AT 50 years old, Gary Smith lives a settled life with his wife Yvonne and their son Darius in Bicester.

Next week, that life will turn upside down when he achieves one of his lifelong dreams among a glittering sea of stars in Los Angeles, California.

Mr Smith is DJing the Golden Globes.

Over the two-day party in Beverly Hills on Friday and Saturday, Mr Smith will perform for, and hang out with, the A list of Hollywood celebrities: Leonardo DiCaprio, Rihanna, Elton John, Justin Timberlake, Alec Baldwin... the list goes on.

What's more, Yvonne and Darius, 18, will be right alongside.

Mr Smith has deejayed professionally for years, but is best known to many in Oxford as the son and head chef at Ma Smith.

He has helped her serve homeless banquets in East Oxford for decades.

Now it seems some good karma has come back his way.

Speaking to the Oxford Mail he said: "I can't wait.

"I have always wanted to do this so when this happened I just thought, 'dreams do come true'.

"I'm so glad Yvonne and Darius are coming with me because as soon as I found out I said 'I don't want to do this by myself'.

"We do everything as a family."

The importance of family is inherited straight from his mum – real name Icolyn Smith – who said she was very proud of her son.

The 86-year-old, originally from Coolshade, Jamaica, said: "He told me the good news the other day and he said 'I can't believe it'.

"He has been talking about this since he was a child – he was always listening to music.

"He deserves every bit of it – he has worked so hard, and I am very, very proud."

Mr Smith has been spinning soulful house music around Europe for more than a decade under the pseudonym DJG: mainly big events such as Cowley Road Carnival, Bristol Carnival and Monaco Grand Prix.

He has also done several sponsored 24-hour sets for charity, including one at Banbury Tesco for Children in Need.

He applied online to perform at the Golden Globes three years ago, and when he did not hear back he wrote it off as one of those things.

Then, a few weeks ago, he received a reply.

"I thought it was a prank at first," he said, "so I checked it out, then it was a definite 'yes – let's do this'.

"I just couldn't turn it down.

"These opportunities don't come up very often and when they do you have to jump at it – I was jumping around the house saying 'thank you God!'."

Mr Smith will be performing at the Golden Globes Gifting Lounge, curated by marketing and events company GBK.

He has to pay for his own flights and the gig itself is unpaid – instead he gets a gift bag with hundreds of dollars' worth of merchandise.

But for the veteran DJ, the real reward is the opportunity to network and make new friends.

"I get my photograph taken with all the celebrities and the company that organise it also do the Oscars and other awards ceremonies, so for me it's worth building those relationships.

"Sometimes in life you just have to take the chance and just go for it.

"Even if nothing came of it, at least I can say I have done it."