 Age: 30
Hometown: Boothstown, Manchester
First Record Bought: Bob Marley - Buffalo Soldier
First Club: Love Decade @ The Academy, Manchester, 1992
First DJ Gig: Iso-bar (now Club North), 1993
Influences: DJ Sneak, Harry Choo Choo Romero, Danny Tenaglia, Derrick Carter, Ben Watt
Mixes | Charts | Press Kit
Born and bred in Manchester all his life, Les Croasdaile became interested in House music around the tender age of 13.
“It wasn't until I met Scott Carey whilst I was a student aged 17 that I really became aware of house music in it's purest form. Scott took me under his wing, and using his decks it took me about a year to learn how to mix properly. After mastering basic beat matching I learnt how to mix broken beats, acappella’s, effects etc… which I seemed to have mastered quite well! I even tried mixing my Mum & Dad's Motown, Reggae and Soul tracks all together for a mess around, I'd pretty much try to mix anything if it had a beat!"
Les started his career with warm up gigs around Manchester City Centre with a friend named John Steward (now resident at Venus in the City). Spinning at venues like Iso-bar (now Club North), Bar Coast (now Prohibition) and some local bars helped his confidence as he considered any DJing experience to be worth it, no matter what the crowd or venue.
A friend named Phil 'Dunny' Duncalf brought a more vocal version of house to Les' attention. It was US Garage at the time which has now developed into deep soulful house. “Dunny and myself couldn't get enough of this sound in the late 90's...”
In September 2002 Les was invited to join the "Liquid" radio crew on ALL FM 96.9 in Manchester. Whilst working on the show he met, djed alongside and interviewed many of the UK’s most influential house figures, with luminaries such as Steve Lawler, K-Klass, 808 State, Bobby Langley, Jon DaSilva, Deep Dish and Danny Howells to name a few dropping by the studio to do a mix and interview.
In late 2003 Les moved on from radio to promoting events when he started Stylus. The first night was held one cold October evening at the Music Box on Manchester’s busy Oxford Road. It was a massive success with over 500 people shaking their hips to the sounds of Les, Scott, Tom Wainwright and an impressive list of local up and coming DJs. This set the standard for the next couple of years, with himself and the Stylus team bringing the likes of Yousef, Lottie, Inland Knights, DJ Heather, Joey Youngman, Ralph Lawson, Chris Duckenfield and many more to spin at the many busy nights they held at the Venue.
As well as promoting and spinning at Stylus les has played all over the UK at many top clubs such as Sankeys (Manchester), The Masque (Liverpool), The Bomb (Nottingham), The Magnet (Liverpool), The Loft (Preston), Electric Chair (Manchester), Rhythm Rooms (Hull), and more. Himself and Scott also donned their thermals and wooly hats in 2006 when they flew over to Norway to DJ in Oslo.
Stylus 2005 – 2007 and beyond…
“2005 was a fantastic year for me, one of the main highlights was playing at the 40,000 D:Percussion Festival in Manchester and also being involved with the Futuresonic Festival. The most memorable night would have to be playing the main room at Sankeys in the Summer alongside Scott and house hero Mark Farina on the wonderful Phazon Soundsystem, that was some night!”
At the end of 2005 after two successful years at the music box, Stylus moved down the road to the more intimate surroundings of The Attic, where it has resided since, attracting a clued up, fun loving crowd who are all about the music.
“The best thing about Stylus is without doubt the vibe, we have such a genuine and loyal following who support us 100%, you can’t ask for more than that. Stylus so far, has been an interesting project, our sound has evolved from just straight up deep underground house to broader genres. Tom, Scott and I have all developed new styles of music to play out, we try and make it as interesting as possible. 2007 has really seen the team push the boat out musically, the bookings have been diverse as ever, bringing the artists that play Fabric regularly and have that deeper cutting edge sound. This in turn has seen a new influx of clubbers visit the night, which is all good! I am personally looking forward to Justin Long finally coming to spin for us in September this year and of course the big 4th birthday celebrations in October with Hipp-e, 4 Years old! I can't believe it, roll on the next 4!”
RESIDENCIES
2002 - 2003 - All Fm 96.9, Manchester
2003 - Present - Stylus, Manchester
RADIO SHOWS
Homegrown Radio, Manchester
Liquid DJs Show, All FM, Manchester
CLUBS / EVENTS PLAYED
Electric Chair @ The Music Box, Manchester
The Redlight @ Sankeys, Manchester
Tribal Sessions @ Sankeys Soap, Manchester
Banned @ 14 Lloyd Street, Manchester
Jellybean @ The Loft, Preston
Doin' It After Dark, Lancaster
Stylus @ The Music Box, Manchester
Shootspeed @ Fat Cats, Manchester
Relief @ Club Alter Ego, Manchester
The Penthouse @ Club Zero, Stoke-on-Trent
Rhythm Rooms, Hull
Homegrown Sessions @ The Bomb, Nottingham
Homegrown Sessions @ The Witton Club, Northwich
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