English drummer
Ric Lee |
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 Ric Lee in 2015 |
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| Birth name | Richard Lee |
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| Born | (1945-10-20) 20 October 1945 (age 78)
Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England |
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| Genres | Blues rock, blues, rock |
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| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, record producer, music publisher |
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| Instrument(s) | Drums, percussion |
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| Years active | 1963–present |
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| Labels | Decca, Deram, Columbia, Chrysalis, Capitol, PolyGram |
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Musical artist
Richard "Ric" Lee (born 20 October 1945)[1] is an English drummer of the blues rock band Ten Years After.
Ten Years After
He was a founding member of his first band, The Falcons,[1] and was also a drummer for Ricky Storm and The Mansfields, which he was persuaded to leave in August 1965. Soon he took over drumming duties for The Jaybirds, with guitarist Alvin Lee, and bassist Leo Lyons: "I joined The Jaybirds in 1965. Dave Quickmire (original drummer for the Jaybirds) was desperately unhappy with the band and wanted to leave to get married and “settle down.” Unbeknown to me, Dave had been grooming me to take his place. Auditions took place in a Nottingham dancehall called The Dancing Slipper where The Jaybirds had a residency once a month. Dave persuaded me to go. I watched and listened to several local drummers run through their paces with Alvin and Leo. I got as comfortable as possible behind Dave’s kit and we played through a couple of The Jaybirds’ better-known covers. Alvin turned to me after the second song and said, “Do you know ‘Sweet Little Sixteen?' Dave had taught me the bass (kick) drum pattern to the song a few weeks earlier. When we finished, Alvin and Leo were beaming and again Alvin spoke, ”You’re the first drummer we’ve heard who can play the rhythm to that song, we’d like you to join us if you want”."[2]
In 1966 they arrived in London, where a keyboardist, Chick Churchill also joined the band. In 1968, the bands road manager Michael George "Chick" Churchill (who was road manager before switching to keyboardist), got the band an audition at the Marquee Club in London under the name The Blues Yard, but quickly became the successful outfit, Ten Years After. With this group, Lee played at rock festivals including Woodstock in 1969 (where they performed the songs "Spoonful", "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl", "Hobbit", "I Can't Keep from Crying Sometimes", "Help Me", and "I'm Going Home"),[3] and the Isle of Wight Festival on 29 August 1970[4] as well as appearances at The Newport Jazz Festival, The Miami, Atlanta and Texas Pop Festivals.
Ten Years After continued touring after Alvin Lee's death (on 6 March 2013). Lee has been in Ten Years After since the group was made in 1966. He has played on all their records, including their best known tracks "Love Like a Man" (1970) and "I'd Love to Change the World" (1971), and still tours with them as of 2023 with original keyboardist Chick Churchill, and two new members: guitarist/vocalist Marcus Bonfanti (British Blues Awards winner) and bassist Colin Hodgkinson. This incarnation released its first studio album, A Sting in the Tale, in 2017.[5]
Other works
When Ten Years After disbanded in 1976, Lee formed March Music/Fast Western Productions undertaking music publishing, management and record production[1] and signed acts such as the Incredible Kidda Band. He was rumored to be potential replacement in 1980 for deceased John Bonham in Led Zeppelin, but the band decided to disband in honor of their band-mate. However, in 1980, Lee instead became the drummer for Chicken Shack. He left the following year.
In 1994, Lee formed The Breakers with an old friend, Ian Ellis (ex-Clouds) and together they wrote and produced their first studio album "MILAN", which was released in July 1995. Along with tours of the UK and Europe, The Breakers were guests with Bryan Adams and Bonnie Raitt, on NBC Super Channel's "Talking Blues" programme that aired in Europe in March 1996.
In 2000, Ric Lee joined Kim Simmonds and Nathaniel Perterson in Savoy Brown for a European tour.
In 2011, Lee formed the 'Ric Lee Blues Project' which was later renamed 'Ric Lee's Natural Born Swingers' for their 2012 album release Put a Record On. The band featured Bob Hall of Savoy Brown, Danny Handley from The Animals and British session bassist Scott Whitley who has worked with many major acts from around the world. The album received substantial airplay on European and internet radio. Handley and Whitely have left the band. John Idan, known for his work with the reformed Yardbirds, joined the band on guitar and vocals.
Lee's autobiography From Headstocks To Woodstock was published by Grafika in May 2019.[6]
Personal life
Lee was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. It was through his eldest brother Peter that Lee first got interested in music: "My eldest brother, Peter was very keen on drumming, always tapping on something or other. He had a “wind-up” gramophone on which he played 78rpm records. I joined him with the tapping. Using old pairs of Mum’s knitting needles, we played along to tunes such as “South Rampart Street Parade”, “12th Street Rag” and many other New Orleans Jazz tunes that Peter loved."[2]
His jazz influences included Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich, whereas in the burgeoning pop scene of the 1960s, they had included Ringo Starr and Bobby Elliott.[2]
He has two children and lives in the Derbyshire Dales.[1]
