Dick Lee
| Dick Lee | |
|---|---|
| Chinese name | 李迪文 |
| Pinyin | Lǐ Díwén (Mandarin) |
| Jyutping | lei5 di2 man4 (Cantonese) |
| Origin | Hokkien (Fujian Province) |
| Born |
24 August 1956 Singapore |
| Other name(s) | Richard Lee Peng Boon |
| Occupation | Singer, composer, songwriter, playwright |
| Genre(s) | Cantopop, musical theatre |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Website | www.dicklee.com |
Richard "Dick" Lee Peng Boon (born 24 August 1956) is a Singaporean pop singer, composer, songwriter, and playwright. He is best known as a Singapore Idol judge, but often too as spokesperson for the New Asian generation.
He was born to a Peranakan father, Lee Kip Lee, (who wrote for The Straits Times), and a Chinese mother, Elizabeth Tan. He was the eldest child in the family of five, with three brothers and a deceased sister. He received his early education at St. Michael's School (now SJI Junior) and his secondary education at St. Joseph's Institution. In 1992, he married jazz singer Jacintha Abisheganaden and divorced a few years later. He is a Roman Catholic.
Dick Lee started his career in 1971 when, at the age of fifteen, Dick participated in various talent contests with the group, Harmony, and Dick and the Gang (teaming with his siblings). His first album, Life Story, featuring his compositions, was released in 1974.
Throughout the 70s and 80s, Dick championed the acceptance of Asian elements in pop music. His pioneering album, Life in the Lion City (1984), won acclaim for just that. But the album that shot him to regional prominence was his 1989 release, The Mad Chinaman. Dick has also won several awards in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan. In 1983, he co-produced Zircon Lounge's debut album Regal Vigour.
In 1990, Dick moved to Japan where he continued to develop the new Asian identity through his solo work, as well as collaborations with top Asian artistes like Sandy Lam from Hong Kong and Japanese group Zoo. He has to date, written countless songs for the top singing talents in Asia.
Dick's album, Transit Lounge, released under the Sony Label, won both critical and popular praise during the same time when he was also the regional Vice-President of Artiste and Repertoire for Sony Music Asia, based in Hong Kong from 1998 to 2000. Dick's most recent album, Everything, released in November 2000, features a rare collection of his works written since the 1970s. In December 2001, Dick and his friend Leonard T contributed a song to a charity CD – Love Is The Answer For Kids With Aids, KK Outreach for Kids Fund. The song "It All Begins With Love" is heard frequently in Singapore's radio stations.
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