Lee Thompson (saxophonist)

Lee Jay Thompson (born 5 October 1957, London), nicknamed Kix or El Thommo, is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist and songwriter of the second wave ska band, Madness.

Thompson started Madness with Mike Barson and Chris Foreman in 1976, and wrote the group's debut single, "The Prince". Among the other songs he is credited with writing, alone or with others, are the singles "Embarrassment", "House of Fun" and "Uncle Sam". His experiences of being a petty criminal (and consequently serving time in borstal) in his youth informed his lyrics for "Land of Hope and Glory" and "One's Second Thoughtlessness", the latter an unusual diversion into synth pop for the group, and both of which he sang lead vocal on. He also sings lead vocal on his own (non-autobiographical) composition "Razor Blade Alley", one of the more regular inclusions in Madness' live performances.

According to Madness' drummer, Daniel Woodgate, :"Lee is not bound by the English language, but he is a great songwriter. He writes from the heart and expresses himself in a way that other songwriters can't. He's a very poetic writer who ignores the rules."

After Madness disbanded in 1986, he formed a new band The Madness with Foreman, Suggs and Chas Smash, but it was not successful and broke up after one album, also titled The Madness.

Thompson then joined forces with Foreman, and the pair began to write songs. They soon recorded their material, with Thompson on vocals and Foreman playing anything and everything. This album included the song "Magic Carpet"; co-written with Suggs in the days of Madness and originally meant to be included on the then, last, Madness album, "Lost in the Museum". When it came to promoting their new record they found they needed to form a group and also decide on a name. Due to an error at the printers, the band name and album title were accidentally switched, and they started off life as The Nutty Boys. The album was re-released in 2002, and the mistake was rectified, with the group now known as Crunch!

Thompson reunited with all seven original Madness members in 1992, and still plays with them today.

Thompson can also be seen fronting and playing sax with a covers band called The Camden Cowboys.

Founded The Dance Brigade with Keith Finch (JA13, Crown of Thorns) in late summer 2007. They were soon joined by Jennie "Bellestar" Matthias (The Belle-Stars). The other musicians came from projects they had been involved in.

He is married to Debbie (née Fordham) and they have three children - Tuesday, Daley and Kye. He is also grandfather to Sydney and KD.

Thompson lives in Barnet, North London, and he is currently working on a new album with Madness.

External links

* [http://www.nuttyforum.co.uk/ The nutty forum]
* [http://www.myspace.com/thedancebrigade The Dance Brigade Official MySpace]