Jeannette Lee is a British music record executive, music manager, filmmaker and former musician. A retail worker at the Acme Attractions store that, along with the SEX boutique run by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, was instrumental in spawning punk in the UK, she went on to become a member of

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

band

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band formed by lead vocalist John Lydon (previously, as Johnny Rotten, lead vocalist of the Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene (a founding member of the Clash), bassi ...

(PiL). Lee is currently co-owner of the

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small and medium-sized enterprise, small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels ...

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis, who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. It is currently run by co-managing directors Travis and Jeannette Lee and ...

History

Lee grew up in the 1970s in a

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

in London. To stay out of trouble she spent most of her time in her room listening to records. While she was at a club she was noticed by Don Letts, who asked her to work for a store he was managing, Acme Attractions. It was here she met and befriended key players in London's up-and-coming punk scene, including the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

. After the Pistols' disintegration, frontman

John Lydon John Joseph Lydon ( ; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is a British-born singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. He was the lead vocalist of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols, which was ...

asked her to help out with his new band, Public Image Ltd. She first took a management role but later became a public face in the band as a singer/performer on stage. In 1981, her face appeared on the front sleeve of '' The Flowers of Romance''. Lee and PiL moved to New York City, where they stayed during 1981 and 1982. There, Lee brought a multimedia awareness to the band, including using video as an aspect of live performances. This would lead to the 'riot' at the Ritz when the band elected to play behind a giant video screen . Lee moved back to London and married Gareth Sager. While raising their first child, she was approached by Geoff Travis with an offer to join him in managing the Rough Trade label. Eventually, in 1987, the two became full partners. Rough Trade had many successes, signing acts such as

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a Northern Irish punk rock band from Belfast. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the Deep P ...

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

and The Sundays before going bankrupt in 1991 due to cash flow problems within their distribution business and an expensive and unsuccessful new computer system. Lee and Travis then moved into band management for successful groups including

The Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock music, rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother), and drummer Fergal Lawler. O'Riord ...

and Pulp. In 2000,

Sanctuary Records Sanctuary Records Group Limited was a record label based in the United Kingdom and is, as of 2013, a subsidiary of BMG Rights Management solely for reissues. Until June 2007, it was the largest independent record label in the UK and the largest ...

decided to resurrect Rough Trade and brought on Lee and Travis to run their old label again. The label had immediate success with

The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

Arcade Fire Arcade Fire is a Canadian indie rock band from Montreal, Quebec, consisting of husband and wife Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, alongside Richard Reed Parry, Tim Kingsbury, and Jeremy Gara. The band's touring line-up includes former core ...

and

The Libertines The Libertines are an English Rock music, rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât (vocals/guitar) and Pete Doherty (vocals/guitar). The band, centred on the songwriting partnership of Barât and Doherty, included John Hassall ...

. Musicians have credited Lee's musical sense and straightforward honesty as important components of the label's ability to keep signing the next big band. In July 2007 Sanctuary Records then sold Rough Trade to the

Beggars Group Beggars Group is a British record company, founded by Martin Mills, that owns or holds stakes in various record labels, including 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings, and Young (record label), Young. History The company had i ...

making it once again independent. Lee personally managed Welsh soul singer Duffy, from 2006 until the relationship ended in January 2010.

References

External links

Video interview of Travis and Lee at the Accelerator Festival in Sweden
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jeannette English music managers English businesspeople Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Place of birth missing (living people)