Idris Elba thought Prince Harry was joking when he asked him to DJ at his wedding to Meghan Markle. The Luther star, 46, provided the music at the reception at Frogmore House in May, following the ceremony.
Elba got to know Harry after working with Prince Charles’s charity, The Prince’s Trust, which gave him a £1,500 grant in 1988 to study at the National Youth Music Theatre. He said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, “Harry came to a couple of parties I DJed and he was like, ‘Man, what are you doing on the date [19 May]’ and I told him nothing.
“And then he asked if I would DJ at his wedding. I was like, ‘Is this a joke?’ And he was like, ‘No, I’m serious.’”
As for what Elba played on the night? He told Extra, "I think they were very happy for me to do my thing. But they said these are the songs we like. It was an amazing experience, but I can't remember exactly what I played."
One song that reportedly played that night was an absolute classic: Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me). According to The Telegraph, the Houston hit was actually Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first dance choice - an excellent choice if we do say so ourselves.
Elba, who attended the wedding with his fiancée Sabrina Dhowre, performed to George and Amal Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, and David and Victoria Beckham. He previously said it was “one of the highlights of my life”.
The star, who grew up in Hackney, also spoke about DJing at the forthcoming Coachella festival. DeGeneres highlighted the unusual outfits worn at the festival, before an assistant handed Elba a floral headdress and thong.
DeGeneres told him: “We got you something to wear as you’ve got to fit in.” Elba put on the items saying: “Serious? Ok! These are a little small.”
Elba’s next project is the web television series Turn Up Charlie, in which he plays a struggling DJ. He said: “I created it with a co-creator. Charlie is about a 40-year-old DJ and I guess I am that 40-year-old DJ.”
