CP Lee

Christopher Paul Lee (19 January 1950) was a British musician, author, broadcaster, lecturer, writer and actor from Manchester, England.

Biography

Lee was born in Didsbury, south Manchester. He was a writer, broadcaster, lecturer and performer who started playing in the North West folk and beat clubs of the 1960s with his band Greasy Bear and became a linchpin of the punk rock and new wave explosion with his next band Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias (other members included Jimmy Hibbert, Bruce Mitchell, Les Prior, Bob Harding, Simon White, Ray "Mongo" Hughes, Tony Bowers, John Scott, Ged Green and Captain Mog). In 1977 Lee wrote the "snuff-rock" musical Sleak, which ran for several months in London's Royal Court Theatre and the Roundhouse. It subsequently had a run at Privates in New York City in 1980, directed by Des McAnuff, he meeting with Oingo Boingo, Joan Jett and Pete Shelley, when they saw their show. They funded by The Police, The Clash and Queen. Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias split up in 1983 after releasing three albums. Lee then wrote and performed a tribute show of routines by Lord Buckley, first in Manchester and later in other places including Amsterdam, New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Manama, Paris, Rome, Munich, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and London. He also worked as a music journalist.

In July 1979, Lee and John Scott released their debut album as "Gerry & the Holograms". The title track is claimed by some to be have been ripped off by New Order's "Blue Monday".

In April 1980, Gerry and the Holograms released their second single, "Dolphin Song". The title track is claimed by some to have been ripped off by The Cure's "The Caterpillar".

When We Were Thin (published August 2008) is a personal memoir in which Lee recounts how he produced one side of the first Factory Records release, ate muffins with Danny Elfman, drove a table with Wreckless Eric, Elvis Costello and Chris Sievey for a day.

Lee's other works included books about Bob Dylan, one of which, Like The Night (Revisited), focuses on the shout of 'Judas' aimed at Dylan at his Manchester Free Trade Hall performance in 1966, which was the climax of Martin Scorsese's documentary of Dylan, No Direction Home. Another book, Shake, Rattle & Rain, is adapted from his PhD thesis on Manchester music-making.

CP Lee retired after being a course leader in film studies and senior lecturer at the University of Salford, and continued writing and presenting talks, as well as documentaries for BBC Radio and TV.

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