Leapy Lee
| Leapy Lee | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Graham Pulleyblank |
| Also known as | Lee Graham |
| Born |
2 July 1939 Eastbourne, England |
| Genres | Pop, country |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels |
MCA (United Kingdom) Decca (US) |
| Website |
www |
Leapy Lee (born Graham Pulleyblank, but later changed to Lee Graham, 2 July 1939, Eastbourne, England)[1] is an English singer, best known for his 1968 single "Little Arrows", which reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart,[2] and was a Top 40 country and pop hit in the United States.
Career
The song "Little Arrows", written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, was also the title track of his first album, released in 1968 on Decca Records. It reached No. 71 in the Billboard 200 album chart.[3]
"Little Arrows", released in the UK by MCA Records, became a hit, reaching No. 2 in the charts. In the US, the record reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 11 on the country chart. The record made No. 1 on the Canadian country music chart. It sold over three million copies worldwide, and was awarded a gold disc.[4] Although he never reached the US pop charts again, Lee had two more country hits there with "Good Morning" in 1970 and "Every Road Leads Back To You" in 1975.
In July 1970 Lee was arrested in a pub brawl in which the relief manager, was accidentally injured by a knife that Alan Lake carried. Leapy was sentenced to three years in prison alongside his friend Alan Lake[5] who received eighteen months for his role in the brawl.
He later lived in Saudi Arabia, before opening a bar in Majorca, Spain with Andrew Ray, the son of English comedian Ted Ray.
Between 1999 and 2001, Lee and his family (notably the twins in later editions), featured prominently in the BBC television series Passport to the Sun, fronted firstly by Liza Tarbuck then by Nadia Sawalha. Lee is a regular columnist with the Euro Weekly News, an English language newspaper based in the Costa del Sol in Spain.[6]
Lee released a 40th anniversary EP, Little Arrows II, on 1 March 2010.[7] In 2014 he appeared on the Channel 5 television show, OAPs Behaving Badly.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart positions | Label | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | |||
| 1968 | Little Arrows | 3 | 71 | Decca |
| 1970 | Leapy Lee | — | — | |
| 1976 | Every Road Leads Back to You | — | — | Bell |
| 2010 | Little Arrows II | — | — | HalfpennyStudios.com |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN Country | CAN | UK | AUS | |||
| 1962 | "It's All Happening" | — | — | — | — | — | — | N/A |
| 1966 | "King of the Whole Wide World" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1968 | "Little Arrows" | 11 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | Little Arrows |
| 1969 | "It's All Happening" (re-release) | — | — | — | — | — | 90 | N/A |
| "Here Comes the Rain" | — | — | — | 62 | — | 80 | Leapy Lee | |
| "Little Yellow Aeroplane" | — | — | — | — | — | 63 | ||
| 1970 | "Good Morning" | 55 | — | — | — | 29 | 96 | |
| 1971 | "Just Another Night" | — | — | — | — | — | 87 | N/A |
| 1973 | "Helena" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1974 | "Every Road Leads Back to You" | 82 | — | — | — | — | — | Every Road Leads Back to You |
See also
- List of 1960s one-hit wonders in the United States
- List of NME covers
- List of performers on Top of the Pops
References
- ↑ UK Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Jul–Sep 1939 ; Page 60: PUL-PUR
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 316. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ Jason Ankeny (2 July 1942). "Leapy Lee | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ↑ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp. 242–243. ISBN 0-214-20512-6.
- ↑ Paul., Donnelly, (2003-01-01). Fade to black : a book of movie obituaries. Omnibus. ISBN 9780711995123. OCLC 265032249.
- ↑ "Alexei Sayle: The World According To Me – Commentators – Voices – The Independent". Comment.independent.co.uk. 1 September 2006. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ↑ "iTunes Store". itunes.apple.com. Retrieved 12 July 2014.