Music, art, photography (especially black and white!), burlesque/variety entertainment, cars, film (especially the old black and white ones!), food/cooking/cocktails, F1 Grand prix, Aussie Rules Football (GO DEMONS!), sport, and of course VEGAS (www.vegasscotland.co.uk).
Music
From the '30s to the present day, country to crooners, disco to divas, easy to cheesy, funk to punk, hip-hop to be-bop, jazz to jive, latin to lounge, pop to rock, soul to swing, music from movies and tv.
Movies
All-time favourite? "To Have And Have Not" - there's something incredibly special about some of those old black and white movies... Animation is cool too - especially all the Aardman stuff (how could anyone NOT love Wallace And Grommit!). I enjoy sci-fi films too - Bladerunner is my kind of style, rather than the ones that go for super-whiz-bang special effects.
Television
Have I Got News For You, Darling Buds Of May, Drop The Dead Donkey, The Simpsons, documentaries about the natural world (and politics).
Books
All the Damon Runyan short stories. John Mortimer's "Rumpole" books. Private Eye every fortnight.
Heroes
My late Mother and Father, John Lennon, Nelson Mandela.
A life filled with music. Both my parents enjoyed listening to music, and there was always something playng 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, as a 'plugger' 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 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: lennylovesmusic@hotmail.com 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 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...
Who I'd like to meet: My life is blessed with friends who I love - but I always enjoy meeting passionate people with a nice friendly attitude.
Just swinging by to say hello and to let you know that we've finally (it took far FAR too long) posted video footage of our Queen's Hall album launch on our MySpace pages. Let us know what you think.
Red Hot Chili Peppers' guitarist John Frusciante’s mother sang backup on their song “Under The Bridge”, along with two of her friends from church. Originally, the song was just a poem that singer Anthony Kiedis wrote about his days as a heroin addict and the loneliness that went with it. The bridge mentioned in the song is a place where he sometimes went to buy drugs and get high. Kiedis didn’t write it for the Chili Peppers - it was a very personal poem that he thought he might use somewhere else. Producer Rick Rubin found it in one of his notebooks and told Anthony that it could be a great song. At first, he didn't want to sing it or share it with anyone, but he eventually came around.
speaking of Granny's i suggest you check this link, and forward the counter to the 3.00 minute mark for some top-notch 80s entertainment. you wouldnt get away with it these days. http://youtube. com/watch?v=Uqebb95XU_Q
Heroes tells the story of a German couple who are so determined to be together that they meet every day under a gun turret on the Berlin Wall. Bowie, who was living in Berlin at the time, was inspired by an affair between his producer Tony Visconti and backup singer Antonia Maass, who would kiss "by the wall" in front of Bowie as he looked out of the Hansa Studio window. Bowie didn't mention Visconti's role in inspiring this song until 2005, when he was sure that knowledge of this fact would not affect Visconti's own personal situation - he was married at the time of the affair.
Co-written and edited by Brian Eno, Heroes was released in English, German and French. The German version is called "Helden", the French is "Heros" ;
“Fortunate Son” by Creedence Clearwater Revival is an anti-establishment song of defiance and blue-collar pride. It is both anti-Washington and against the Vietnam war, but supports the soldiers fighting there. Group leader John Fogerty was not a fan of Richard Nixon and felt that people close to the president were receiving preferential treatment. Like many CCR fans, most of the soldiers came from the working class, and were there because they didn't have connections who could get them out. It is sung from the perspective of one of these men, who ends up fighting because he is not a "Senator's son". Fogerty and Doug Clifford were both drafted themselves in 1966.
Bitter:Mick Jagger and Keith Richards get composer credits for this song along with Richard Ashcroft. Upset that he lost the royalties, Ashcroft said this was "The best song Jagger and Richards have written in 20 years."
Sweet: With this song as its lead track, Urban Hymns went eight times platinum in the UK and became The Verve's most successful album. It features frequently in best album lists, and was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize in 1997.
Symphony: The song samples an obscure orchestral version of "The Last Time", a 1965 song by the Rolling Stones. The Stones had signed a very lopsided contract with Allen Klein - their ex-manager - early in their career, and had to make huge concessions in order to get out of it. Part of the deal gave Klein the publishing rights to all of the Stones' songs through 1969. He made, and continues to make, far more money than anyone else from this song.
aye aye captain, welcome aboard. an honour to have the original grandaddy of Supper-Star Dee-Jayin in my wall of fame. keep passin on all the gigs you dont want to do yourself - i'm always flattered.
