CLOSE to 16,000 music fans were wowed by Lionel Richie at Colchester’s Weston Homes Community Stadium.

The Hello singer left the crowd Dancing on the Ceiling with a scintillating two-hour set.

Initially the weather threatened to put a dampener on the events, but when Lionel walked out, the sun followed.

The concert was opened by Corinne Bailey-Rae who battled to put smiles on the faces of a crowd getting soaked in a downpour.

Lionel opened with Running with the Night and was on typically slick form between songs.

The Colchester, or as he aptly named it Cold-chester, crowd was made to feel part of the performance thanks to the Motown star’s interaction.

The final few songs of the set were what everyone had been waiting for, ending with All Night Long.

Lionel took to Instagram to share a picture of three Lionel-lookalikes in the crowd with his 242,000 followers:

Magician and entertainer, Michael J Fitch, also got the crowds going by starting a Mexican wave:

Lionel's performance got the thumbs up from fans. Having the chance to see the American superstar so close to home was what drew many to the show, and they were not left disappointed.

Kirtsy Richardson, of Colchester, said: “You don’t get many opportunities like this here.

“There aren’t normally that many concerts to go to so to have someone like Lionel in the area is absolutely amazing.”

Dennis Cooper, 59, from Beccles in Suffolk, said: “It’s great to have something like this in Colchester. We have seen George Michael in Norwich but it’s fantastic to have something here.

“We have a caravan ten minutes down the road. If we could get a bit more of this sort of thing down here that would be great.”

Sarah Ingram-Watts, 58, of Hatfield Peverel, said: “It was absolutely amazing. There was no way the weather was going to get us down.”

Rhys Connolly, 21, from Harwich, said: “It was brilliant. I’d never really listened to Lionel much but my parents always did.

“He put on such a great show. I would definitely pay to come and see him again.”