Jeannette Lee

Last updated

Jeannette Lee
Birth nameJeannette Lee
OriginUnited Kingdom
Genres Post-punk
Occupation(s)Record company executive, music management, filmmaker, former musician
Years active1975–present

Jeannette Lee is a British music record executive, music manager, filmmaker and former musician. A retail worker at the Acme Attractions store that, along with the SEX boutique run by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, was instrumental in spawning punk in the UK, [1] she went on to become a member of post-punk band Public Image Ltd (PiL). Lee is currently co-owner of the independent record label Rough Trade Records.

Contents

History

Lee grew up in the 1970s in a council estate in London. To stay out of trouble she spent most of her time in her room listening to records. While she was at a club she was noticed by Don Letts, who asked her to work for a store he was managing, Acme Attractions. It was here she met and befriended key players in London's up-and-coming punk scene, including the Sex Pistols.[ citation needed ]

After the Pistols' disintegration, frontman John Lydon asked her to help out with his new band, Public Image Ltd. She first took a management role but later became a public face in the band as a singer/performer on stage. [2] [ dubious – discuss ] In 1981, her face appeared on the front sleeve of The Flowers of Romance . Lee and PiL moved to New York City, where they stayed during 1981 and 1982. There, Lee brought a multimedia awareness to the band, including using video as an aspect of live performances. This would lead to the 'riot' at the Ritz when the band elected to play behind a giant video screen .

Lee moved back to London and married Gareth Sager. While raising their first child, she was approached by Geoff Travis with an offer to join him in managing the Rough Trade label. Eventually, in 1987, the two became full partners. [3] [2] [4]

Rough Trade had many successes, signing acts such as Stiff Little Fingers, The Smiths and The Sundays before going bankrupt in 1991 due to cash flow problems within their distribution business and an expensive and unsuccessful new computer system. [2] Lee and Travis then moved into band management for successful groups including The Cranberries and Pulp. [2] [5]

In 2000, Sanctuary Records decided to resurrect Rough Trade and brought on Lee and Travis to run their old label again. [6] The label had immediate success with The Strokes, Arcade Fire and The Libertines. [1] Musicians have credited Lee's musical sense and straightforward honesty as important components of the label's ability to keep signing the next big band. [7] [8] In July 2007 Sanctuary Records then sold Rough Trade to the Beggars Group making it once again independent. [9]

Lee personally managed Welsh soul singer Duffy, from 2006 until the relationship ended in January 2010. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punk rock</span> Genre of rock music

Punk rock is a music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles, stripped-down instrumentation, and often shouted political, anti-establishment lyrics. Punk embraces a DIY ethic; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent record labels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex Pistols</span> English punk rock band

The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most culturally influential acts in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians, while their clothing and hairstyles were a significant influence on punk image.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Damned (band)</span> English punk rock band

The Damned are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1976 by lead vocalist Dave Vanian, guitarist Brian James, bassist Captain Sensible, and drummer Rat Scabies. They were the first punk band from the United Kingdom to release a single, "New Rose" (1976), release a studio album, Damned Damned Damned (1977), and tour the United States. They have nine singles that charted on the UK Singles Chart Top 40.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Public Image Ltd</span> English rock band

Public Image Ltd are an English post-punk band formed by singer John Lydon, guitarist Keith Levene, bassist Jah Wobble, and drummer Jim Walker in May 1978. The group's personnel has changed frequently over the years; Lydon has been the sole constant member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sid Vicious</span> English bassist (1957–1979)

John Simon Ritchie, better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the punk subculture; one of his friends noted that he embodied "everything in punk that was dark, decadent and nihilistic."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Raincoats</span> British experimental post-punk band

The Raincoats are a British experimental post-punk band. Ana da Silva and Gina Birch formed the group in 1977 while they were students at Hornsey College of Art in London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song)</span> 1977 single by Sex Pistols

"God Save the Queen" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's second single and was later included on their only studio album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols. The song was released during Queen Elizabeth II's Silver Jubilee in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough Trade Records</span> English independent record label

Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-punk and indie pop bands such as the Normal and Desperate Bicycles, Travis began to manage acts and distribute bands such as Scritti Politti and began the label, which was informed by left-wing politics and structured as a co-operative. Soon after, Rough Trade also set up a distribution arm that serviced independent retail outlets across Britain, a network that became known as the Cartel. In 1983, Rough Trade signed the Smiths.

Vic Godard is an English singer-songwriter formerly of the punk group Subway Sect. He is now also a solo performer, while continuing to appear with various incarnations of Subway Sect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Lurkers</span>

The Lurkers are a British punk rock band from Uxbridge, West London. They are notable for being the first group ever on Beggars Banquet Records for whom they released two albums, the first of which charted in the UK Albums Chart, while five singles also charted in the UK Singles Chart.

<i>Public Image: First Issue</i> 1978 studio album by Public Image Ltd

Public Image: First Issue is the debut studio album by English rock band Public Image Ltd, released in 1978 by record label Virgin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beggars Group</span> British record company

Beggars Group is a British record company that owns or distributes several other labels, including 4AD, Rough Trade Records, Matador Records, XL Recordings and Young.

Subway Sect were one of the first British punk bands. Although their commercial success was limited by the small amount of recorded material they released, they have been credited as highly influential on the Postcard Records scene and the indie pop genre which followed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Letts</span> British film director

Donovan Letts is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band Big Audio Dynamite with former Clash lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist Mick Jones, acting as the band's sampler and videographer before departing the band in 1990.

The Nosebleeds are a punk band formed in Wythenshawe, Manchester, England in 1976. The band is well known in modern rock history for the later successes of its individual members, notably Morrissey, Billy Duffy, and Vini Reilly. During their early days, they were known as Ed Banger and the Nosebleeds, until the departure of singer Ed Banger.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rough Trade (shops)</span> Independent record shops

Rough Trade is a group of independent record shops in the United Kingdom and the United States with headquarters in London.

<i>Spunk</i> (Sex Pistols bootleg album) 1977 demo album (bootleg) by Sex Pistols

Spunk is a bootleg demo album by the English punk rock band The Sex Pistols. It was originally released in the United Kingdom during September or October 1977.

James Alec Stewart is a retired British musician who was the bassist of the post-punk/hard rock band The Cult. He recorded on The Cult's first four albums, Dreamtime, Love, Electric and Sonic Temple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoff Travis</span>

Geoff Travis is the founder of both Rough Trade Records and the Rough Trade chain of record shops. A former drama teacher and owner of a punk record shop, Travis founded the Rough Trade label in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acme Attractions</span>

Acme Attractions was a London clothing store on Kings Road, Chelsea, London, that in the early 1970s provided a place for many punk and reggae musicians and scenesters to hang out. Shop assistant and manager Don Letts described Acme Attraction as a place "where the interaction between the different factions became more important than selling merchandise, even though at that age it was a deadly combination."

References

  1. 1 2 "The Sex Behind the Pistols". The Times . London. 6 September 2003. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lee, Jeannette; Letts, Don (26 April 2007). "Keynote Speech: Music Industry Uncovered" (PDF). pub. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 February 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  3. ↑ Mark Edwards (9 September 2007). "The Safe Harbour of Rough Trade". The Sunday Times . Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  4. ↑ Will Hodgkinson (2007). "Snapshot: Rough Trade Records, 1978". The Guardian . London. Archived from the original on 24 April 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  5. ↑ "The Cranberries". gracenote. 2007. Archived from the original on 19 September 2008. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  6. ↑ Andy Gill (2007). "Rough Trade Records: Now". emusic. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  7. ↑ Simpson, Dave (12 January 2007). "Back from the brink". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  8. ↑ "The Hours". londonnet. November 2006. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  9. ↑ Paul Thompson (24 July 2007). "Rough Trade Bought By Beggars Group". pitchforkmedia. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
  10. ↑ "Duffy to counter-sue ex-manager". BBC News. 19 July 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.