Leapy Lee
Encyclopedia
Leapy Lee is an English
singer, best known for his 1968 single "Little Arrows", which reached Number 2 in the UK Singles Chart
and was a Top 40 country and pop hit in the United States
.
and Mike Hazelwood, was also the title track of his first album
, released in 1968 on Decca Records
. It reached Number 71 in the Billboard 200
album chart
.
"Little Arrows" became a hit
in the UK
reaching Number 2 for MCA Records
. In the United States
, the song reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart and #11 on the country
chart. It sold over three million copies worldwide, and was awarded a gold disc
. Although he never reached the United States pop chart again, Lee had two more country hits there with "Good Morning" in 1970 and "Every Road Leads Back To You" in 1975.
He later lived in Saudi Arabia
, before opening a bar
in Majorca, Spain
with Andrew Ray
, the son of English comedian
Ted Ray
. He featured on the third episode of season nineteen of BBC Television
's Never Mind the Buzzcocks
in 2006.
Between 1999 and 2001 Lee and his family, notably the twins
in latter editions, featured prominently in the BBC Television series Passport to the Sun, fronted firstly by Liza Tarbuck
then Nadia Sawalha
. Lee now owns and runs "Leapy's Bar" in Santa Ponsa, Mallorca. Lee is also a regular columnist with the Euro Weekly News, an English
newspaper
in the Costa del Sol
, Spain
.
Lee released a 40th anniversary EP
, Little Arrows II, on 1 March 2010.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
singer, best known for his 1968 single "Little Arrows", which reached Number 2 in 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 ...
and was a Top 40 country and pop hit in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Career
The song "Little Arrows", written by Albert HammondAlbert Hammond
Albert Hammond OBE is a British singer, songwriter and record producer from Gibraltar.-Birth and early success:Hammond was born in London, England, where his family had been evacuated to from Gibraltar during World War II. His family returned to Gibraltar shortly after his birth, and there he grew...
and Mike Hazelwood, was also the title track of his first album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, released in 1968 on Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. It reached Number 71 in the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album 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....
.
"Little Arrows" 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...
in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
reaching Number 2 for MCA Records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
. In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the song reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart and #11 on the country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
chart. It sold over three million copies worldwide, and was awarded a gold 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,...
. Although he never reached the United States pop chart again, Lee had two more country hits there with "Good Morning" in 1970 and "Every Road Leads Back To You" in 1975.
He later lived in Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
, before opening a bar
Bar (establishment)
A bar is a business establishment that serves alcoholic drinks — beer, wine, liquor, and cocktails — for consumption on the premises.Bars provide stools or chairs that are placed at tables or counters for their patrons. Some bars have entertainment on a stage, such as a live band, comedians, go-go...
in Majorca, 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...
with Andrew Ray
Andrew Ray
Andrew Ray was an English actor who was best known as a child star.He was born Andrew Olden , in North London, the son of the famous radio comic Ted Ray and his wife, showgirl Dorothy...
, the son of English comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Ted Ray
Ted Ray (comedian)
Ted Ray was a popular English comedian of the 1940s, 50s and 60s....
. He featured on the third episode of season nineteen of BBC Television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
's Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks
Never Mind the Buzzcocks is a comedy panel game television show with a pop music theme, currently without a permanent presenter. It stars Phill Jupitus and Noel Fielding as team captains. The show is produced by Talkback Thames for the BBC, and is usually aired on BBC Two...
in 2006.
Between 1999 and 2001 Lee and his family, notably the twins
TWINS
Two Wide-Angle Imaging Neutral-Atom Spectrometers are a pair of NASA instruments aboard two United States National Reconnaissance Office satellites in Molniya orbits. TWINS was designed to provide stereo images of the Earth's ring current. The first instrument, TWINS-1, was launched aboard USA-184...
in latter editions, featured prominently in the BBC Television series Passport to the Sun, fronted firstly by Liza Tarbuck
Liza Tarbuck
Liza Tarbuck is an English actress and television and radio presenter, and daughter of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck.She trained at the National Youth Theatre and RADA graduating in 1986 alongside Clive Owen, Rebecca Pidgeon and Serena Harragin.-Acting:...
then Nadia Sawalha
Nadia Sawalha
Nadia Sawalha is an English actress and television presenter.Sawalha is perhaps best known for her role as Annie Palmer in the BBC soap opera EastEnders during the 1990s, although most of her television work is now as a presenter rather than an actress...
. Lee now owns and runs "Leapy's Bar" in Santa Ponsa, Mallorca. Lee is also a regular columnist with the Euro Weekly News, an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
in the Costa del Sol
Costa del Sol
The Costa del Sol is a region in the south of Spain, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the Mediterranean coastline of the Málaga province. The Costa del Sol is situated between two lesser known costas: Costa de la Luz and Costa Tropical...
, 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...
.
Lee released a 40th anniversary EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Little Arrows II, on 1 March 2010.
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
|||
| 1968 | Little Arrows | 3 | 71 | Decca |
| 1970 | Leapy Lee | — | — | |
| 1976 | Every Road Leads Back to You | — | — | Bell |
| 2010 | Little Arrows II | — | — | HalfpennyStudios.com |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
US Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
CAN Country | CAN | UK 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 ... |
|||
| 1962 | "It's All Happening" | — | — | — | — | — | singles only |
| 1966 | "King of the Whole Wide World" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1968 | "Little Arrows Little Arrows "Little Arrows" is a single by English artist Leapy Lee. Released in 1968, it was the first single from his album Little Arrows. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart. It also reached number 1 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada.-Chart performance:... " |
11 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 2 | Little Arrows |
| 1969 | "Here Comes the Rain" | — | — | — | 62 | — | Leapy Lee |
| 1970 | "Good Morning" | 55 | — | — | — | 29 | |
| 1973 | "Helena" | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1974 | "Every Road Leads Back to You" | 82 | — | — | — | — | Every Road Leads Back to You |
See also
- List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
- List of NME covers
- List of performers on Top of the Pops