Tommy Lee Biography
Summary
"Tommy Lee" (born "Thomas Lee Bass" on October 3, 1962), is a Greek American Heavy Metal musician. He is best known as the drummer (... more) for hard rock/heavy metal band Mötley Crüe (... more) and ex-husband of actresses Pamela Anderson and Heather Locklear.
Biography
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 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 Motley Crue was formed.
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, lived to tell about it as the ambulance resuscitated him. For more information on their drug use, see Motley Crue: 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 & Crhey 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 in December 2005. In 2005, Lee appeared in the claymation film, In November 2007, it was announced by Nikki Sixx that Tommy Lee was no longer a member of Motley Crue. 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.==Family life==Tommy Lee had married a model/stripper Elaine Starchuk in 1984, the marriage only lasted for three months. As the popularity of the band rose, Lee also made the headlines with his numerous romantic involvements. He married actress in 1986, but they divorced in 1993. In 1995, he married actress . They have two children, Brandon Thomas, born , , and Dylan Jagger, born , . 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 of . 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 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. >http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432392/19980402/lee_tommy.jhtml>Shortly after claiming that the introduction of the tattoo into the court record would produce prejudice, Lee went on to deny its existence. >http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432391/19980406/lee_tommy.jhtml> Lee's attorney reported the swastika was a 'stupid tattoo obtained several years ago.? >http://www.thefreelibrary.com/NEWS+LITE+:+JUDGE+BACKS+JURY+IN+SPELLING+CASE-a083817255> 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 , Lee formed a band called . 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 , "The Dirt". In addition to Mötley Crüe and , Lee has made guest appearances on albums by other artists, such as , and . He also contributed a solo song, 'Welcome to Planet Boom' to the soundtrack of then-wife 's 1996 movie, ", and produced an album for the pre- project from and , the Electric Love Hogs. Lee parted ways with partner Tilo and began recording with members of . He then released his first solo album. The , 2002's "Never a Dull Moment", has tones of and . The song 'Blue' features guest vocalist (the credits read: 'Rolleen'). In August of 2002, Tommy Lee and his solo band joined , mainstage. He formed a new band called with (, ex-) and (ex-). The 2006 of " selected as the lead singer for Supernova. , the runner-up, accepted an offer to go on tour with Supernova along with assistance in producing an album of her own. 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 for a few weeks in the fall of 2004, while filming a show for called "." The show featured a " 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 , , and , 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 from and . Tommy Lee was also a guest DJ at 'K-Rock' in during the Fourth of July Monster Metal Meltdown in 2005.Lee also recorded drum tracks for the alternative rock band , which has released the album ". Tommy Lee is a supporter of and . He recently donated autographed drumsticks to support 's campaign against . In 2006, Tommy launched his own clothing line with apparel manufacturer , to produce jeans, T-shirts and other products featuring graphics inspired by his tattoos. The line is carried by high-end retailers, including , , , and other boutiques and chains. People's Liberation brand clothing is marketed and manufactured by , which also produces the William Rast brand, inspired by .==Legal problems==In 2001, four-year-old Daniel Karven-Veres drowned at Lee's , home during a birthday party for Lee's son Brandon. On , , a jury took less than three hours to reject a claim made by Daniel's parents, German actress and TV producer . The suit accused Lee of negligence for failing to have a lifeguard or someone trained in present during the birthday party.During the 2007 MTV VMA's, Tommy was involved in a scuffle with . In an interview on WRIF on September 13, 2007, Kid Rock detailed Lee's history of disrespectful behavior toward him and said he was incensed when, upon returning to his table at the VMAs, he found that Tommy had taken his seat. (He also noted his surprise that MTV would choose to seat him and Lee in the same area, suggesting that MTV may have hoped for some sort of incident to arise.) After the confrontation, Lee was taken out by security while Kid Rock was not. Kid Rock was charged with misdemeanor assault. >http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432392/19980402/lee_tommy.jhtml>Shortly after claiming that the introduction of the tattoo into the court record would produce prejudice, Lee went on to deny its existence. >http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1432391/19980406/lee_tommy.jhtml> Lee's attorney reported the swastika was a 'stupid tattoo obtained several years ago.? >http://www.thefreelibrary.com/NEWS+LITE+:+JUDGE+BACKS+JURY+IN+SPELLING+CASE-a083817255>==Motley Crue==Tommy Lee has issued a statement denying that he left MÖTLEY CRÜE, stating that he hopes he can work any outstanding issues with the other members of the group. 'I am a founding member of MÖTLEY CRÜE,' he said. 'Based on internal band issues aired publicly, my future with the band is uncertain. I have tried to meet with my bandmates repeatedly without success but have informed them that I'm not walking away from my band of 25 years. It troubles me that the current legal issues which were filed by the corporations against my personal manager are separating us and causing more dysfunction. I hope we can work this out amongst ourselves.' According to the amended complaint filed by MÖTLEY CRÜE against artist manager Carl Stubner and his three companies Sanctuary Group, Inc., Sanctuary Artist Management, Inc. and Carl Stubner Productions, Inc., Lee 'recently informed Sixx and Mars, the shareholders of MCI , that he was resigning from the band and his resignation was accepted.' MÖTLEY CRÜE issued a press release yesterday claiming that the group's amended complaint contains 'newly obtained evidence' in its lawsuit against Stubner, consisting of statements from band members Vince Neil, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars as well as ten sworn declarations from key professionals associated with the band, which 'demonstrates beyond any question that Stubner was a manager of MÖTLEY CRÜE and not just the manager of Tommy Lee as he has previously claimed in press releases and legal filings. The newly obtained evidence supports and confirms allegations in the amended complaint filed yesterday in Los Angeles Superior Court that Stubner breached his fiduciary duties to MÖTLEY CRÜE by orchestrating a scheme for his personal financial gain at the expense and to the detriment of the band.' The press release adds, 'Even though he received approximately a million dollars in commissions from MÖTLEY CRÜE, Stubner used his positions as the band's manager and the manager of one of the band members to demand a higher commission for himself. The amended complaint contends that his motivation was pure greed. The new evidence also confirms that Stubner demanded tickets from the band that he resold at 'scalper' prices for his own gain.' The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages of more than $20 million for lost earnings and profits resulting from the defendants' actions. The lawsuit also seeks punitive damages because, as claimed in the amended complaint, the defendants' 'despicable' actions were undertaken 'fraudulently, maliciously and oppressively.' In CRÜE's original lawsuit, which was filed on June 18 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, three of the group's founding members (Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil and Mick Mars) through Mötley Crüe Inc., claimed Stubner forced Tommy Lee to 'to become engaged in 'reality' projects that were bad career moves for Lee, harming , the MÖTLEY CRÜE brand and Lee's own image.' The suit called the low-rated NBC show 'Tommy Lee Goes to College' a 'critical disappointment and a ratings disaster,' adding it painted Lee as 'incoherent, lazy and incompetent' and made him 'look like a laughing stock who could not carry a drum beat.' The suit also claims Lee's participation on 'Rock Star: Supernova' 'diminished the public's interest in Lee and their overall perception of his musical talents.' Because Lee was so busy doing reality TV, the band says he was unavailable to tour with the CRÜE, thus causing the cancellation of several key concert dates. The band claims that they lost $8 million in ticket and merchandise revenue because of Lee's scheduling conflicts. The band claims these conflicts were 'both real and concocted' by Stubner to 'leverage his control over Lee to his financial advantage and to MÖTLEY CRÜE and Lee's detriment.' Tommy Lee's attorney Barbara Berkowitz issued a statement on June 20 claiming that Lee 'is not an individual participant in the lawsuit filed by the corporation, Mötley Crüe, Inc. against Lee's personal manager, Carl Stubner and Sanctuary Management. Mr. Stubner and Sanctuary do not manage MÖTLEY CRÜE, however they continue to represent Tommy Lee personally.' The statement from Tommy's attorney went on to say that 'Mr. Lee was neither consulted regarding this matter nor authorized the lawsuit. Mr. Lee has not made any allegations against his current personal manager. Mr. Lee feels fortunate to have been part of the MÖTLEY reunion tour, as well as other opportunities outside of MÖTLEY CRÜE over the past several years. It is unfortunate that others believe that they all could have made more money had Mr. Lee exclusively participated in the band that he co-founded in 1980. However, Mr. Lee is a versatile artist, and is grateful that he participated in other projects as well.'== Bandography ==* (1981-1998, 2004-2007)(Tommy Lee denies leaving Motley Crüe )* (1999-2000)* Solo (2001-present)* (2006-present)==Discography=====Mötley Crüe===* " (1981)* " (1983)* " (1985)* " (1987)* " (1989)* " (1991)* " (1994)* " (1994)* " (1997)* "Greatest Hits" (1998)* " (1999)* " (1999)* "Millennium Collection" (2003)* "Music To Crash Your Car To, Volume 1" (2003)* "Music To Crash Your Car To, Volume 2" (2004)* " (2005)* "Carnival of Sins Live, Vol. 1" (2006)* "Carnival of Sins Live, Vol. 2" (2006)===Methods of Mayhem===* " (1999)===Solo===* " (2002)* " (2005)===Jack's Mannequin===* " (2005)===Rock Star Supernova===* " (2006)===Fuel===* " (2007) (appears as guest drummer)==Singles==*Good Times: #25 in Australia*Good Times: #1 in iTunes Australia*Good Times: #1 in South Africa==Footnotes====External links==******** Interview with * DJ Interview Clubplanet
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Tommy Lee.
