Tommy Lee

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This article is about the American drummer Tommy Lee. For other uses, see Tommy.
For the actor, see Tommy Lee Jones.
Tommy Lee
Image:Tommy Lee 2005.jpg
Background information
Birth name Thomas Lee Bass
Born October 3 1962 (1962-10-03) (age 47)
Athens, Greece
Genre(s) Electronica, Dance, heavy metal, Glam metal, Rap metal, Alternative metal
Instrument(s) Drums, piano, vocals, guitar
Years active 1981 to present
Label(s) Leathür, Elektra
Associated
acts 		Mötley Crüe, Methods of Mayhem, Rock Star Supernova
Website TommyLee.tv

Tommy Lee (born Thomas Lee Bass on October 3, 1962), is a Greek American and Welsh American Heavy Metal musician. He is best known as the drummer for hard rock/heavy metal band Mötley Crüe and ex-husband of actresses Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and career

Lee was born in Athens, Greece. His mother, Vassiliki "Voula" Papadimitriou, was Miss Greece in 1957, and his father was David Lee Thomas Bass, a Welsh American[1]US Army serviceman. He has one younger sister, Athena Kottak (b. 1964), who is currently the drummer of KrunK. His family moved to California a year after his birth. Lee received his first drum when he was four. However he received his first real drum kit when he was a teenager. At that time, he was listening to Kiss, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Judas Priest. After transferring from South Hills High School; he joined the marching band at Royal Oak High School in Covina, California, but dropped out of school in his senior year to focus on his musical career. His first successful band Suite 19 played the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles during the late 70s. At this time he met future bandmate, Nikki Sixx. Casually, Sixx was forming a theatrical band that would specialize in anthemic heavy metal, and was impressed by Lee's playing. Sixx, Lee and Leon started jamming together, but Leon decided not to continue. At this time, he changed his name to Tommy Lee and earned the nickname "T-bone" from Sixx. He got this nickname due to his tall 6ft 2 ½ inch (189cm) skinny physique. Shortly afterwards, guitarist Mick Mars joined the band. Mars recommended a singer Tommy met at high school, Vince Neil, who soon joined the group, and the infamous Mötley Crüe was formed.

[edit] Mötley Crüe and Lee's success

Mötley Crüe quickly built a strong fan base and they released their debut album, Too Fast for Love in 1981, on their own independent label (Leathür Records). Elektra Records decided to sign the band shortly thereafter, reissuing their debut in 1982. The band then began a string of hit releases throughout the decade -- 1983's Shout at the Devil, 1985's Theatre of Pain, 1987's Girls, Girls, Girls, and 1989's Dr. Feelgood -- establishing the quartet as one of the biggest hard rock/metal bands of the '80s. During this time, Lee used several memorable gimmicks during his drum solo at concerts, such as having his entire kit revolving and spinning, or having the entire kit float above the crowd while he continued to play. He also was legendary for mooning the crowd at nearly every show. The band was known for their decadent behavior both on and off the stage, often dabbling in excessive amounts of hard drugs, such as cocaine, heroin and pills and drinking in excess. Nikki Sixx overdosed on heroin; however, he lived to tell about it as the ambulance resuscitated him. For more information on their drug use, see Mötley Crüe: The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Infamous Rock Band. In 2004, Lee reunited with the original Mötley Crüe line-up to release the double-disc album of hits entitled Red, White & Crüe launched a monumental reunion tour to support it, The Red, White & Crüe Tour 2005: Better Live Than Dead, the band's first in six years. They also finished the year number 8 on the top concert money earners list. They played 81 shows and grossed $33 million US (Billboard Boxscore). This figure did not include a tour of Australia in December 2005. In 2005, Lee appeared in the claymation film, Disaster! In November 2007, it was announced by Nikki Sixx that Tommy Lee was no longer a member of Mötley Crüe. Supposedly,he quit after the rest of the band sued his manager, Carl Stubner, for forcing Tommy to take part in reality tv shows, thus forcing the cancellation of a lengthy leg of Crue tourdates in 2006. Lee already in quit once in 2007 in September before returning to the band. Vince Neil in an interview though refuted the claims that Tommy Lee resigned from the band and that the band will be going into the studio in January to start recording their newest studio album.

[edit] Personal life

In 1984 Tommy Lee was briefly married to Elaine Bergen the marriage only lasted for three months. He married actress Heather Locklear in 1986, but they divorced in 1993. In 1995, he married actress/pinup Pamela Anderson (1995-98). They have two children, Brandon Thomas, born June 6, 1996, and Dylan Jagger, born December 29, 1997. It was with Anderson that one of Lee's most famous incidents arose when one of their private videos was stolen in 1995. The couple had videotaped their sexual activities while on vacation. The tape was widely circulated, and was one of the first examples[citation needed] of nude celebrities on the Internet. The couple divorced in 1998, and he served four months in prison after pleading no contest to kicking Anderson in the crotch. The couple legally divorced, although they reunited briefly upon his release. Shortly thereafter, Tommy Lee suffered further public embarrassment when a 1998 lawsuit exposed a swastika tattoo on his arm to public scrutiny. In 1996 Lee pled no contest to criminal charges of battery against a Jewish photographer after Lee attacked the man outside the famous Viper Room, in LA. When the photographer went on to sue Lee, the swastika tattoo, which Lee had since removed, was said to be visible in at the time, which Lee’s lawyer argued would simply inflame the jury and create unfair prejudice against him. [2] Shortly after claiming that the introduction of the tattoo into the court record would produce prejudice, Lee went on to deny its existence. [3] Lee’s attorney reported the swastika was a “stupid tattoo obtained several years ago.” [4] Tommy Lee decided to leave Mötley Crüe during his stay in prison, and stuck to his promise after the completion of the Crüe's Greatest Hits tour in 1999. With the popularity of rap metal, Lee formed a band called Methods of Mayhem. The band released a self-titled album the same year and toured in support of it. Although Lee distanced himself from Mötley Crüe after splitting, he agreed to take part in their 2001 autobiography, The Dirt. In addition to Mötley Crüe and Methods of Mayhem, Lee has made guest appearances on albums by other artists, such as Stuart Hamm, Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie. He also contributed a solo song, "Welcome to Planet Boom" to the soundtrack of then-wife Pamela Anderson's 1996 movie, Barb Wire, and produced an album for the pre-Goldfinger project from John Feldmann and Simon Williams, the Electric Love Hogs. Lee parted ways with Methods of Mayhem partner Tilo and began recording with members of Incubus. He then released his first solo album. The album, 2002's Never a Dull Moment, has tones of rap metal and electronica. The song "Blue" features guest vocalist Rodleen Getsic (the credits read: "Rolleen"). In August of 2002, Tommy Lee and his solo band joined Ozzfest, mainstage. He formed a new band called Rock Star Supernova with Jason Newsted (Voivod, ex-Metallica) and Gilby Clarke (ex-Guns N' Roses). The 2006 season of Rock Star selected Lukas Rossi as the lead singer for Supernova. Dilana, the runner-up, accepted an offer to go on tour with Supernova along with assistance in producing an album of her own. Rock Star Supernova released their debut album on November 21st, 2006.

Lee released his autobiography Tommyland in 2004. In 2004, Lee briefly attended, but did not enroll in, the University of Nebraska for a few weeks in the fall of 2004, while filming a reality television show for NBC called Tommy Lee Goes to College. The show featured a "fish-out-of-water" premise as it followed Lee's effort to fit into the collegiate experience, including trying out for the band (as a drummer), taking courses in horticulture, chemistry, and literature, and receiving constant support from a sexy and smart tutor. Lee was also one of the producers of the reality TV show. At the same time, he released his new solo album, Tommyland: The Ride in August 2005. The CD featured the single, "Good Times". His new single is "Hello, Again". This features Andrew McMahon from Something Corporate and Jack's Mannequin. Tommy Lee was also a guest DJ at WXRK "K-Rock" in New York during the Fourth of July Monster Metal Meltdown in 2005. Lee also recorded drum tracks for the alternative rock band Jack's Mannequin, which has released the album Everything in Transit. Tommy Lee is a supporter of animal rights and PETA.[5] He recently donated autographed drumsticks to support PETA's campaign against Kentucky Fried Chicken. In 2006, Tommy launched his own clothing line with apparel manufacturer People's Liberation, to produce jeans, T-shirts and other products featuring graphics inspired by his tattoos. The line is carried by high-end retailers, including Bloomingdale's, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, and other boutiques and chains. People's Liberation brand clothing is marketed and manufactured by Versatile Entertainment, which also produces the William Rast brand, inspired by Justin Timberlake.

Tommy Lee's current artistic endeavors include touring as an electronic dance music DJ with his Methods Of Mayhem DJ/production partner, DJ Aero (birth name: Chester Deitz). As DJs, they are also known as Electro Mayhem and have clocked over 60 club dates as DJs throughout North America (with stops in the Bahamas and Central America) in 2007 alone. Lee and Aero debuted as DJs on the mainstage at Ultra Music Festival during Winter Music Conference (WMC) in 2004. Lee and Aero have been DJing together since 2000, and they will again have a major presence at Miami's WMC in 2008. Tommy Lee and DJ Aero have received prestigious and favorable media coverage pertaining to their DJ careers in publications and media outlets including (but not limited to): DJ TIMES MAGAZINE (February 2008 issue); CLUB WORLD MAGAZINE (formerly CLUB SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL MAGAZINE, February 2008 issue); BIG SHOT MAGAZINE (December 2007 issue); KLUBLIFE MAGAZINE (December 2007 issue); LIVE DESIGN MAGAZINE (November 2007 issue); "AREA 33" on SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO (August and November, 2007 live radio broadcasts); THE MIAMI NEW TIMES (October 24, 2007 issue); CLUBPLANET.COM (August and October, 2007 online editions); THE NEWARK STAR LEDGER (September 14, 2007 issue); RAVES.COM (September, 2007 online edition); AXIS MAGAZINE (September, 2007 issue); WKSE-RADIO BUFFALO (September 13, 2007 radio broadcast); THE WINDSOR STAR (August 11, 2007 issue); on "A CHANNEL MORNING" on CHUM-TV (Canada, on August 13 and 14, 2007 live television); KTCL-RADIO DENVER (August 2, 2007 radio broadcast); VUE WEEKLY (July 19, 2007 issue)...and numerous other publications and assorted media outlets. By all accounts, Lee appears to be wholly devoted to his career as an electronic music DJ and producer, and he is readying to release his original electronic dance music productions in the spring of 2008. Frequently updated tour information can be found on Tommy Lee's official website (www.tommylee.tv), DJ Aero's official website (www.djaero.com), as well as on the Electro Mayhem website which lists upcoming dates only (www.electromayhem.com).

[edit] Legal problems

In 2001, four-year-old Daniel Karven-Veres drowned at Lee's Malibu, California, home during a birthday party for Lee's son Brandon. On April 17, 2003, a Superior Court jury took less than three hours to reject a wrongful death claim made by Daniel's parents, German actress Ursula Karven and TV producer James Veres. The suit accused Lee of negligence for failing to have a lifeguard or someone trained in CPR present during the birthday party.

[edit] Bandography

[edit] Discography

[edit] Mötley Crüe

[edit] Methods of Mayhem

[edit] Solo

[edit] Jack's Mannequin

[edit] Rock Star Supernova

[edit] Fuel

[edit] Singles

  • Good Times: #25 in Australia
  • Good Times: #1 in iTunes Australia
  • Good Times: #1 in South Africa
Year Title Chart positions
US Hot 100 US Mainstream Rock Australia South Africa Album
2005 "Tryin to Be Me" - - - - Tommyland: The Ride
2005 "Good Times" #95 - #25 #1 (2006) Tommyland: The Ride
2005 "Hello, Again" DNC - DNC DNC Tommyland: The Ride

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Tommy Lee Biography. quasimodobell.com. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
  2. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432392/19980402/lee_tommy.jhtml
  3. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432391/19980406/lee_tommy.jhtml
  4. ^ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/NEWS+LITE+:+JUDGE+BACKS+JURY+IN+SPELLING+CASE-a083817255
  5. ^ Tommy Lee: "Ink, Not Mink"

[edit] External links

 v • d • e Mötley Crüe
Vince Neil | Mick Mars | Nikki Sixx | Tommy Lee
John Corabi | Randy Castillo | Samantha Maloney
Discography
Studio Albums: Too Fast for Love | Shout at the Devil | Theatre of Pain | Girls, Girls, Girls
Dr. Feelgood | Mötley Crüe | Generation Swine | New Tattoo
Compilations and Extended Plays: Decade of Decadence | Quaternary | Greatest Hits | Supersonic and Demonic Relics |
Red, White & Crüe
Live albums: Live: Entertainment or Death | Carnival of Sins Live
Box Sets: Loud As F@*k | Music To Crash Your Car To: Vol. 1 | Music To Crash Your Car To: Vol. 2
Related articles
Brides of Destruction | Methods of Mayhem | Crüe Ball | Sixx: A.M.
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