ve done, and it just blows me away.
"That’s what it’s all about. Yes, it’s true that you became part of a magical collective when you go to an EDM show or a disco show or a dance show: When I first met Aviici, I was so thrilled to hang with his audience and see where they were coming from."
