CP Lee

Christopher Paul Lee (19 January 1950 – 25 July 2020) was a British musician, author, broadcaster and lecturer 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 explosion with his next band Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias. In 1977 Lee wrote the "snuff-rock" musical Sleak, which ran for several months in London's Royal Court Theatre and the Roundhouse.[1] It subsequently had a run at Privates in New York City in 1980.[2] Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias split up in 1982 after releasing three albums.[3] 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 and London. He also worked as a music journalist.[3]

In 1979, Lee and John Scott released their debut album as "Gerry & the Holograms". The title track is claimed by some to have been ripped off by New Order's "Blue Monday".[4]

When We Were Thin (published October 2007) is a personal memoir in which Lee recounts how he produced one side of the first Factory Records release, ate muffins with Andy Warhol, drove a table with Wreckless Eric and was Elvis Costello 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.[5] Another book, Shake, Rattle & Rain, is adapted from his PhD thesis on Manchester music-making.

CP Lee retired[6] 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.[7] From 2004, he was also a co-trustee of the Manchester Digital Music Archive.[8]

Lee died on 25 July 2020, aged 70.[9]

References
  1. Duffy, Michael (1977) "Rockers like soccer", Anchorage Daily News, 3 December 1977, p. 15A, retrieved 2011-05-08
  2. Palmer, Robert (1980) "Theatre: Pop 'Sleak' at Privates", The New York Times, 21 December 1980, p. 62
  3. Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 5
  4. Wray, Daniel Dylan (4 April 2017). "Tearing Off The Band Aid: Revealing The Scabrous Truth of Gerry & The Holograms". Thequietus.com. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  5. Bauer, Scott (1998) "Dylan's stand", The Free Lance-Star, 10 October 1998, p. E3, retrieved 2011-05-08
  6. "CP Lee Retirement Party". YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  7. Bauer, Scott (2002) "Drummer's home movies add detail to rock history", Record-Journal, 1 October 2002, p. 2, retrieved 2011-05-08
  8. "Aiden O'Rourke - Interview with CP Lee". Aidan.co.uk. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 6 December 2015.
  9. "CP Lee (Manchester music legend Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias) RIP". Louder than War. 25 July 2020.
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