Lee Graham (born Graham Pulleyblank, 2 July 1939), better known by his stage name Leapy Lee, 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 20 country and pop hit in the United States and Canada.
Leapy Lee | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Graham Pulleyblank |
| Also known as | Lee Graham |
| Born | 2 July 1939 Eastbourne, England[1] |
| Genres | Pop, country |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 1968–2014 |
| Labels | MCA (United Kingdom) Decca (US) |
Career
editThe 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.
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. Around 2006, Lee was a regular columnist with the EuroWeekly News, an English language newspaper based on the Costa del Sol in Spain.[5]
Lee released a 40th anniversary EP, Little Arrows II, on 1 March 2010.[6] In 2014 he appeared on the Channel 5 television show, OAPs Behaving Badly.[7]
Personal life
editLee was born Graham Pulleyblank in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on 2 July 1939.[1] He performs as Leapy Lee,[8] and also uses the names Lee Graham and Leapy Lee Graham.[9]
In July 1970, Lee was arrested after a brawl at the Red Lion pub in Sunningdale, Berkshire pub in which a relief manager was wounded.[10] Lee was sentenced to three years for unlawful wounding, and his friend Alan Lake (an actor and the third husband of actress and singer Diana Dors)[11] received eighteen months for his role in the brawl.[12]
As of 2024, Lee lives in Majorca and makes occasional visits back to the UK.[13]
Discography
editAlbums
edit| 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
edit| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | US | CAN Country | CAN | UK[2] | AUS | |||
| 1962 | "It's All Happening" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1966 | "King of the Whole Wide World" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1967 | "The man on the flying trapeze"[14] | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1968 | "Little Arrows" | 11 | 16 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | Little Arrows |
| 1969 | "It's All Happening" (re-release) | — | — | — | — | — | 90 | — |
| "Here Comes the Rain" | — | — | — | 62 | — | 80 | Leapy Lee | |
| "Little Yellow Aeroplane" | — | — | — | — | — | 63 | ||
| 1970 | "Good Morning" | 55 | — | — | — | 29 | 96 | |
| 1971 | "Just Another Night" | — | — | — | — | — | 87 | — |
| 1971 | "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1973 | "Helena" | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1974 | "Every Road Leads Back to You" | 82 | — | — | — | 55[A] | — | Every Road Leads Back to You |
See also
editNotes
edit- ^ Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List".
References
edit- ^ a b UK Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Jul–Sep 1939 ; Page 60: PUL-PUR
- ^ a b Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 316. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ^ Ankeny, Jason (2 July 1942). "Leapy Lee | Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ Murrells, Joseph (1978). The Book of Golden Discs (2nd ed.). London: Barrie & Jenkins. pp. 242–243. ISBN 0-214-20512-6 – via Internet Archive Book Reader.
- ^ Sayle, Alexei (1 September 2006). "The World According To Me". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "iTunes Store". iTunes. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
- ^ "TV highlights 10/07/2014". The Guardian. 10 July 2014. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ "Leapy Lee (1939-), Singer". Shafetsbury Music Co. Limited. 1968. Retrieved 7 December 2023 – via National Portrait Gallery.
Sheet music cover for 'Little Arrows' by Leapy Lee
- ^ "Leapy Lee Graham". Instagram. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
- ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (1992). "Entries A-Z". The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 2 (First ed.). London: Guinness Publishing. p. 1443. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ Paul, Donnelly (2000). Fade to Black | A Book of Movie Obituaries. Enfield: Omnibus Press. p. 188. ISBN 0-7119-7984-7. Retrieved 19 March 2024 – via Internet Archive Book Reader.
- ^ Pilditch, David (18 February 2019). "Legend Dors 'hid knife to cover up for her husband'". Daily Express. Retrieved 25 September 2021 – via PressReader.
- ^ Woolley, Ian (1 December 2024). "Still Doing Time - The Leapy Lee Story". Beat Magazine. Retrieved 12 December 2024.
- ^ "Big L charts". radiolondon.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
