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| Robbie Leslie |
| The dashingly good-looking Robbie Leslie was born in Maine in 1956. He grew up half in Maine and half in Florida. His parents followed the sun well before he was born. After Christmas they would go south to Florida and late in spring they would come back to Maine. So from the time he was three or four years old he started doing that with them as well. He spent half of his schooling, everything in fact, in both places, until the last few years of high school when he chose to stay in Maine.
Right after he finished high school he started working on Fire Island. First as a waiter. He had waited tables in Florida at a few straight bars. Then he got a job at "The Sandpiper," where "The Pavillion" is now. He was a waiter there for two years, 1975 and 1976. In 1977 was when he first started playing records. That is when he became interested in the idea. the concept. "Before that I was never interested in music. I had no musical background, in a formal way, and I didn’t really like pop music when I was younger. I liked classical music – which was about the only music I listened to. So just from out of the blue suddenly I thought this might be fun to try it. This was after Labor Day, and as you know out there it really dies after Labor Day but the Sandpiper would stay open until Halloween. They said give it a shot – we play tapes anyway so go for it. I did." Initially… the compliments and applause and well wishes of the people out there were the reward. Certainly not the money. His first year as a DJ was spent playing at "The Sandpiper" on Fire Island and at "The Marlin Beach Hotel" in Ft. Lauderdale. In Florida he worked with Bobby Viteritti who was tremendously helpful, "he taught me more in a short amount of time that I have learned since. I think that when one learns to become a DJ, one learns a lot initially, and then after you learn all the principles, everything else is very subtle. You develop your own personality, your own inflections, your own style." At the end of the Florida season, around Easter, he went back to Fire Island. This was now 1978. "I went back to Fire Island as a DJ. I played there during the week Monday through Thursday, from midnight to four (because they closed right at four, there were no after-hours), and I enjoyed it a whole lot. Working out there was particularly good for me because I had a particular audience to work and I learned their background. A lot of DJ’s don’t have knowledge of the old classics (I’m not referring to DJ’s that work at "The Saint"). They don’t know about "Pull Yourself Together" and "Take Off Your Makeup" because they are too obscure, they are too culty, but to the Fire Island crowd those are all standards and they are classic in their own right. I gained a lot of knowledge from the three summers that I worked at the Sandpiper. All the esoteric… I hate to use the word sleaze… records I learned out there I would have never learned anywhere else." From there he moved on to New York City, where the list of clubs at which he regularly performed reads like a "Who's Who" of Big Apple nightspots: "The Saint" (and subsequently the "Saint-At-Large"), "Studio 54," "Underground," "Private Eyes," "Palladium," "The Red Parrot," "12 West" and "The Ice Palace." He also made numerous guest appearances at "Trocadero Transfer" and "Dreamland" in San Francisco; "Axis," "Probe" and "Studio 1" in Los Angeles; "Numbers" and "Heaven" in Houston; "Club St. John" in San José; "The Pavilion," "Botel" and "Ice Palace" on Fire Island; "Roxy" and "Octagon" in New York; "Heaven" in London, and clubs in Australia, Denmark, Canada and Puerto Rico. He has taken his musical talents aboard several prestigious cruise lines. Robbie is perhaps most renowned for spinning his magic at special Circuit Parties - Extravagant theme parties and benefits created for one night in anything from abandoned warehouses to famous museums. Events of note include "The Saint-at-Large" parties, "The White Party" at Vizcaya in Miami, "The Red Party" in Columbus, "A.P.L.A. Garden Parties" in Griffith Park and at Universal Studios Backlot, "Spring To Life" at the Post Office Pavilion in Washington D.C., "All That Glitters" in San Diego, the "Hotlanta River Expo" in Atlanta, "Pride" at The Pier in Ft. Lauderdale, "Fantasy Fest" in Key West and a wide variety of major events in venues such as the American Museum of Natural History in New York, The Mayan Theatre in Los Angeles and The Civic Center and Galleria in San Francisco. He has also appeared at events in Long Beach, Maui, Boston, Houston, Aspen, Tampa, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Hartford and Charleston. In 1988 he had the honor of playing the final set at "The Saint's" forty hour closing party, and in 1989 and 1990 he presided over the Mardi Gras festivities at New Orleans' famous "Bourbon Pub. " As the featured disc jockey at "New York City's Pier Dance" celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Gay Pride, Leslie played to a record breaking crowd of over 12,000! He topped that number in 1997 while playing the post-parade celebration at San Francisco's "Embarkadero"-- 20,000! Recently he was honored by the industry and his peers with the "National Hi-Energy D.J. of the Year" award, sponsored by Dance Music Report. He received the "Dixie Award for D.J. of the Year in 1993." In October 1999 Leslie was presented with the third annual "DJ Music Award" for his lifetime contribution to the world of dance music. He is a nine-year veteran of the original "Copa Ft. Lauderdale" and was the Friday DJ at "Twist," South Beach for three years. Featured in the new book "Looking For The Perfect Beat -- the art and culture of the DJ," by Kurt B. Reighley, Robbie Leslie currently spins his magic at various South Florida clubs and national circuit events on a regular basis. Besides his legendary skills as a spinner Robbie is equally well known for his re-mixing skills. His Disconet remix of Jimmy Ruffin's "Hold On To My Love" literally made a forgotten 45 into a timeless club classic. Robbie currently offers tapes of his classic mixes as well as special event tapes on his website. To find out more on this talented "legend" with the "movie-star" good looks click on his pic below. And if you have the chance to hear him in-person don't miss it! |
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| Click on his cute face to see his own website! |
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| EDITORS NOTE: Wishing to work on the DJ portion of this website I began writing to several Disc Jockeys for help. Below is an e-mail I sent to Mr. Leslie and his gracious reply.
Hey Robbie, We met many years ago on one of your trips to Chicago. I was Lou DiVito's alternate D.J. at the time when you visited us at Dugan's Bistro here in Chicago. I know that Lou spoke of you very highly and that you and he were acquaintances and often ran into each other when he was in New York. The reason I am writing to you is that I have built a website, sort of a memorial to Lou, and I would love to include a page on you. Please check it out and if you would be so kind as to provide me with any biographical info, pictures, latest news, anything that would help me in building a page devoted to you it would be much appreciated. I'm trying to preserve information on the music, artists, and the greatest D.J.'s from the golden era. So little is known about so many of the artists and D.J.'s that gave me such wonderful memories. Anyways I anticipate any response from you and hope you'll be able to help me include you in my little website. Thanks in advance and I'd love to also hear any stories you could share with me about Lou.........humbly, Dan Hi Dan, Well, good for you! Lou was a sweetheart, a great talent, and a real asset to Chicago nightlife. I cannot tell you anything you don't already know, but you're welcome to my resume to distill into something for your 'site. Go to www.robbieleslie.com and click on the 'resume' button or highlighted text. All the best to you, and thanks for the memories! Robbie |