Lionel Richie wanted to say 'goodbye’ to Hello which he only wrote as a joke

Superstar says he penned song’s iconic ‘hello, is it me you're looking for?’ opening line for a laugh when his producer showed up late to meeting View 3 Images He hated it (Image: Getty Images)

Lionel Richie wanted to say ‘goodbye’ to Hello - which he insisted he only wrote as a joke. The superstar said he penned the song’s iconic opening line - ‘hello, is it me you're looking for?’ - for a laugh when his producer showed up late to a meeting.

Richie said he ‘hated’ the song and did not want it released because he feared it would make him the ‘laughing stock of the business’. It went on to become his best-selling release shifting 20 million copies worldwide and winning him a Grammy.

Hello topped the charts in nine countries including the US and UK where it was No1 for six w