Dee C. Lee
Encyclopedia
Dee C. Lee is an English pop singer.
in the early 1980s, but she left the group to work as a solo artist and also to join Paul Weller's band, The Style Council
. She was later married to Weller for ten years (but now divorced), they have two children, Leah and Natt. Natt appeared on stage with his father at Hammersmith Apollo
aged 12.
Following her departure from Wham!
, Lee released her first solo single, "Selina Wow Wow", in 1983. Despite considerable airplay, the single failed to reach the UK Singles Chart
. In 1984, she then worked with The Style Council
and appeared on their debut album Café Bleu
(released as My Ever Changing Moods in North America). Lee can be heard on the tracks "Headstart for Happiness," "It Didn't Matter," "The Lodgers," "Walls Come Tumbling Down," and "Shout to the Top." Lee continued to record solo material during this time, but singles "Yippee Yi Yay!" and "Don't Do It Baby" failed to chart.
In 1985, after the release of the second Style Council album Our Favourite Shop
, and a stint working with the band Animal Nightlife
, Lee released another solo single; the self-penned ballad "See the Day". The single became a hit
and peaked at No. 3 in the UK chart
in December 1985, selling a quarter of a million copies in the UK alone, and earning Lee a silver disc
. Twenty years later, the song was covered
by Girls Aloud
, their version peaking at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart in December 2005.
Lee's follow-up singles, a cover of Judie Tzuke
's "Come Hell Or Waters High" and "Hold On" failed to make the UK Top 40. All tracks were featured on her 1986 album, Shrine.
Throughout the rest of the 1980s, Lee continued to work with The Style Council on their albums The Cost of Loving
(1987) and Confessions of a Pop Group
(1988). She also worked with the band on their 1989 recording Modernism: A New Decade
, but this album was rejected by the band's label, Polydor
, and did not see a release until almost ten years later, when it was included in the boxed set
, The Complete Adventures of The Style Council.
Between 1989 and 1991, Lee teamed up with Robert Howard of The Blow Monkeys
to form Slam Slam. They achieved a number of minor UK club successes including "Move (Dance All Night)" and "Free Your Feelings", the latter produced by Young Disciples
. In 1993, Lee later collaborated with Gang Starr
frontman Guru
, on a single from his solo project Jazzmatazz called "No Time to Play" on which also featured Ronny Jordan. It peaked at No. 25 in the UK in November 1993. Later in the 1990s, Lee released two further solo albums; Things Will Be Sweeter (1994) and Smiles (1998).
In 2006, Lee had a small part as a pop star in the comedy film Rabbit Fever. In September 2007, Lee performed her hit "See The Day" on ITV1
's Loose Women
show. In September 2007 she also performed at a charity event in aid of domestic violence; a cause close to her heart.
Lee also played the part of Preaching Nut-Nut in a 2008 short film, The Town that Boars Me. It tells the tale of a Pig Boy created by the lonely town butcher. The Pig Boy, now banished from the town, returns at nightfall to torment the local women and satisfy his insatiable fetish for high-heeled shoes. It also starred Kelly Osbourne
, Sadie Frost
, Lee's son Natt Weller, Zandra Rhodes
and Sophie Ellis-Bextor
. The film was released in London on 28 August 2008.
On 31 May 2009, Lee joined ex-Level 42
musicians, Mike Lindup
and Phil Gould
, to play a comeback gig with a collective called 'Favoured Nations'. The gig took place at Ginglik, Shepherd's Bush
, London. On 11 October 2009, she played a gig at Dingwalls
in Camden Town
.
Lee played two concerts in 2010. The first was on 30 April 2010, at Pizza on the Park, Hyde Park Corner
, London and the second on 31 December at Shades of Soul, New Year's Eve Extravaganza, Live Funk and Soul at The Pheasantry. This featured Lee, Louise (Funk Affair)and Nathan Watson. The setlist was:- "Things Will be Sweeter", "See The Day", "Walk Away From the Floor", "It's Gonna Be Alright", "No Time To Play", "Set Your Spirit Free" and "Come Hell or Waters High".
Career
Lee was a backing vocalist for the pop group Wham!WHAM!
Wham! were a short-lived British musical duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the early 1980s. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with an American band....
in the early 1980s, but she left the group to work as a solo artist and also to join Paul Weller's band, The Style Council
The Style Council
The Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn also...
. She was later married to Weller for ten years (but now divorced), they have two children, Leah and Natt. Natt appeared on stage with his father at Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo
Hammersmith Apollo is a major entertainment venue located in Hammersmith, London. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco style, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace cinema, being re-named the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962...
aged 12.
Following her departure from Wham!
WHAM!
Wham! were a short-lived British musical duo formed by George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in the early 1980s. They were briefly known in the United States as Wham! UK due to a naming conflict with an American band....
, Lee released her first solo single, "Selina Wow Wow", in 1983. Despite considerable airplay, the single failed to reach the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. In 1984, she then worked with The Style Council
The Style Council
The Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn also...
and appeared on their debut album Café Bleu
Café Bleu
Café Bleu is the official debut album released by the band The Style Council in March 1984, reaching number 2 in the UK charts. It followed the compilation Introducing The Style Council, which was released only in the Netherlands, Canada and Japan....
(released as My Ever Changing Moods in North America). Lee can be heard on the tracks "Headstart for Happiness," "It Didn't Matter," "The Lodgers," "Walls Come Tumbling Down," and "Shout to the Top." Lee continued to record solo material during this time, but singles "Yippee Yi Yay!" and "Don't Do It Baby" failed to chart.
In 1985, after the release of the second Style Council album Our Favourite Shop
Our Favourite Shop
Our Favourite Shop is the second album from the band The Style Council. The majority of the album's material was released in the USA as Internationalists by Geffen Records Our Favourite Shop is the second album from the band The Style Council. The majority of the album's material was released...
, and a stint working with the band Animal Nightlife
Animal Nightlife
Animal Nightlife was a British male vocal/instrumental group in the 1980s. It consisted of Andy Polaris on vocals, Leonardo Chignoli on bass, Flid on guitar, Billy Chapman on saxophone, Michael "Mac" McDermott on percussion, and Paul Waller on drums.-Albums:...
, Lee released another solo single; the self-penned ballad "See the Day". The single became a hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
and peaked at No. 3 in the UK chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
in December 1985, selling a quarter of a million copies in the UK alone, and earning Lee a silver disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
. Twenty years later, the song was covered
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
by Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud are a British and Irish pop girl group based in London. They were created through the ITV1 talent show Popstars The Rivals in 2002. The group consists of Cheryl Cole , Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. They are signed to Fascination Records, a Polydor...
, their version peaking at No. 9 on the UK Singles Chart in December 2005.
Lee's follow-up singles, a cover of Judie Tzuke
Judie Tzuke
Judie Tzuke is an English singer/songwriter. She is most well known for her 1979 hit "Stay With Me Till Dawn", which reached no.16 on the UK Singles Chart.-Early life:...
's "Come Hell Or Waters High" and "Hold On" failed to make the UK Top 40. All tracks were featured on her 1986 album, Shrine.
Throughout the rest of the 1980s, Lee continued to work with The Style Council on their albums The Cost of Loving
The Cost of Loving
The Cost of Loving is an album from the band The Style Council, released in 1987. This album saw the group concentrating on the R&B styles that had been growing in America during the eighties...
(1987) and Confessions of a Pop Group
Confessions of a Pop Group
Confessions of a Pop Group is an album from the band The Style Council. Released on 20 June 1988, the album received moderate success, reaching # 15 on the UK album chart....
(1988). She also worked with the band on their 1989 recording Modernism: A New Decade
Modernism: A New Decade
Modernism: A New Decade is an album by the band The Style Council. It represented a departure from the band's core genre of pop, to a new one; deep house, which was then being referred to as "garage" music by the UK press. However upon its completion in 1989, it was rejected by their label...
, but this album was rejected by the band's label, Polydor
Polydor Records
Polydor is a record label owned by Universal Music Group, headquartered in the United Kingdom.-Beginnings:Polydor was originally an independent branch of the Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft. Its name was first used as an export label in 1924, the British and German branches of the Gramophone...
, and did not see a release until almost ten years later, when it was included in the boxed set
Boxed set
A box set is a compilation of various musical recordings, films, television programs, or other collection of related items that are contained in a box.-Music box sets:...
, The Complete Adventures of The Style Council.
Between 1989 and 1991, Lee teamed up with Robert Howard of The Blow Monkeys
The Blow Monkeys
The Blow Monkeys are a British new wave band that formed in 1981 as a new wave-oriented act. The first single, "Live Today Love Tomorrow" was released in 1982. They subsequently recorded more commercial pop rock hit makers, and finally became a dance group, shortly before splitting up at the...
to form Slam Slam. They achieved a number of minor UK club successes including "Move (Dance All Night)" and "Free Your Feelings", the latter produced by Young Disciples
Young Disciples
Young Disciples was a British / American acid jazz band, formed in London in 1990 by Carleen Anderson , Marc Nelson plus Femi Williams ....
. In 1993, Lee later collaborated with Gang Starr
Gang Starr
Gang Starr was an influential East Coast hip hop duo that consisted of the late MC Guru and DJ/producer DJ Premier. Their style combined elements of New York jazz and hip hop.-Background:...
frontman Guru
Guru (rapper)
Keith Edward Elam , better known by his stage name Guru, was an American emcee and member of the hip-hop duo Gang Starr, along with DJ Premier. He was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts...
, on a single from his solo project Jazzmatazz called "No Time to Play" on which also featured Ronny Jordan. It peaked at No. 25 in the UK in November 1993. Later in the 1990s, Lee released two further solo albums; Things Will Be Sweeter (1994) and Smiles (1998).
In 2006, Lee had a small part as a pop star in the comedy film Rabbit Fever. In September 2007, Lee performed her hit "See The Day" on ITV1
ITV1
ITV1 is a generic brand that is used by twelve franchises of the British ITV Network in the English regions, Wales, southern Scotland , the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. The ITV1 brand was introduced by Carlton and Granada in 2001, alongside the regional identities of their...
's Loose Women
Loose Women
Loose Women is a British lunchtime television programme, first broadcast in 1999 on ITV. It consists of a panel of four women who interview celebrities and discuss topical issues, ranging from daily politics and current affairs, to celebrity gossip...
show. In September 2007 she also performed at a charity event in aid of domestic violence; a cause close to her heart.
Lee also played the part of Preaching Nut-Nut in a 2008 short film, The Town that Boars Me. It tells the tale of a Pig Boy created by the lonely town butcher. The Pig Boy, now banished from the town, returns at nightfall to torment the local women and satisfy his insatiable fetish for high-heeled shoes. It also starred Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Osbourne
Kelly Michelle Lee Osbourne is an English media personality, television personality, host, judge, fashion designer, singer, and actress, best known for being the daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne...
, Sadie Frost
Sadie Frost
Sadie Frost is an English actress, who currently runs fashion label Frost French and has designed the kitchens for a new development in the East End of London.-Biography:Frost was born Sadie Liza Vaughan in London...
, Lee's son Natt Weller, Zandra Rhodes
Zandra Rhodes
Zandra Rhodes, CBE, RDI, is an English fashion designer.Zandra Rhodes was introduced to the world of fashion by her mother, who was a fitter in a Paris fashion house and a teacher at Medway College of Art, now the University for the Creative Arts. Rhodes studied first at Medway and then at the...
and Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor is an English singer, songwriter, model and occasional DJ. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s, as the lead singer of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo, achieving widespread success in the early 2000s...
. The film was released in London on 28 August 2008.
On 31 May 2009, Lee joined ex-Level 42
Level 42
Level 42 are an English pop rock and jazz-funk band who had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s and 1990s.The band gained fame for their high-calibre musicianship—in particular that of Mark King, whose percussive slap-bass guitar technique provided the driving groove of many of the...
musicians, Mike Lindup
Mike Lindup
Mike Lindup is best known as the keyboard player and falsetto voiced singer, who joined with Mark King and brothers Phil and Boon Gould to form the 1980s - 1990s British funk/rock/pop band, Level 42....
and Phil Gould
Phil Gould (musician)
Philip Gabriel Gould, also known as Phil Gould is a British professional drummer, song writer, and singer from the Isle of Wight in southern England...
, to play a comeback gig with a collective called 'Favoured Nations'. The gig took place at Ginglik, Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
, London. On 11 October 2009, she played a gig at Dingwalls
Dingwalls
Dingwalls is a venue adjacent to Camden Lock in London, England. It houses bars, cafes, clubs . The building itself is one of many industrial Victorian buildings that were put to new use in the 20th century. The original owner of the building, T.E...
in Camden Town
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
.
Lee played two concerts in 2010. The first was on 30 April 2010, at Pizza on the Park, Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner
Hyde Park Corner is a place in London, at the south-east corner of Hyde Park. It is a major intersection where Park Lane, Knightsbridge, Piccadilly, Grosvenor Place and Constitution Hill converge...
, London and the second on 31 December at Shades of Soul, New Year's Eve Extravaganza, Live Funk and Soul at The Pheasantry. This featured Lee, Louise (Funk Affair)and Nathan Watson. The setlist was:- "Things Will be Sweeter", "See The Day", "Walk Away From the Floor", "It's Gonna Be Alright", "No Time To Play", "Set Your Spirit Free" and "Come Hell or Waters High".
Albums
- Shrine – CBS – 1986
- Things Will Be Sweeter – Cleartone – 1994
- Smiles – Pony Canyon – 1998
Singles
- "Selina Wow Wow" – CBS – 1984
- "Yippee Yi Yay!"- CBS –
- "Don't Do It Baby" – CBS – 1984
- "See the Day" – CBS – 1985
- "Come Hell or Waters High" – CBS – 1986
- "Hold On" – CBS – 1986
- "No Time To Play" – Cooltempo – 1993 (Guru featuring Dee C. Lee)
- "New Reality Vibe" – Mo Wax – 1994
External links
- Official website
- [ Dee C. Lee] – Allmusic page
- Chartwatch page
- Discogs.com