For folk of a certain age in Glasgow, they will fondly recall the time the city centre pavement was ruled by a dancing sheriff of a different kind to Leo The Silent Raver.

A robot. And not just any robot, it was Robert The Robot, the mysterious, white masked cyborg mime artist that ruffled kids hair, peeked into shopping bags and amused and frightened the living daylights of youngsters in equal measure.

Regarded by one social media user as the greatest Glasgow entertainer ever, he spent years dancing outside of Marks and Spencer's on Argyle Street and on Buchanan Street.

Dressed in his white boiler suit with motherboard attached to his belly, phone wires connected to his arms, sunglasses and diamond-studded belt.

It seemed he was a bit of a star in the city, appearing on none other than Rab C Nesbitt, where he received a 'Glasgow Kiss' for his troubles off the string-vested, alcoholic Glaswegian character in one episode.

And his moves were that good, its not impossible to suggest that folk in the citys nightclubs were copying his moves on the dancefloor at the weekend -being a 'Rezerection' raver before it and the old skool/hardcore scene really took off.

Back in September of 2018, Glasgow Live were able to track down the cyborg after he got in touch with us to break his 'robotic' silence, and he revealed how he was "terrified" when he performed in Glasgow city centre for the first time.

He told us: "I started one Friday afternoon in December of 1983 performing as Robert the Robot in Argyle Street and I can remember my first day like it was yesterday.

I caught the train from Dalmuir station with my mask, glove and glasses in a bag. On arriving at Argyle Street station, I put my mask on just before I walked into the street.

"It changed my life and made me the entertainer that I am today.

Now living down south, Robert - real name Robert Harris - gained celebrity status in Glasgow - he even appeared in an episode of Rab C Nesbitt, as well as on That's Life with Esther Rantzen.

He also appeared on stage at The Barrowlands with groups such as TTF, Ultrasonic and Rhythmic State at the famous Source nights back in the early 90s.

I was so nervous as I had only ever watched the body poppers and break dancers perform when I walked through town on a Saturday afternoon. I didn't realise how difficult it was to make the public part with any small change they may have.

"I mind I used to practice and practice and practice the robot moves in front of the mirror and I didn't think I 'got' it ... until I did it in front of a friend and they were like wow," he continued.

Robert made 12 on his first day, mostly made up of 10p pieces and coppers, and from then on he was hooked, working from 10am till 6pm every day without a break.

Counting all the money that I made on that first day and every day since then has always made me smile with the thought that the public must have thought that I was good enough.

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"For people to throw some loose change my way instead of any of the other buskers was fantastic. It's a feeling that I just can't explain even to this day", he said.

And back in December of 2018, he pulled on his white gloves for a one-off return to the streets to raise money, like he did previously, for Cash For Kids - with plenty of hid former fans turning out for the occasion outside Argyle Street Station despite the rain.

See original here:

Remembering Robert the Robot - Glasgow's original 'silent raver' - Glasgow Live