Image copyright EPA Image caption Lionel Richie, 65, has sold more than 100 million records worldwide

Lionel Richie, who is playing Glastonbury for the first time this year, says he cannot understand why the British stage outdoor festivals.

"Why would you have a festival when you're not sure if it's going to rain?" the soul star asked the BBC.

"Why don't you just put a roof on everything?" he continued. "I don't understand!

"But you all seem to like the mud and the rain and I've gotten used to it now," he joked.

Richie will take to Glastonbury's main Pyramid stage on Sunday 28 June, in the "legends" slot that has previously been occupied by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton.

After more than 40 years performing live, Richie said he knows exactly how to win over the mid-afternoon crowd.

"It's going to be nothing but the hits," he said.

"When you've got that kind of stuff going, you just play the hits and kill 'em".

The set list could include classics such as Dancing on the Ceiling, All Night Long (All Night) and Hello, as well as Commodores smashes such as Easy and Brick House.

Image copyright AP Image caption Richie recently attended the Brit Awards in London

'Huge head'

Richie said the decision to play the festival was largely taken for him: "I didn't decide really - they kind of said 'it's time'.

"I've been hearing about this forever and, of course, Dolly Parton played it, and Neil Diamond, and some other friends, and then all of a sudden they said 'would you like to play?'"

Richie said he decided to "see what all this is about", but added he is aware he already has a presence at the festival.

"My head has been there for three years! They made a huge head of Lionel Richie - it's where you can have all your communications. So inside it's called 'hello is it me you're looking for?' and that's where all the wifi is," he said.

"So I've been there already, I've just not played".

Foo Fighters will top the bill on the first night of the festival this June, with the other two headline slots yet to be confirmed.

Organiser Emily Eavis has shot down rumours AC/DC, Coldplay, Adele and Florence and the Machine have been asked to close the Pyramid stage.

"This is the first year that most of the rumours are wrong," she told eFestivals.

"Normally, there's someone in there who's right - this has been our best year for secrets."