Danny Dyer talks joining Robbie Williams on cover of Blur's Parklife at BST Hyde Park: "It was a real moment"

8 July 2024, 15:15 | Updated: 9 July 2024, 16:35

Danny Dyer talks covering Parklife with Robbie Williams at BST Hyde Park

The former EastEnders star spoke to The Chris Moyles Show about his surprise appearance with Robbie Williams at BST Hyde Park.

Danny Dyer has spoken out about his performance of Blur's Parklife with Robbie Williams.

The actor, podcaster and presenter - who played Mick Carter in EastEnders - joined the Angels singer at his headline BST Hyde Park gig this Saturday (6th July) to treat fans to a rendition of the classic Britpop track.

Dyer, who performed the iconic lines usually taken on by Phil Daniels, revealed to Radio X's Toby Tarrant on The Chris Moyles Breakfast Show that the former Take That star approached him about the guest appearance at Soccer Aid.

Recalling the moment he was asked, he said: "I was like, what? Are you sure about this?' And he went, 'I've never been more sure of anything,' So I said yes, and then I thought, 'Oh now I've got to do it.'

"So, you know. I love the tune. I love Robbie and we done it. We done it. It was great. It was a real moment. I think it went down really well, you know."

Asked if his heart was thumping when he was waiting to go out on stage, he replied: "Oh god yeah. I can't lie to you. This is well out of my comfort zone. I've done some nutty things over the years, I've done a lot of theatre of course... You know, I didn't come until about song seven and I went down there to have a look and you get a glimpse of about 65,000 people and of course it's the ear pieces.

"And I didn't want these ear pieces in, but they say you have to have them because of course there's a delay and it was cutting out every two minutes [...] and sometimes what you gotta do is just face the fear and do it anyway."

He added: "Once I started I was sweet. And I listened to the song a lot. You've got to prepare, you know and I just channelled my inner Phil Daniels."

He added: "I loved it and it was a real moment and Robbie - he called it on and you never know quite what reception you're gonna get either and I got of love from the crowd. It was a beautiful thing."

Watch the moment the actor and cockney 'hard man' joined Robbie Williams on the Blur banger at the London date:

Danny Dyer joins Robbie Williams on cover of Blur's Parklife

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Going onto praise Williams himself, Dyer added: "He's got some tunes in his locker that man. He's a very spiritual man as well. We all did the big huddle before the show. I was part of his band and you know, the dancers and everything and you're like 'Wow'.

"Sometimes these things come along and you've got to grab hold of them, you know? I'm doing some mad stuff at the moment. I'm on a mad run. I pretended to be a footballer at Soccer Aid and then I pretended to be a rock star."

He joked: "I've been pretending to be an actor for a very long time!"

Talking about playing the performance after England's EUROs win against Switzerland on the weekend and the Three Lions getting through to the Semi Finals, he added: "We were watching the football together. That was important, so we watched England first.

"It was important that we won that because it could have been a little bit flat. England won. The clouds all cleared. The blue skies came out and you was proud to be British on that stage. It was a very British affair and it was a beautiful, beautiful thing, so if he does go on tour I'll be there mate."

The former Take That star also continued to pay tribute to the Britpop era with a cover of Oasis anthem Don't Look Back In Anger.

The Stoke-on-Trent icon was also joined by Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes for a performance of the band's Alright anthem.

See Robbie Williams' setlist at BST Hyde Park on 6th July:

• Let Me Entertain You
• Land of 1000 Dances(Chris Kenner cover)
• Strong
• Come Undone
• Do What U Like (Take That song)
• Could It Be Magic (Barry Manilow cover/Take That song)
• Don't Look Back in Anger (Oasis cover)
• Alright(Supergrass cover - with Gaz Coombes)
• Parklife
• (Blur cover) (with Danny Dyer) (with The Coldstream Guards)
• Back for Good (Take That song)
• Love My Life
• Candy
• Supreme
• Millennium
• Advertising Space
• Feel
• Kids
• Rock DJ

Encore:

• No Regrets
• She's the One (World Party cover)
• Angels (with Three Lions - Football's Coming Home)