Ben Lee
| Benjamin Lee | |
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Ben Lee at the 2008 Australia Day Live Concert in Canberra
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Benjamin Michael Lee |
| Born | 11 September 1978 |
| Origin | Sydney, Australia |
| Genres | Indie pop |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, bass, piano |
| Years active | 1993–present |
| Labels | Ten Fingers/Inertia, ABC Music, Dangerbird, Modular, New West Records, Lojinx |
| Associated acts | Noise Addict, The Bens, Gerling, Jessica Chapnik |
| Website | www |
Benjamin Michael "Ben" Lee (born 11 September 1978) is an Australian musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appeared as the protagonist in the Australian film The Rage in Placid Lake (2003). He has released eleven solo studio albums.
Lee's musical career began in 1993 with the band Noise Addict, who were signed to Steve Pavlovic's independent label Fellaheen Records, on the strength of a self-produced and distributed four-track demo recorded in Lee's bedroom. Pavlovic's connections brought the band to the attention of Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore and Beastie Boys' Mike D, both of whom released the band's material in the US. The group put out several releases on the Beasties' Grand Royal Records. These including the acoustic Young and Jaded EP in 1994, which contained Lee's Evan Dando tribute, "I Wish I Was Him". In 1995, Grand Royal released the band's only full-length album, the Brad Wood-produced Meet the Real You. Noise Addict made a music video for the song "16", toured with Sebadoh, but then broke up. Lee was also briefly a member of the alternative act Gerling. In 2009 Lee recorded a new Noise Addict album, It Was Never about the Audience, with a new lineup; Lou Barlow and Lara Meyerratken.
Lee's solo career started at the age of 16, while he was still in Noise Addict. He began recording his first solo album, Grandpaw Would, in both Sydney and Chicago with producer Brad Wood. This was followed by the 1997 album, Something to Remember Me By, also produced by Wood. An alternate version of his song "Burn to Shine", produced by T-Bone Burnett, played over the end credits of the film Best Men. Lee was then featured on the There's Something About Mary soundtrack, with the song "How to Survive a Broken Heart". 1998's Breathing Tornados, released on Pavlovic's new label Modular, marked a new direction for Lee as he introduced synthesisers and increased instrumentation into his sound. The album was a success in Australia, earning Lee ARIA Award nominations for Best Male Artist and Album of the Year. The album's first single, "Cigarettes Will Kill You", was also nominated for Single of the Year and finished second in that year's Triple J Hottest 100. In 2001 Lee contributed a track ("Sweet Is the Night") to a Jeff Lynne tribute album Lynne Me Your Ears.
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