MyHeritage : Celebrity Collage - Family history
A life filled with music. Both my parents enjoyed listening to music, and there was always something playing on the gramophone at home. Although I was encouraged to learn how to play a music instrument, after months of lessons, I failed miserably to attain any skill whatsoever to play the piano. Lessons on the clarinet followed, but didn't produce anything musical - except for my ability to make the dog howl! Getting into 'folk/protest' music and moving to an acoustic guitar didn't help either so, to this day, the ability to communicate by playing a musical instrument is something I truly admire in others. Yes, I'm a frustrated musician. Maybe that's why I became a DJ... After years of listening to Radio Luxembourg (mostly under the bed-covers at night), I started spending my paper-round wages & pocket money on buying 7" singles from the age of around 13, and by the time I was 15 I had enough tunes to play at the local youth club disco. No twin-decks, no mixer, no mic, no fancy equipment - just put a record on the Dansette Record Player and crank up the volume. Great fun! That's also where I 'learned the trade' - when a record ends, you've got to get it off the turntable and get another one on as quickly as possible. Hey, that was 'hi-tec' back then! Actually, not much has changed in over 40 years - well, maybe the equipment has become a tad more sophisticated, and technology has moved-on, but the concept remains pretty much the same.
Apart from private parties or corporate events, you're most likely to find me on the dex at VEGAS!, 'Baby Loves Disco', or "Worker's Playtime" clubnights, being 'support/warm-up' DJ for bands, or at my Lindy-Hop/swing-dance residency every Wednesday ('Shoe Swing') in The Counting House in Edinburgh.
Over the years - apart from always DJ'ing - I've worked in record shops, for concert promoters, regional promotion manager for Island Records (the greatest record company in the world, IMHO) & the legendary 'indie' label Stiff Records (getting a name-check on 'Friends' by Ian Dury was a nice surprise!), travelled around the world as tour manager for Simple Minds (and receiving two credits on their 'New Gold Dream' album!),as a silver Sony Award-winning radio presenter and producer, and I lived in Australia for 10 glorious years where I discovered my love of Aussie Rules Football - the greatest team sport on the planet! Unfortunately, 'my' team - The Demons - are having yet another lousy season this year, but they'll do better next year... C'mon lads - "every heart beats true for the red and the blue".
In the meantime, although I also use a laptop computer as well as vinyl/CDs at gigs, I continue to add more & more records & CDs to my ever-expanding music library (see pic) and I happily supply the musical atmosphere anywhere on this jumpin' green globe - for clubs, pubs, theme nights, corporate events, princely palaces, penthouse pads, premieres, gala nights, luxury yachts, country castles, stately homes, ocean liners, mansion houses, private functions, charity balls, fashion shows, in-store promotions, out-door festivals, concerts, radio, TV, film, weddings, wine tastings, cocktail nights etc.
I've had some amazing gigs over the years, including a four-week residency in my favourite venue anywhere on the planet - The Famous Spiegeltent - during the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and also the Adelaide Festival, corporate events & party nights in The Hotel Du Paris in Monaco (twice!) and also The Arts Hotel in Barcelona, a wedding party on the shore of a lake in North Carolina, and a VERY posh private party in Skibo Castle (yeah, the same place where Madonna & Guy got hitched).
If you'd like to contact me directly, you can either send me an email here, or to:
[email protected] OR, you can phone/text me to: (UK) 70931 341 423
Apart from radio shows I get asked to present on 1548 Forth2 every now and again, I recently produced & presented a couple of radio shows for a local community station (98.8 Leith FM, if you're asking). The shows ran from 11am till 2pm on Saturday & Sunday afternoons, the Saturday show - "LOVELY JUBBLY" - was (loosely) based around interesting 'cover' versions of songs, with the occasional recordings of classic comedy routines thrown in from time to time. My cunning plan for the Sunday show - sensibly called "LENNY LOVES JAZZ" - consisted of all sorts of jazz-related music - which covered a pretty wide range of styles. The format for both shows was decided 'on the fly'/depending on my hangover/mood... If you're in another part of the planet, you can still listen via 'the net', on www.leithfm.co.uk. You may have noticed my use of the past tense, as I simply don't have the time to spare to be there every Saturday & Sunday. However, the station continues to 're-broadcast' the shows overnight, so you can occasionally still hear my semi-coherent ramblings...
Although it's slightly embarrassing for a grown man to admit, I have a slight 'thing' for leopardskin (only the fake variety, of course!). It's not a fetish really. Well, maybe it is. A bit. However, I have a selection of other stylish stage outfits, including a collection of interesting hats, ties & shoes, that I wear on stage at "VEGAS!" club nights (where I perform as 'Dino Martini'), or in my original 70's kit at "Baby Loves Disco", and sometimes when I'm asked to 'dress-up' for a wedding, themed night, or a corporate event. The things a grown man will do to earn a living...
