Jon Lee (singer)

Jonathan "Jon" Lee (born 26 April 1982 in Devon, England) is an English actor and singer. Lee is best known as a member of pop group S Club 7 (later S Club) which disbanded in April 2003. He was the youngest member. The group also starred in a number of their own TV sitcoms, playing themselves. Since the band split, Lee has carved a successful career in musical theatre, taking on lead roles in a number of productions including the West End shows Les Misérables and Jersey Boys.

Early life

At the age of 13, Lee played the leading role in the West End production of Oliver! At the London Palladium Theatre alongside Jonathan Pryce's and George Layton's Fagin.

Career

1993–03: EastEnders and career with S Club

The group rose to fame by starring in their own BBC television series, Miami 7, in 1999 and have been widely referred to as inspiring a new generation of teenage TV musicals including High School Musical and Glee. Over the five years they were together, S Club 7 had four UK No.1 singles, one UK No.1 album, and a string of hits throughout Europe, including a top-ten single in the United States, Asia, Latin America and Africa. They recorded a total of four studio albums, released eleven singles and went on to sell over fourteen million albums worldwide.^[1] Their first album, S Club, had a strong 1990s pop sound, similar to many artists of the time. Through the course of their career, however, their musical approach changed to a more dance and R&B sound which is heard most notably in their final album, Seeing Double. S Club 7 won two Brit Awards — in 2000 for British breakthrough act and in 2002 for best British single. In 2001 the group earned the Record of the Year award. Group member Paul Cattermole departed the group in 2002, and the group changed its name from S Club 7 to simply S Club. On 21 April 2003, during a live onstage performance, S Club announced that they were to disband.^[2]

2004–12: Stage

In 2004 Lee played the role of Marius in Les Misérables at the Palace Theatre in London, and continued the role following the show's move to the smaller Queen's Theatre. In 2005 Lee toured the UK with the new musical, Love Shack, featuring disco classics and hit dance songs from the charts, starring alongside Steps' Faye Tozer and Hear'Say's Noel Sullivan. In August 2006 Lee starred in The Heather Brothers' production of Teen Scream at the Assembly Rooms at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. He returned to the London stage in 2010 in the musical Tomorrow Morning. Lee worked on a number of other musical projects before returning to the stage, and also starred in BBC's "The Sound of Musicals". In 2008 he recorded a song for the CD Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange, an album of 20 new recordings by 26 West End stars. It was released in November 2008 on Dress Circle Records.

In 2008 Lee voiced the part of good-looking, bike-riding Max, in the British Disney Channel cartoon series Famous 5: On the Case.^[3] Over Christmas and New Year's 2008–09 he appeared at The White Rock Theatre, Hastings, performing the leading role in the pantomime Peter Pan.^[4] Both Lee and the show were well received.^[5] Later in 2009 Lee appeared as Billy Fury in Nick Moran’s new film Telstar. On 22 May 2010 he appeared in BBC One's Casualty as Craig, who is unexpectedly diagnosed with motor neurone disease.^[6] He played John in the internationally acclaimed musical Tomorrow Morning by Laurence Mark Wythe at the Landor Theatre in London. Over the following Christmas and New Year's, Lee appeared at the New Victoria Theatre, Woking as Prince Charming in Cinderella.^[7]

2012–present: Fallen Angel and focus on stage

In October 2012 Lee announced, via Twitter, that he had recorded his debut solo album, Fallen Angel. The first track on the album, "My Father's Son", was premiered on 4 November by BBC Radio 2's Paul O'Grady. The album was released on 4 March 2013. Lee took on the part of Frankie Valli in Jersey Boys at the Prince Edward Theatre, London, from 15 March 2011 until 7 March 2014. At the end of 2012, whilst maintaining his Jersey Boys commitments, Lee took the lead role in Aladdin at The O2 in London and acted alongside Paul O'Grady, who revived his alter-ego Lily Savage.^[8][9]

In August 2016 Lee appeared at the Lytham Festival's "West End Proms".^[10]

Personal life

In August 2010 Lee revealed, in an interview with Gay Times magazine, that he was gay. He added that he had come out to family and friends at a young age, and that "it's never needed to be a huge change that I've had to tell everyone about".^[11]

Filmography

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

• Jon Lee on Twitter
  
• Jon Lee on Myspace