Tight But Loose is very sad to hear of the death of former Page and Plant drummer Michael Lee .

Michael was found dead at his home on Monday 24th November. A cause of death has not been established, he had just turned 39. 

Michael Lee was born on 19th November 1969 in Newcastle Upon Tyne, moving to Darlington a year later. Leaving school at 16 Michael worked in a music store selling piano’s but soon became more interested in drums. With money from his first job Michael brought an old Premier kit and joined his first band playing “cover versions” in working men’s clubs around Darlington and Teesside. 

At 17 Michael joined his first serious rock band called Holosade. The band were signed to York-based independent rock label PowerStation run by Kevin Nixon. The band’s debut album sold quite well, but unable to find proper management, Michael left and at 18, sold his drum kit to buy a ticket to Los Angeles. He spent some time at the LA Musicians institute in Hollywood and then played in a rock band in San Francisco for a short while before returning to London in August 1988. On his return he auditioned for Little Angels and got the job after just one song. In 1991 he left Little Angels and joined The Cult and then in 1993 he joined Robert Plant, firstly contributing drums on Memory Song (Hello Hello) and Network News and then as part of the touring band for the Fate Of Nations tour. And when Robert linked up with Jimmy Page for the Unledded project Michael was drafted in. Michael stayed with the Page and Plant line-up throughout the 1995-96 tour and then was part of the Walking Into Clarksdale project and again toured with the group in 1998 until Page and Plant disbanded. Michael work with Jimmy Page on the global Net-Aid event as well as touring with Echo And The Bunnymen. He then joined the reformed Thin Lizzy and toured extensively. In 2006 he recorded with Jeff Martin on the CD “Exile and The Kingdom”. In the last couple of years Michael has been unable to tour due to an “unspecified illness”.

Few who saw Michael Lee on either of the Page and Plant tours will ever forget his smiling face or the power that he generated on numbers like The Wanton Song, Four Sticks or Kashmir. He will be sadly missed.
Gary Foy

See Dave Lewis diary for further comment.

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