Freddie Lee Peterkin
Encyclopedia
Freddie Lee Peterkin, also known as Freddie Lee, is a published author and singer–songwriter
and actor
born in Pahokee, Florida known for his power soul vocals reminiscent of Bobby Womack
, James Ingram
and Levi Stubbs
. He has become an artist of public note through his independent release of the Soul and Gospel album Beyond Comprehension under the recording name of Freddie Lee. He made his prime time acting debut as "DJ Freddie Murphy" on Channel 4's T4 Stars & Strikes and as a character in BBC2's Grump Guides in 2011. Freddie Lee Peterkin is also a member of Alph Phi Alpha Fraternity, Delta Psi Chapter a brotherhood known for members such as Martin Luther King. Peterkin was responsible for composing many Delta Psi Chapter fraternity anthems such as 'I've Been Changed' written in 1985 while he was pledging.
Freddie Lee is the son of migrant workers originally from Georgia who came to Florida
to pick crops for a living. He is of African and Seminole
Indian heritage. His stepfather James Elijah Jr. was the lead vocalist the renowned gospel group of the 1960s and 70s The Royal Lights http://sonobeatrecords.com/sonobeatartists2.html. His sister Breyona Elijah is part of the gospel group James Smith & Nu Birth and they are both cousins of Gospel group Damali. His mother Bernice Bell is also a singer and as a child won a competition to write a song for Joe Tex
, for which she was awarded concert tickets and a chance to meet her idol. Joe Tex went on to have a major hit with the song but Bernice remained uncredited. Bernice Bell has been more recently recognized for her charity work and ran youth programs in Pahokee's Padgett Island Community Center for 17 years and donating hot meals to Pahokee's underprivileged children. The community center was recently renamed "The Bernice Bell Community Center".
. Whilst in school Freddie became part of the Pahokee marching band OD Express and also part of the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church Choir. He also formed a High School band called High Society featuring James Smith, Ronald 'Buttermilk' Banks and twins Barlow and Peewee Bouie. Freddie was an exceptional high school student and gained a scholarship to attend Florida Memorial University
, a historical black college based in Miami, Florida
.
He graduated with two degrees in Airway Science, Business Management and minors in Sociology and Education. Whilst attending Florida Memorial University
, he pledged to his fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha
. He also formed the Florida Memorial Gospel Choir with Benjamin Carroll. During this time Freddie was part of the Soul and Gospel group Message and he opened up for artists such as Howard Hewett
, Betty Wright
, Vanessa Bell Armstrong
and Shirley Caesar
. He also worked with Gloria Estefan
and Miami Sound Machine, providing backing vocals on their studio recordings. Upon graduating, Freddie became a school teacher until a contract to produce a soul show in Spain
was offered to him and his colleagues in Message.
in 1991 and began a new life as an entertainer and show producer. He created one of the earliest known soul tribute shows in Europe. In 1994 Freddie renamed the group Aces and was responsible for costumes and show production as well as sharing lead vocals in the show. He was based initially in Madrid
and then in Gran Canaria
, touring all the live music venues. Aces featured on television, billboards and buses. They also toured England
, Germany
, France
, Italy
and the rest of Spain
.
Aces relocated permanently to London
, England
in 1998 and were the first American Soul Tribute show to be seen in the UK. They began touring and working 300 shows a year in theatre, clubs, resorts and festivals. They appeared several times on Capital Gold Radio Roadshows. Freddie was responsible for both costume and choreography for the national theatre show "Reach Out" produced by Pete Tobit.
newspaper and won rave reviews for his performance in Showcall 2003. By 2004 Freddie was back on his feet again and BCM Promotions offered to finance a new Soul Tribute production show for Freddie. The show named the Sounds of The Four Tops
, made its debut at the national Showcall Showcase 2004. During this time Freddie found fame in the live industry of the UK through producing in Soul Tribute Production shows and was frequently reviewed by The Stage
newspaper http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/showpeople/feature.php/7665/freddie-lee-peterkin in the UK for his production shows the Sounds of The Four Tops
http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/5153 and The Sounds of the Drifters http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/10431/showcall-showcase-2005-day-four-afternoon . These production show began touring 200 dates per year in the UK and Europe.
Peterkin has since taken legal action against both the show producer of "The Magic of Motown", his former colleague from his group 'Aces' and his former employees in "How Sweet It Is" via Leonard Lowy and Co Solicitors, former in house solicitor for Island Records. Both shows gave notice that they would desist from using Peterkin's works but did not do so until 2010. Peterkin stated in interviews that he intends to still take the matter to the High Court to be acknowledged for his works and to seek compensation for the illegal use of his works.
Unaffected by the plagiarism, Freddie's production shows "The Sounds of The Four Tops
" and "The Sounds of The Drifters" renowned for their dazzling signature choreography and costumes, continue to be the most heavily booked Soul Tribute Production Shows in the UK. These production shows enabled Freddie to independently finance the production and pressing of his first album Beyond Comprehension. The album went into production in early 2007 and was completed by the December of the same year.
Sugar 900 Radio. Freddie chose Sugar 900 Radio because he grew up working in the surrounding sugar cane fields and orange groves. The people of South Florida and the Caribbean have been listening to Freddie Lee 3 times a day ever since. This made Dawn Brady the first DJ on radio in the US to play material from Freddie Lee Peterkin's debut album. Stellar Award winning radio station WMBM
Radio became the next station to support the album, with DJs MJ Smith and Jerry 'the disciple' Sawyer, interviewing Freddie Lee on four occasions.
Other radio stations such as WHQT
, Hot 105FM have since followed suit. Chief Jimmie Brown interviewed Freddie Lee for the first time alongside Walter Clyde Orange of the Commodores
on Hot 105FM in September 2008. The first Radio station in the UK to play the song 'Brighter Days' from the album 'Beyond Comprehension' was Mike Rimmer on BBC Radio West Midlands in August 2008.
The album Beyond Comprehension was produced by music heavyweights Tony Bean and Colin Bassett at 5am Productions for 5am Records , Birmingham, UK. 5am have been noted for their work with UK soul star Lemar
, and US stars Kelly Rowland
, Usher
, Tyrese
and Justin Timberlake. The PR guru behind the album is Michael Grant
http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=8856 formerly a child reggae star in the group Musical Youth
.
"Beyond Comprehension" was initially distributed independently through CD Baby
and ITunes
and has gained popularity through British soul clubs and specialist soul music radio stations such as Solar Radio http://www.solarradio.com/, Starpoint Radio http://www.starpointradio.com/ and 209 Radio http://www.209radio.co.uk/. Most recently he was interviewed on mainstream FM stations by Tony Roots on New Style Radio 98.7FM
http://www.newstyleradio.co.uk/ and by the revered Joe Aldred on BBC WM
95.6FM.
On Thursday 16 June 2009, Freddie Lee gave his first British television interview on the chat show Bright Talk on BEN Television
, Sky TV
channel 184. Following radio and club support by the UK's premier soul DJ's on November 23, 2009, the album was made available in independent UK music shops and hit the No.12 spot Solar Radio's album charts on December 14, 2009. Music from his album "Beyond Comprehension" has featured heavily on the Phil Driver Soul Unsigned radio show and the Gary Spence Soulchoonz radio show, giving Freddie Lee airplay in the UK, US, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. This has resulted in critical acclaim from the UK music press and music review websites.
Following this success Freddie Lee is featured in the January 2010 edition of the award-winning Blues & Soul
, speaking to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis. Freddie Lee also appears in a 3 page feature in the February edition of Soul Survivors magazine in an interview with journalist and DJ Fitzroy Facey. Towards the end of 2010 Freddie was featured in a small role in the feature film 'How Not To Be a Loser' with Richard E. Grant. He also made a guest appearance in the BBC 2 comedy series 'Grumpy Guide to...' which is due to be screened in 2011. Freddie also released his first music video for "The Great I Am" from the album "Beyond Comprehension" in January 2011. The video was directed by Gratian Dimech
and James Heath
of Razor Edge Productions. He is also currently writing and producing with 5am Productions, his first artist - Clifton End. As of February 2011 Freddie has begun shooting the role of a comedy character creation on T4 (Channel 4)
.
In the US Freddie Lee's style of music is considered to be Contemporary Gospel but in the UK he has coined his style of music as "Inspirational Soul".
(Role: Looter)
2012 Streetdance 2 3-D - Feature Film starring
(Role: Fan)
2011 How to Stop Being a Loser - Feature Film starring Richard E Grant
(Role: Lawyer)
2011 Stars and Strikes - Channel 4 Saturday Morning TV Show
(Role: Presenter DJ Freddie Murphy)
2011 4Music - Channel 4 Music Show
(Role: Presenter DJ Freddie Murphy)
2011 Bewiser Insurance - TV Commercial
(Role: Voice of Bewiser Owl)
2011 English Language Educational Series - For London Wall TV Studios
(Role: American Interviewee)
2010 The Grumpy Guide To Work - BBC 2 Series
(Role: Naughty Office Worker)
Singer–songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
born in Pahokee, Florida known for his power soul vocals reminiscent of Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
, James Ingram
James Ingram
James Ingram is an American soul musician. He is best known as a vocalist. He is also a self-taught musician who plays piano, guitar, bass, drums and keyboards...
and Levi Stubbs
Levi Stubbs
Levi Stubbles , better known by the stage name Levi Stubbs, was an American baritone singer, best known as the lead vocalist of the Motown R&B group Four Tops...
. He has become an artist of public note through his independent release of the Soul and Gospel album Beyond Comprehension under the recording name of Freddie Lee. He made his prime time acting debut as "DJ Freddie Murphy" on Channel 4's T4 Stars & Strikes and as a character in BBC2's Grump Guides in 2011. Freddie Lee Peterkin is also a member of Alph Phi Alpha Fraternity, Delta Psi Chapter a brotherhood known for members such as Martin Luther King. Peterkin was responsible for composing many Delta Psi Chapter fraternity anthems such as 'I've Been Changed' written in 1985 while he was pledging.
Freddie Lee is the son of migrant workers originally from Georgia who came to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
to pick crops for a living. He is of African and Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
Indian heritage. His stepfather James Elijah Jr. was the lead vocalist the renowned gospel group of the 1960s and 70s The Royal Lights http://sonobeatrecords.com/sonobeatartists2.html. His sister Breyona Elijah is part of the gospel group James Smith & Nu Birth and they are both cousins of Gospel group Damali. His mother Bernice Bell is also a singer and as a child won a competition to write a song for Joe Tex
Joe Tex
Joseph Arrington, Jr. , better known as "Joe Tex", was an American Southern soul singer-songwriter, most popular during the 1960s and 1970s...
, for which she was awarded concert tickets and a chance to meet her idol. Joe Tex went on to have a major hit with the song but Bernice remained uncredited. Bernice Bell has been more recently recognized for her charity work and ran youth programs in Pahokee's Padgett Island Community Center for 17 years and donating hot meals to Pahokee's underprivileged children. The community center was recently renamed "The Bernice Bell Community Center".
Early life
Freddie Lee grew up in Padgett Island one of a number of housing projects in Pahokee, Florida, US. As a child he began working alongside his family picking beans and oranges to support the family income. Like most children in the area he also attended Pahokee Elementary and Pahokee High SchoolPahokee High School
The Pahokee High School is a historic school in Pahokee, Florida. It is located at 900 Larrimore Road. On November 15, 1996, The Old Pahokee High School building was added to the U.S...
. Whilst in school Freddie became part of the Pahokee marching band OD Express and also part of the New Hope Missionary Baptist Church Choir. He also formed a High School band called High Society featuring James Smith, Ronald 'Buttermilk' Banks and twins Barlow and Peewee Bouie. Freddie was an exceptional high school student and gained a scholarship to attend Florida Memorial University
Florida Memorial University
Florida Memorial University is a private coeducational four-year university in Miami Gardens, Florida. One of the 39 member institutions of the United Negro College Fund, and a historically Black, Baptist-related institution which is ranked second in Florida and ninth in the United States for...
, a historical black college based in Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
He graduated with two degrees in Airway Science, Business Management and minors in Sociology and Education. Whilst attending Florida Memorial University
Florida Memorial University
Florida Memorial University is a private coeducational four-year university in Miami Gardens, Florida. One of the 39 member institutions of the United Negro College Fund, and a historically Black, Baptist-related institution which is ranked second in Florida and ninth in the United States for...
, he pledged to his fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
. He also formed the Florida Memorial Gospel Choir with Benjamin Carroll. During this time Freddie was part of the Soul and Gospel group Message and he opened up for artists such as Howard Hewett
Howard Hewett
Howard Hewett is an American R&B and gospel singer and former lead vocalist of the R&B group Shalamar.Raised in Akron, Ohio, Hewett moved to Los Angeles. He would eventually meet Soul Train dancer and future first wife Rainey Riley-Cunningham, then a secretary of the show's creator and original...
, Betty Wright
Betty Wright
Bessie Regina Norris, better known by her stage name, Betty Wright , is a Grammy winning Miami-based soul and R&B singer-songwriter, who won fame in the 1970s with hits such as "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight Is the Night"...
, Vanessa Bell Armstrong
Vanessa Bell Armstrong
Vanessa Bell Armstrong is a gospel singer who released her debut album Peace Be Still in 1983.-Musical career :...
and Shirley Caesar
Shirley Caesar
Shirley Ann Caesar is an American Gospel music singer, songwriter and recording artist whose career has spanned six decades...
. He also worked with Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
and Miami Sound Machine, providing backing vocals on their studio recordings. Upon graduating, Freddie became a school teacher until a contract to produce a soul show in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
was offered to him and his colleagues in Message.
Early career
Freddie left the US for SpainSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in 1991 and began a new life as an entertainer and show producer. He created one of the earliest known soul tribute shows in Europe. In 1994 Freddie renamed the group Aces and was responsible for costumes and show production as well as sharing lead vocals in the show. He was based initially in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
and then in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most populous island of the Canary Islands, with a population of 838,397 which constitutes approximately 40% of the population of the archipelago...
, touring all the live music venues. Aces featured on television, billboards and buses. They also toured England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and the rest of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Aces relocated permanently to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in 1998 and were the first American Soul Tribute show to be seen in the UK. They began touring and working 300 shows a year in theatre, clubs, resorts and festivals. They appeared several times on Capital Gold Radio Roadshows. Freddie was responsible for both costume and choreography for the national theatre show "Reach Out" produced by Pete Tobit.
Homeless
It was in 2002 when Freddie found that one of his colleagues who had been appointed the group's business administrator has been stealing from their company account for a number of years. High tensions ensued, Freddie and the other group members were outraged enough to close down the group and they went their separate ways. The effects of his colleague's theft and the termination of their work contracts caused Freddie Lee to lose his home. It was during this time that out of pride and refusal to ask others for help, that he took to sleeping in his car in roadside service stations whilst restarting both his life and career over again. He has stated in interviews that the one or two friends he confided in about his situation who had previously enjoyed his five star live style, turned their backs on him. He also could not face returning home to his family in the US having lost everything he had worked for. It was during this time that his inspiration for writing much of the album Beyond Comprehension took place.Restarting his career
In early 2003 Freddie Lee Peterkin was signed up by entertainment agency, BCM Promotions Ltd. and came under the management of Jessie Tsang who gave him some much needed contracts to work as a solo artist. He showcased as a solo artist for The StageThe Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
newspaper and won rave reviews for his performance in Showcall 2003. By 2004 Freddie was back on his feet again and BCM Promotions offered to finance a new Soul Tribute production show for Freddie. The show named the Sounds of The Four Tops
Sounds of The Four Tops
The Sounds of The Four Tops is a Four Tops tribute show created by the American Soul Singer, show producer and actor Freddie Lee Peterkin. Peterkin is also known under the recording name of 'Freddie Lee' for the critical acclaim of his album Beyond Comprehension...
, made its debut at the national Showcall Showcase 2004. During this time Freddie found fame in the live industry of the UK through producing in Soul Tribute Production shows and was frequently reviewed by The Stage
The Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
newspaper http://www.thestage.co.uk/features/showpeople/feature.php/7665/freddie-lee-peterkin in the UK for his production shows the Sounds of The Four Tops
Sounds of The Four Tops
The Sounds of The Four Tops is a Four Tops tribute show created by the American Soul Singer, show producer and actor Freddie Lee Peterkin. Peterkin is also known under the recording name of 'Freddie Lee' for the critical acclaim of his album Beyond Comprehension...
http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/5153 and The Sounds of the Drifters http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/10431/showcall-showcase-2005-day-four-afternoon . These production show began touring 200 dates per year in the UK and Europe.
Plagiarism of Peterkin's Dramatic Works
In 2009 Peterkin discovered that the colleague who had stolen from him and the other group members had taken his original stage production and misappropriated the works as his own and contracted Peterkin's original dramatic works to "The Magic of Motown Theatre Show". Three former employees falsely claimed in the Herald newspaper that they had choreographed Peterkin's stage production in "How Sweet It Is" another British theatre show. His former employees were aged between 12–14 years old when Peterkin then aged 23 – 27 years old first created and performed the works to the public between 1989-1994.Peterkin has since taken legal action against both the show producer of "The Magic of Motown", his former colleague from his group 'Aces' and his former employees in "How Sweet It Is" via Leonard Lowy and Co Solicitors, former in house solicitor for Island Records. Both shows gave notice that they would desist from using Peterkin's works but did not do so until 2010. Peterkin stated in interviews that he intends to still take the matter to the High Court to be acknowledged for his works and to seek compensation for the illegal use of his works.
Unaffected by the plagiarism, Freddie's production shows "The Sounds of The Four Tops
Sounds of The Four Tops
The Sounds of The Four Tops is a Four Tops tribute show created by the American Soul Singer, show producer and actor Freddie Lee Peterkin. Peterkin is also known under the recording name of 'Freddie Lee' for the critical acclaim of his album Beyond Comprehension...
" and "The Sounds of The Drifters" renowned for their dazzling signature choreography and costumes, continue to be the most heavily booked Soul Tribute Production Shows in the UK. These production shows enabled Freddie to independently finance the production and pressing of his first album Beyond Comprehension. The album went into production in early 2007 and was completed by the December of the same year.
The album Beyond Comprehension
In August 2008 Freddie Lee Peterkin flew a copy of his new Gospel and Soul album Beyond Comprehension http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/artists/Freddie_Lee/17788/ http://www.soul-treasures.com/soulclinic/sc0812.htm to be debut in the US by Radio DJ Dawn Brady on WSWNWSWN
WSWN is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. It is better known as Sugar 900 after the surrounding sugar cane industry in the Belle Glade and Pahokee area. The station is licensed to serve 18 counties across South Florida, USA and the Caribbean. ..The station is owned by BGI Broadcasting...
Sugar 900 Radio. Freddie chose Sugar 900 Radio because he grew up working in the surrounding sugar cane fields and orange groves. The people of South Florida and the Caribbean have been listening to Freddie Lee 3 times a day ever since. This made Dawn Brady the first DJ on radio in the US to play material from Freddie Lee Peterkin's debut album. Stellar Award winning radio station WMBM
WMBM
WMBM is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. Licensed to Miami Beach, Florida, USA, the station serves the Miami area. The station is currently owned by New Birth Broadcasting Corp. Inc. and features programing from Westwood One.-History:...
Radio became the next station to support the album, with DJs MJ Smith and Jerry 'the disciple' Sawyer, interviewing Freddie Lee on four occasions.
Other radio stations such as WHQT
WHQT
WHQT, Hot 105FM, is an Urban Adult Contemporary-formatted radio station owned by Cox Media Group that serves the South Florida region. WHQT is licensed to Coral Gables, but its studios are located in Hollywood along with its sister stations WEDR, WFLC, and WFEZ...
, Hot 105FM have since followed suit. Chief Jimmie Brown interviewed Freddie Lee for the first time alongside Walter Clyde Orange of the Commodores
Commodores
The Commodores are an American funk/soul band of the 1970s and 1980s. The members of the group met as mostly freshmen at Tuskegee Institute in 1968, and signed with Motown in November 1972, having first caught the public eye opening for The Jackson 5 while on tour...
on Hot 105FM in September 2008. The first Radio station in the UK to play the song 'Brighter Days' from the album 'Beyond Comprehension' was Mike Rimmer on BBC Radio West Midlands in August 2008.
The album Beyond Comprehension was produced by music heavyweights Tony Bean and Colin Bassett at 5am Productions for 5am Records , Birmingham, UK. 5am have been noted for their work with UK soul star Lemar
Lemar
Lemar Obika , professionally known simply as Lemar, is an English recording artist. Obika has had a run of chart success in the UK, Europe and Australia...
, and US stars Kelly Rowland
Kelly Rowland
Kelendria Trene "Kelly" Rowland is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the founding members of the American girl group Destiny's Child...
, Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, Tyrese
Tyrese
Tyrese Darnell Gibson , also known simply as Tyrese, is an American R&B singer, rapper, actor, author, former fashion model and MTV VJ. After releasing several albums, he transitioned into films, with lead roles in several Hollywood releases.-Early life:Gibson was born in Los Angeles, California,...
and Justin Timberlake. The PR guru behind the album is Michael Grant
Michael Grant
Michael Grant may refer to:* Michael Grant, 12th Baron de Longueuil , nobleman possessing the only French colonial title recognized by the King or Queen of Canada* Michael Grant , American football player...
http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=8856 formerly a child reggae star in the group Musical Youth
Musical Youth
Musical Youth are a British reggae band. The group originally formed in 1979 at Duddeston Manor School in Birmingham, UK. They are best remembered for their successful 1982 Grammy-nominated single, "Pass the Dutchie". The group featured two sets of brothers, Kelvin and Michael Grant, plus Junior...
.
"Beyond Comprehension" was initially distributed independently through CD Baby
CD Baby
CD Baby is an online music store specializing in the sale of CDs and digital music downloads from independent musicians to consumers. The company is also a digital aggregator of independent music recordings, distributing content to several online digital music retailers.CD Baby has achieved recent...
and ITunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
and has gained popularity through British soul clubs and specialist soul music radio stations such as Solar Radio http://www.solarradio.com/, Starpoint Radio http://www.starpointradio.com/ and 209 Radio http://www.209radio.co.uk/. Most recently he was interviewed on mainstream FM stations by Tony Roots on New Style Radio 98.7FM
New Style Radio 98.7FM
New Style Radio 98.7 FM is a community radio station based in Birmingham, England and broadcasting to the city's African-Caribbean community.New Style 98.7 FM, launched on 14 August 2002, was born out of 15 years of short term radio broadcasting and training....
http://www.newstyleradio.co.uk/ and by the revered Joe Aldred on BBC WM
BBC WM
BBC WM is the BBC Local Radio service for the West Midlands, South Staffordshire, north Worcestershire and north Warwickshire, operated by BBC Birmingham. Launched on 9 November 1970 as BBC Radio Birmingham, it broadcasts from central Birmingham on 95.6 FM, DAB and on the internet...
95.6FM.
On Thursday 16 June 2009, Freddie Lee gave his first British television interview on the chat show Bright Talk on BEN Television
BEN Television
BEN Television is a British television channel launched in 2003, aimed mainly at expatriate Africans living in Europe and north Africa...
, Sky TV
Sky Digital (UK & Ireland)
Sky is the brand name for British Sky Broadcasting's digital satellite television and radio service, transmitted from SES Astra satellites located at 28.2° east and Eutelsat's Eurobird 1 satellite at 28.5°E. The service was originally launched as Sky Digital, distinguishing it from the original...
channel 184. Following radio and club support by the UK's premier soul DJ's on November 23, 2009, the album was made available in independent UK music shops and hit the No.12 spot Solar Radio's album charts on December 14, 2009. Music from his album "Beyond Comprehension" has featured heavily on the Phil Driver Soul Unsigned radio show and the Gary Spence Soulchoonz radio show, giving Freddie Lee airplay in the UK, US, Spain, Sweden and the Netherlands. This has resulted in critical acclaim from the UK music press and music review websites.
Following this success Freddie Lee is featured in the January 2010 edition of the award-winning Blues & Soul
Blues & Soul
Blues & Soul is a British music magazine covering black music. Genres covered include soul, R&B, jazz, hip hop, reggae and world music. It was first published in 1966 and is known for first using the term Northern Soul....
, speaking to noted UK R&B writer Pete Lewis. Freddie Lee also appears in a 3 page feature in the February edition of Soul Survivors magazine in an interview with journalist and DJ Fitzroy Facey. Towards the end of 2010 Freddie was featured in a small role in the feature film 'How Not To Be a Loser' with Richard E. Grant. He also made a guest appearance in the BBC 2 comedy series 'Grumpy Guide to...' which is due to be screened in 2011. Freddie also released his first music video for "The Great I Am" from the album "Beyond Comprehension" in January 2011. The video was directed by Gratian Dimech
Gratian Dimech
Gratian Dimech is a British film, commercial and music video director.In 2003 he formed Burning Vision Entertainment with fellow director James Heath. Their debut video was for the band Tommi and was the first UK music video to be shot on the Sony High Definition cameras used by George Lucas on...
and James Heath
James Heath
James Heath is a British film, commercial and music video director.In 2003 he formed Burning Vision Entertainment with fellow director Gratian Dimech. Their debut video was for the band Tommi and was the first UK music video to be shot on the Sony High Definition cameras used by George Lucas on...
of Razor Edge Productions. He is also currently writing and producing with 5am Productions, his first artist - Clifton End. As of February 2011 Freddie has begun shooting the role of a comedy character creation on T4 (Channel 4)
T4 (Channel 4)
T4 is a scheduling slot on Channel 4 from about 09:00 until 14:00 on Saturdays and 17:00 on Sundays. It also airs on weekdays in the school holidays. The slot has a separate station identification on screen graphic from Channel 4 and E4. The logo of T4 is noticeably the top right segment of the...
.
In the US Freddie Lee's style of music is considered to be Contemporary Gospel but in the UK he has coined his style of music as "Inspirational Soul".
New Single 2011
Three years after the release of his first album, Freddie Lee released his new single 'Searching' on May 1, 2011. This single is the first release from his forthcoming second album 'My Soul Intentions' distributed via ITunes, Amazon and Nokia Music. On October 24th 2011 he released the single 'Book of Love'.Film and Television Credits
2012 World War Z - Feature Film starring Brad Pitt(Role: Looter)
2012 Streetdance 2 3-D - Feature Film starring
(Role: Fan)
2011 How to Stop Being a Loser - Feature Film starring Richard E Grant
(Role: Lawyer)
2011 Stars and Strikes - Channel 4 Saturday Morning TV Show
(Role: Presenter DJ Freddie Murphy)
2011 4Music - Channel 4 Music Show
(Role: Presenter DJ Freddie Murphy)
2011 Bewiser Insurance - TV Commercial
(Role: Voice of Bewiser Owl)
2011 English Language Educational Series - For London Wall TV Studios
(Role: American Interviewee)
2010 The Grumpy Guide To Work - BBC 2 Series
(Role: Naughty Office Worker)