The music world raised a few eyebrows when it was revealed that actor Idris Elba was flexing his musical chops by releasing an album - but it appears that he has been now dropped by his label, Parlophone.

The Londoner, most famous for his role as Stringer Bell in TV series The Wire, released 'Mi Mandela' last year. It was an album inspired by intense research into the music of South Africa before he portrayed Nelson Mandela in the biopic 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'.

He told the Evening Standard that the album was "not commercial enough" and that was "fair enough." He worked with people like Maverick Sabre, James Blake and Mumford and Sons on the album.

Elba, who also regularly DJs under the name 'Big Driis' also expressed an interest in producing Adele, and working with Janelle Monáe and "any of the Marley brothers" on a new musical project that is inspired by his character John Luther from the BBC series 'Luther'.

It will, he admits, probably have to be self-financed, however.