The first phone call between Dartford-born Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong and conductor and composer Jules Buckley a decade ago was “kind of a bit of a blind date”.

That’s how the dance-music pioneer recalls the call from a decade ago when the pair were first given the brief to merge classical and electronic music for a BBC Prom at the Royal Albert Hall.

The result was a resounding succession of hits, including Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now, Eric Prydz’s Pjanoo and Lola’s Theme from The Shapeshifters, all re-imagined with Jules conducting and Pete on the decks.

Now, to celebrate that night a decade on, Pete Tong’s Ibiza Classics returns to the Royal Albert Hall for four dates (three in May and one in June).

“I started off like wanting to do 70 tracks, and we whittled it down to about 20 to 22, that first show, and then we went from there.

“We just thought this was fun. This was a one-off occasion that was going to happen, and let’s go and do it to the best of our ability, and enjoy it and try and create something special.”

Demand soared after clips were shared on YouTube and social media. But for Pete, 64, the music has always been the mission.

He explains: “I was kind of on a mission, because I’ve always said, like a lot of producers, DJs in the electronic space, dance music space, we have a bit of a chip on our shoulder that we’re not taken as seriously as kind of rock and roll or country music or hip hop.

“So, being able to give an orchestra of 65 players some of these tracks that were made and created by one producer in Chicago in 1987 or something, it just added like how important these records were and like how brilliant the music was.”

Music has been a staple in Pete’s life since a young age and he’s one of the most well-known names in the DJ and electronic music space.

Born in Dartford, his musical interest began as a drummer, but he progressed to DJing after leaving The King’s School in Rochester. He first operated a mobile disco and then set up his own club night in London, as well as booking bands.

After hosting a soul show on Kent’s Invicta Radio, he went on to land a show on Capital Radio and three years later in 1991 he was given a dance show on Radio 1.

While his radio career was building, Pete started his own record label FFRR, releasing music by Utah Saints, Fine Young Cannibals and Hothouse Flowers and signing acts such as Run-DMC and Salt-N-Pepa.

The presenter has also supervised the soundtracks for films such as The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, and 24 Hour Party People.

In 2021 he was given a lifetime achievement award by the Music Industry Trusts (MITS) Award.

But casting his mind back to how Ibiza became synonymous with the dance music scene, he says the early days were “super exciting”.

“It’s always like the World Cup finals or the Champions League finals. It’s like, if you can prove yourself in Ibiza, you’re kind of beginning to make it. So I think it’s always been this ultimate destination for a DJ to to play there, it still managed to retain a kind of level of cool.”

This year’s anniversary shows will see each night have a unique line-up, and guest vocalists will include Becky Hill, Jacob Lusk, who joined Sir Elton John on stage during Glastonbury, and house and soul singer Barbara Tucker.

There will also be no shortage of impressive DJs, with names like Damian Lazarus, David Morales and Paul Oakenfold set to appear.

“I think the thing for me, the crowd reaction has always been the X Factor for this show. I can’t stress it enough, the crowd participation makes it all make sense,” Pete says.

“If anyone worries about where we’re heading with streaming and like, do people care about music anymore, and are people getting too distracted to even care or sit still for three minutes and listen to a song, and I do worry a lot about that, and lose a lot of sleep about that, on the other side, when you see people in a room enjoying the music like that, it’s like, we’re all right.”

He adds: “You know, whatever happens on the way, people are consuming music, people more than ever want to go to a live event and stand in a room with 15,000 like-minded people and go crazy. So that’s alive and well.”

You can book tickets for the Ibiza Classics 10 Year Anniversary shows at the Royal Albert Hall here.

Pete Tong will be at the Royal Albert Hall from Thursday, May 29 to Sunday, June 1. He will also perform at the O2 Arena in London on Friday, December 12 and Saturday, December 13.