Put your hands in the heir – duke still loves club anthems
Prince William is a man of many titles. As well as being Duke of Cambridge, he is Earl of Strathearn and Baron Carrickfergus. Perhaps he now deserves another handle: the Secret Clubber.
William may not go to clubs so much these days, what with being a father of three and second in line to the British throne, but his love of dance music of the mid1990s and early 2000s is undiminished.
This snapshot of his musical tastes was revealed when he presented British DJ Simon Mayo with an MBE at Buckingham Palace, for services to radio broadcasting. William mentioned his love of the rave classic Insomnia, by Faithless, and Groovejet, by Spiller featuring Sophie EllisBextor.
‘‘I suggested that he was clearly a bit of a clubber,’’ said Mayo, who presents a daily show on GHR (Greatest Hits Radio). ‘‘He said, ‘Maybe a secret clubber’.
‘‘I . . . suggested he was just the right age to be joining us.’’
Groovejet was a club hit in 2000, and became the eighth-bestselling song in the United Kingdom that year. Insomnia is a dark anthem that became a standard at outdoor raves – and if William really was a ‘‘secret clubber’’, then rapper Maxi Jazz’s lyrics detailing sleepless nights may have resonated.
William clearly has eclectic musical tastes. In a podcast last year, he described music filling the family home, with Shakira’s Waka Waka being a favourite with his children Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
He also revealed that the song that gets him going is AC/DC’s 1990 rock hit Thunderstruck.
‘‘There’s nothing better on a Monday morning, when you’re bleary-eyed after the weekend and trying to get back into the grind of the week,’’ he said. ‘‘It wakes you up, puts you in the best mood possible, and you feel like you can take on anything and anyone.’’
William has, perhaps, inherited his varied musical tastes from his grandmother.
Until recently, the Queen was best known for her love of show tunes, and the songs of English 1930s and ’40s entertainer George Formby. It emerged last week that she also has a fondness for the jazz of Duke Ellington.