‘Still standing’: king jokes as he appears on Elton John’s Rocket Hour

King Charles marked his 78th birthday on Saturday joking with Elton John that they were “still standing” as he appeared on the singer-songwriter’s Rocket Hour for a shared musical journey.

In a special recorded episode of the Apple Radio show to mark the 50th anniversary of the monarch’s charity the King’s Trust, Charles’s playlist included John’s I’m Still Standing.

Reminiscing about John, 79, performing the hit at a Rock Gala in 1986 to mark the trust’s 10th anniversary, Charles said no one present could possibly forget it “and certainly, 40 years on from that remarkable concert, we and the trust are definitely still standing”. John joked: “I’m still sitting now, though.”

Charles continued: “With occasional bits dropping off here and there. I know this is a terrible problem as we get older.”

The king said that appearing on Rocket Hour, which featured tracks from many musicians who have been associated with the trust over its half-century, was “an opportunity too good to resist”.

One of his choices was Giant, the 2019 dance and electronic number by Calvin Harris and Rag’n’Bone Man, to exemplify the “spirit of that well-known saying about standing on the shoulders of giants, we can draw strength from those who have gone before us”, he said.

Another, In the Air Tonight, was picked in tribute to Phil Collins, a “tremendous” trust supporter, who on Saturday is being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. “I could not be more pleased for him,” Charles said, adding that Collins’s “marvellous actress” daughter Lily was also a trust supporter, “which I think is a really special connection across the generations”.

Rod Stewart’s rendition of Handbags and Gladrags was on the king’s list, not only because he admired the “totally unstoppable” Stewart, but also for the Stereophonics “who started their career with help from the trust”, Charles said.

Providing young people with their first opportunity was what the trust was created for, said Charles, who set it up as the Prince’s Trust in 1976. He recalled how, in 1994, a “group then known as the Rocket Baby Dolls received a small grant from my trust to buy audio equipment. And later, under the name of Muse, they became one of the biggest stadium bands in the world,” before playing their version of Feeling Good.

Asked to choose a song he found “extremely meaningful”, Charles plumped for All You Need Is Love by the Beatles. “Well, there can surely be nothing more meaningful than love,” he said.

He continued: “I shall never forget the magic of witnessing a simply unforgettable performance of All You Need Is Love for my late mother’s Golden Jubilee at the Party at the Palace concert with Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker, and I think with Phil Collins on drums, Brian May and Eric Clapton on guitar and an all-star backing choir. It really is a totally timeless song with a timeless message.”

John’s choices included Elvis Presley’s Hound Dog. He revealed his mother used to buy a record every Friday, and came home one week and said: “I’ve heard this record, I’ve never heard anything like it before.” And it was Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. I’d never heard anything like it before as well and it set me on my road to my career because from that point on, that’s all I wanted to do was to play that kind of music.”

Other songs featured included Raye’s Joy and Skye Newman’s Hairdresser.

The king said appearing on the show was “the most enjoyable and nostalgic journey through some of the many musical high spots of the last half-century”.

The podcast, recorded last month at the Apple Music studios in Battersea power station, in south London, can be heard for free on Apple Music 1 on Saturday at 5pm and 10pm, and on Sunday at 2am and 6am, and on both Apple Music 1 and Apple Music Hits at 10am and 2pm on Sunday. It will then be available to listen to or download from the Apple Music platform.

Full playlist

• Muse Feeling Good

• Raye Joy

• Skye Newman Hairdresser

• Tina Turner Proud Mary

• Calvin Harris and Rag’n’Bone Man Giant

• Phil Collins In the Air Tonight

• Elton John I’m Still Standing

• Rod Stewart Handbags and Gladrags

• The Beatles All You Need is Love

• Elvis Presley Hound Dog

• Bob Dylan Gotta Serve Somebody

• Lenny Kravitz It Ain’t Over ’Til It’s Love

• Pete Townshend Let My Love Open the Door

• Nectar Woode Wine Into Water