Richard "Ric" Lee (born 20 October 1945) is an English drummer of the

blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre, genre and form of rock music, rock and blues music that relies on the chords/scales and instrumental improvisation of blues. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electri ...

band

Ten Years After Ten Years After are a British blues rock group, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, the band had eight consecutive Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart. In addition, they had twelve albums enter the US ''Bi ...

Ten Years After

He was a founding member of his first band, The Falcons, 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 Alvin Lee (born Graham Anthony Barnes; 19 December 1944 – 6 March 2013) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter, who was best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the blues rock band Ten Years After. Early life Lee was ...

(no relation), and bassist

Leo Lyons Leo David William Lyons (born 30 November 1943) is an English musician, who was most known as the bassist of the blues rock band Ten Years After. Biography Leo Lyons was born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire in November 1943 and became a profes ...

. In 1966 they arrived in London, where a keyboardist, Chick Churchill also joined the band. In 1967, Churchill got the band an audition at the

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue in London, England, that opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. It was a small and relatively cheap club, in the heart of London's West End of London, West End. It was the location of the first ...

in London under the name The Blues Yard, but quickly became the successful outfit,

. With this group, Lee played at

rock festival A rock festival is an open-air rock concert featuring many different performers, typically spread over two or three days and having a campsite and other amenities and forms of entertainment provided at the venue. Some festivals are singular eve ...

s including

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

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"), and the

Isle of Wight Festival The Isle of Wight Festival is a British music festival which takes place annually in Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport on the Isle of Wight, England. It was originally a Counterculture of the 1960s, counterculture event held from 1968 to 1970. Th ...

on 29 August 1970 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 formed in 1966. He has played on all their records, including their best known tracks "

Love Like a Man Love is a feeling of strong attraction and emotional attachment to a person, animal, or thing. It is expressed in many forms, encompassing a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good hab ...

" (1970) and "

I'd Love to Change the World "I'd Love to Change the World" is a song by the British blues rock band Ten Years After. Written by Alvin Lee, it is the lead single from the band's 1971 album '' A Space in Time''. It is the band's only US Top 40 hit, peaking at number 40 on th ...

" (1971), and still tours with them as of 2023 with original keyboardist Chick Churchill, and two new members: guitarist/vocalist

Marcus Bonfanti Marcus Bonfanti (born 5 May 1983) is a British blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. He has released three albums and one EP, and works both as a solo musician and, since 2014, as the frontman for the British blues rock group Ten Years After. ...

(British Blues Awards winner) and bassist

Colin Hodgkinson Colin Hodgkinson (born 14 October 1945, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England) is a British rock, jazz and blues bassist, who has been active since the 1960s. Career Hodgkinson played in several bands, but was even more prolific as a sessio ...

. This incarnation released its first studio album, ''A Sting in the Tale'', in 2017. In September 2024, it was announced that the Ten Years After line-up of Lee, Churchill, Bonfanti, and Hodgkinson had split but that Lee intended to premiere a new line-up in early 2025.

Other works

When Ten Years After disbanded in 1976, Lee formed March Music/Fast Western Productions undertaking

music publishing A music publisher is a type of publisher that specializes in distributing music. Music publishers originally published sheet music. When copyright became legally protected, music publishers began to play a role in the management of the intellectua ...

, management and

record production A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

and signed acts such as the

Incredible Kidda Band The Incredible Kidda Band (aka The Kidda Band) were a British power pop band formed in Nuneaton on 10 February 1976, and composed of Alan Hammonds (guitars, vocals), Graham "Kidder" Hammonds (percussion, backing vocals), Dave 'Legs' Lister, (le ...

. He was rumored to be potential replacement in 1980 for deceased

John Bonham John Henry Bonham (31 May 1948 – 25 September 1980) was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Noted for his speed, power, fast single-footed kick drumming, distinctive sound, and feel for groove, John Bonh ...

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

, but the band decided to disband in honor of their band-mate. However, in 1980, Lee instead became the drummer for

Chicken Shack Chicken Shack are a British blues band, founded in the mid-1960s by Stan Webb (guitarist), Stan Webb (guitar and vocals), Andy Silvester (bass guitar), and Alan Morley (drums), who were later joined by Christine McVie, Christine Perfect (later ...

. He left the following year. In 1994, Lee formed The Breakers with an old friend, Ian Ellis (ex-

Clouds In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles, suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may c ...

) 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 Kim Maiden Simmonds (5 December 1947 – 13 December 2022) was a Welsh musician. He was the founder, guitarist, primary songwriter and sole constant member of the blues rock band Savoy Brown, which he formed in 1965. Simmonds had led Savoy Br ...

and Nathaniel Perterson in

Savoy Brown Savoy Brown (originally Savoy Brown Blues Band) were a British blues rock band formed in Battersea, southwest London, in 1965. Part of the late 1960s blues rock movement, Savoy Brown primarily achieved success in the United States, where they p ...

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

, Danny Handley from

The Animals The Animals, currently billed as Eric Burdon & the Animals (featuring original frontman Eric Burdon) and also as Animals & Friends (featuring original drummer John Steel (drummer), John Steel), are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Ne ...

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 John Idan is an American guitarist and vocalist, best known for his work with the Yardbirds, the McCarty Band, and his own bands, the John Idan Group and the Top Topham – John Idan Band. Career John Idan, who is originally from Detroit, ...

, known for his work with the reformed

Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ranked in t ...

, joined the band on guitar and vocals. Lee's autobiography ''From Headstocks To Woodstock'' was published by Grafika in May 2019.

Personal life

Lee was born in

Mansfield Mansfield is a market town and the administrative centre of the Mansfield District in Nottinghamshire, England. It is the largest town in the wider Mansfield Urban Area and the second largest settlement in Nottinghamshire (following the city ...

, Nottinghamshire, England. It was through his eldest brother Peter that Lee first got interested in music. His jazz influences included

Gene Krupa Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an American jazz drummer, bandleader, and composer. Krupa is widely regarded as one of the most influential drummers in the history of popular music. His drum solo on Benny Goodman ...

and

Buddy Rich Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer, songwriter, conductor, and bandleader. He is considered one of the most influential drummers of all time. Rich was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, ...

, whereas in the burgeoning pop scene of the 1960s, they had included

Ringo Starr Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the group, us ...

and

Bobby Elliott Robert Hartley Elliott (born 8 December 1941) is an English rock drummer, best known for playing with the Hollies. He has been described as "one of the very finest drummers in all of pop/rock". Early life Elliott discovered jazz music when he ...

. He has two children and lives in the

Derbyshire Dales Derbyshire Dales ( ) is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The district was created in 1974 as West Derbyshire; the name was changed to Derbyshire Dales in 1987. The council is based in the town of Matl ...

References

External links

Biography
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/ric-lee-from-woodstock-to-sonning/id1508942333?i=1000620449520 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ric 1945 births Living people English rock drummers English record producers English music publishers (people) English male songwriters English blues rock musicians British blues (genre) musicians British rhythm and blues boom musicians People from Derbyshire Dales (district) People from Mansfield Musicians from Nottinghamshire Ten Years After members Decca Records artists Deram Records artists Columbia Records artists Chrysalis Records artists Capitol Records artists 20th-century English drummers 21st-century English drummers Chicken Shack members