"From that time on that stage to the present day, we have never stood together onstage... either I was on tour, she was on tour, she was in this part of the world, I was in that part of the world; we could never get our schedules together," he added.

The much-loved duet began as an instrumental for the Franco Zeffirelli romance of the same name, and snowballed into a summer hit that remained at the top of the US charts for about three months.

But the track was hurriedly recorded in Canada, in between Ross's concerts, and the two former Motown superstars only ever performed it once - at the Academy Awards - before the hit lost to Arthur's Theme by Christopher Cross.

Lionel Richie deeply regretted that he has not done Endless Love performances with Diana Ross again since 1981.