Hamid Mantu (Hamilton Lee)
| Hamilton Lee | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Hamilton Lee |
| Born | 7 September 1958 |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | Worldbeat, Alternative rock, Post-punk, Psychedelic rock, Space rock |
| Occupation(s) | Percussionist, record producer |
| Instruments | drums, percussion, drum programming, keyboards, sampler, vocals |
| Years active | 1979–present |
| Labels | Survival, Stiff, Nation |
| Associated acts | Transglobal Underground, Furniture, Natacha Atlas, The Transmitters, Solus 3, Lunar Dunes, Ghost Shirt, The Xangbetos, The Flavel Bambi Septet, Jim Irvin |
Hamilton Lee (born 7 September 1958 in London), also known by variations on Hamid Mantu, is an English musician and composer.
Lee is best known as the drummer, percussionist and co-leader of Transglobal Underground, under his "Hamid Mantu" alias. He was also a core member of Furniture and has played with Natacha Atlas, The Transmitters, Lunar Dunes, Solus 3, Ghost Shirt, Xangbetos and the Flavel Bambi Septet as well as various session appearances.
Hamilton Lee was born in London and grew up in the London suburb of Ealing. He was interested in music from an early age, meeting his main collaborators (Tim Whelan and Jim Irvin) when all three were in their teens. Lee began his musical career as an alternative rock musician (albeit one influenced by funk, jazz, theatre and music from a variety of cultures).
Lee's first significant musical project was the new wave band Furniture (best known for their Top 30 UK chart hit "Brilliant Mind") for which he, Whelan and Irvin were founder members and contributing songwriters. Lee played drums, percussion and occasional keyboards for Furniture throughout the band's existence between 1979 and 1991 (playing on all four of the band's albums and all of their singles), and helped to bring in relatively unusual instrumentation such as tongue-drum. During the latter half of Furniture's existence, Lee was also a member (alongside Whelan) of the Ealing-based post-punk/psychedelic band The Transmitters, for which he played drums and sampler between 1987 and 1989.
At various points in the 1980s, Lee drummed for various theatre projects by the comedy/drama/"horror-panto" troupe Count of Three in both London and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, including versions of The Beggar's Opera, Titus Andronicus and Dr Calamari's Music Hall of the Macabre. In the early 1990s, he contributed drums to Catwalk, a short-lived alternative rock band led by Melody Maker journalist Chris Roberts.
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