Lee Latchford-Evans
Encyclopedia
Lee Latchford-Evans is an English
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...

 pop
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...

 singer
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...

, 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...

 and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

r, most famous for being a member of the British pop group Steps.

Biography

He was born as Lee Latchford Evans, with his middle name Latchford taken from the surname of the footballer, Bob Latchford
Bob Latchford
Robert Dennis "Bob" Latchford is an English former association footballer who played as a centre forward. He made more than 500 appearances in the Football League, playing for Birmingham City, Everton, Swansea and Coventry City in the First Division, and won 12 full caps for England.Latchford was...

, as his father was a life-long Everton
Everton F.C.
Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

 fan
Fan (person)
A Fan, sometimes also called aficionado or supporter, is a person with a liking and enthusiasm for something, such as a band or a sports team. Fans of a particular thing or person constitute its fanbase or fandom...

. At the point he started performing the eponymous comedian Lee Evans
Lee Evans (comedian)
Lee Evans is an English comedian, writer, actor and musician.-Personal life:Lee Evans was born in Avonmouth, Bristol, England to an Irish mother and a Welsh father, Dave Evans, a nightclub performer. He left Bristol at the age of 13 and then went to The Billericay School in Billericay, Essex...

 was well known, and so the Latchford name came into play and he was known as Lee Latchford for a short time. Before long it changed to Lee Latchford Evans (without the hyphen).

He studied musical theatre at The Cheshire School of Dance and Drama and moved down South in 1994 to study at Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom. In 1997, he became a member of the multi million selling pop group Steps; they went on to sell 14 consecutive Top 5 singles (a feat for a British act, at the time bettered only by the Beatles), sold more than 20 million records worldwide and announced their split on Boxing Day 2001.

Career

He has appeared in 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...

's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...

 starring in Grease
Grease (musical)
Grease is a 1971 musical by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The musical is named for the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as the greasers. The musical, set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School , follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of love,...

; A Charmed Life
A Charmed Life
A Charmed Life is a 1955 novel written by American novelist Mary McCarthy.-Setting:A Charmed Life takes place in the small New England town of New Leeds , where "everyone is artistic, but no one is an artist."-Characters:...

as part of London's Sitcom Trials, and he made his debut at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 in August 2009 in the production of Wolfboy
Wolfboy
Wolfboy is a musical with music and lyrics by Leon Parris and book by Russell Labey, based on the play by Brad Fraser. Its story concerns two teenagers committed to an asylum: Bernie has tried to commit suicide and David believes he's a werewolf. The musical addresses psychiatric disorders, abuse,...

. He played the Prince in Rotherhams Pantomime version of Snow White
Snow White
"Snow White" is a fairy tale known from many countries in Europe, the best known version being the German one collected by the Brothers Grimm...

 in 2010 and will reprise his role of the Prince at Weymouths Pavilion Pantomime in December 2011. Latchford-Evans has appeared in the reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...

 shows The Games, Fear Factor
Fear Factor
Fear Factor is an American stunt/dare reality game show. The original Dutch version was called Now or Neverland. When Endemol USA and NBC adapted it to the American market in 2001, they changed the name to Fear Factor. The show pits contestants against each other in a variety of stunts for a...

, I'm Famous and Frightened!
I'm Famous and Frightened!
I'm Famous and Frightened was a Living TV reality TV show in which 8 celebrities stayed for three nights in a "haunted" castle. They had to then do terrifying challenges in order to raise money for charity; each one was evicted until only the winner was left.The first series aired on Friday 12...

, The Match
The Match
The Match! is an atheist/anarchist journal published in Tucson, Arizona, United States since 1969. The Match! is edited, published, and printed by Fred Woodworth. The philosophy of the journal is ethical anarchism, which is elucidated on the back of the journal.The Match! is published irregularly;...

and went onto win Commando VIP
Commando VIP
Commando VIP is a British reality television show that aired on Five. It put six celebrities through tough military-style challenges after being trained by three real commandos.The celebrities who took part were:*Nigel Benn...

. In 2006, he appeared in a new reality show on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

, Totally Boyband
Totally Boyband
Totally Boyband was a television programme that aired in the United Kingdom on MTV. The programme debuted on 18 September 2006 and aired on Sunday nights at 21:30 . The premise centred around the former members of boy bands and pop music bands attempting to regain their former fame by regrouping...

. This show was from the same creators as the show Totally Scott-Lee
Totally Scott-Lee
Totally Scott-Lee is a reality TV show from MTV Networks Europe featuring the following:* Lisa Scott-Lee * Andy Scott-Lee * Michelle Heaton...

, which featured his ex groupmate Lisa Scott-Lee
Lisa Scott-Lee
Lisa Scott-Lee is a Welsh singer. She has worked as a songwriter and is a graduate of the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts stage school. Lisa is best known as one fifth of pop group Steps from 1997 until their split on Boxing Day 2001 and recently reformed in 2011. Scott Lee released her debut...

 and her family. In 2008 he appeared as part of Team Ant on Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway. He also appeared on 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 October 2010. Steps have recently announced that they will be filming a four part documentary for Sky Living, which will be aired late September 2011. He appeared in Ten Dead Men
Ten dead men
Ten Dead Men is the follow-up to the cult independent action film Left for Dead. Produced by the same company, Ten Dead Men features many of the same actors as its predecessor. Ten Dead Men was directed by Ross Boyask and produced by Phil Hobden...

(2008) produced
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...

 by Phil Hobden
Phil Hobden
Phil Hobden is a filmmaker based in the South of England. He is also notable as a screenwriter, film producer, journalist and media campaigner...

, and also appeared in Cash and Curry
Cash and Curry (film)
Cash and Curry is an independent British movie directed by Sarjit Bains and written by Christine Edwards and Manish Patel. It was filmed in 2008 on location in Harrow, Barnet and Wembley. The film has been premiered at the Portobello Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival and the Tongues on Fire Film...

playing the villain, Casper Warrington-Boothe.

Lee is currently the face of OK!Famouslyfit. A joint venture between OK! Magazine and Lee's own business, Famouslyfit.com, Lee is also the manager of Kerry-Lucy Taylor's band, A Girl Called Alice .

Controversy

In 2000, both he and Claire Richards
Claire Richards
Claire Ann Richards is an English singer best known for being the lead singer of Steps from 1997 to 2001. She was a contestant on the second series of Popstar to Operastar before being voted off in the Semi Finals...

 were criticized by the Anti Fascist Action organisation for making allegedly xenophobic remarks against asylum seekers. Latchford-Evans stated that "there should be more jobs for English people" with Richards continuing, "Why are we paying for all these people to come into the country anyway?". All accusations were vehemently denied by both Latchford-Evans and Richards.

Personal life

Lee is currently living with his partner, Kerry-Lucy Taylor, a singer-songwriter
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 dancer, who he met in January 2007. They both appeared in OK! Magazine in June 2011 discussing the up and coming OK!FamouslyFit range of fitness equipment.

In February 2010, Lee's relationship with French lingerie model Vanessa Perroncel (in 2001–02) was made public after revelations that English football captain John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...

 had been having an extramarital affair with her. Latchford-Evans explained his side of the story in an article published in Daily Mirror on February 3, 2010.

Latchford-Evans is a fully qualified personal trainer and owner of fitness web magazine www.famouslyfit.com (on which he is billed as "Lee Latchford Evans" without the hyphen).

Latchford-Evans passed his black belt in kickboxing in 2011.

Latchford-Evans is planning to run to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 in March 2012, he is said to be keen to see the historic site of where the old East used to meet the West. Francis Fukuyama
Francis Fukuyama
Yoshihiro Francis Fukuyama is an American political scientist, political economist, and author. He is a Senior Fellow at the Center on Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law at Stanford. Before that he served as a professor and director of the International Development program at the School of...

 has allegedly donated £40 already to his cross Europe bid.

Discography

  • 1998: Step One
    Step One
    Step One is the debut album by British pop group Steps. It was released in the UK and Europe on 14 September 1998. The album charted at number two on UK Albums Chart upon its release. In 2000, the album was re-released in the US, containing songs from both Step One and its successor, Steptacular...

  • 1999: Steptacular
    Steptacular
    Steptacular is the second studio album by British pop group Steps, released in the United Kingdom on 25 October 1999. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, where it remained on the position for three weeks, selling 260,000 copies in the same time frame...

  • 2000: Buzz
  • 2001: Gold: Greatest Hits
  • 2002: The Last Dance
  • 2011: The Ultimate Collection

Tours

  • Step One Tour (1999)
  • The Next Step Tour (1999)
  • Steptacular Tour (2000)
  • Steps Christmas Tour (2000)
  • Gold Tour (2001)
  • The Ultimate Tour (2012)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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