Billy Joel bares truth behind Princess Diana's 'Uptown Girl' performance
MANILA, Philippines — American musician Billy Joel confirmed that Princess Diana of Wales indeed danced to the tune of his hit song “Uptown Girl” in a private show as seen in the latest season of Netflix’s "The Crown."
In his Twitter account, Billy said the dance happened during Royal Ballet’s holiday celebration, and not in a birthday gala for Princess Diana's former husband Prince Charles.
???? Netflix's 'The Crown' Season 4:
— Billy Joel (@billyjoel) November 20, 2020
In 1985, Princess Diana had a vision to surprise Prince Charles at a private show for supporters/friends of the Royal Ballet’s holiday celebration. She asked choreographer Wayne Sleep to choreograph a dance to her favorite song, "Uptown Girl." pic.twitter.com/8XkGNrT5VG
“In 1985, Princess Diana had a vision to surprise Prince Charles at a private show for supporters/friends of the Royal Ballet’s holiday celebration. She asked choreographer Wayne Sleep to choreograph a dance to her favorite song, ‘Uptown Girl',” Billy wrote.
According to The Independent, the dance really happened and Prince Charles "wasn't terribly impressed."
In the documentary "Princess Diana: The Woman Inside," royal expert Richard Kay claimed that it was a "present that backfired" because it was all over the headlines the following day.
Choreographer Wayne Sleep, who was Princess Diana's friend, said she asked him to help her dance to the tune of the song as a surprise for Prince Charles.
“She rang me and said, ‘I want to dance with you at Covent Garden this Christmas for the big Christmas gala party that they do as a thank you to all the supporters of the opera house'," Wayne shared in an interview with Vulture.
According to the celebrated ballet dancer, they practiced for weeks in secret beforehand, with just one set rehearsal on the day of the performance.
"She couldn’t have danced it better. I was the nervous one! I was shaking in the wings. What if she doesn’t like it? What if I dropped the future queen of England? Yup, that lift really did happen!” he said.
Billy Joel is one of the world's best-selling musicians of all time, having released 12 studio albums from 1971 to 1993 as well as one studio album in 2001. He is the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, with over 150 million records sold worldwide.
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