HOW TO FIND A GROUP

DAVE LEE - ROCK AND ROLL PIANIST

David Harper aka Dave Lee (1940-2004) was born in Bradford and attended Buttershaw School.  As a 12-year-old in 1952, he joined the local Salvation Army band, learning to play the cornet.  During his time with the band he taught himself to play the piano, and by the age of sixteen had become very proficient, especially with the advent of rock ‘n’ roll which was now all the rage.  The 1950s found him playing rock ‘n’ roll music in many pubs and clubs in and around Bradford.

Dave’s full-time employment during this time was working in the warehouse of Ringtons Tea in Ashton Street, Bradford.  However by 1958 and now married he was looking for more security and he joined William Bussey, wool merchant in Bradford.

In the 1960s Dave’s authentic rock ‘n’ roll style was beginning to be noticed and admired by young teenagers and the general public as not just another piano player.  Dave was now sounding like his idol Jerry Lee Lewis, and also looking like him. In 1968 he turned professional and formed the band Dave Lee Sound with Dave De Courcey, bass, and Andy Greaves on drums.  In 1968 Andy left and his place was taken by Malcolm (Mal) Crossley, before a season at Butlins.

In 1970 a new lineup group came second on Hughie Green’s Opportunity Knocks ,( SEE PHOTO AT THE END OF THIS SECTION) but the highlight of Dave’s career was undoubtedly meeting his idol Jerry Lee Lewis in Manchester in 1971 when he joined him on stage as well as having a drink backstage after the show.  In the 1970s the band was based in Bingley and had its own record label called Throstles Nest, which released three LPs and two EPs. In 1993 he picked up the role of Jerry Lee Lewis in the musical show Lipstick on Your Collar, before moving to Benidorm, where he performed solo at several clubs in the resort.

It was Dave Lee who virtually single-handedly kept the authentic 1950s rock ‘n’ roll revival scene alive not only in Bradford but throughout the country and abroad, for over four decades. Sadly, Dave passed away in Bradford’s Royal Infirmary in 2004.  He was a brilliant showman and musician who will always be remembered and missed by his many friends and fans.

Throughout his years in rock  'n’ roll many local musicians formed part of the Dave Lee Sound among whom  Dave De Courcey bass, Andy Greaves drums, Mick Craven Drums, Malcolm (Mal) Crossley drums, Brian Haw bass, Johnnie Rickman bass, Eric Saunders bass, Kim Jacques bass, Charlie Chuck drums and many others. Some other musicians named in the book When Bradford Rocked, also did session work with the Dave Lee Sound throughout his car.

Dave’s daughter Susan Trudgill, aka 'Swinging Sue', was born in Bradford in the 1950s and grew up with rock ‘n’ roll all around her.  Inspired by her late father’s music she danced from the age of six, but it was not until the late 1990s that she attended rock ‘n’ roll classes, then achieved considerable success in competitions. 

In 2001 she undertook further training so that she could teach rock ‘n’ roll to men and women alike and reaped the rewards of teaching others. Like her father, who gave her the name ‘Swinging Sue’ she has kept the authentic 1950’s rock ‘n’ roll revival to a new generation of dancers wishing to learn and emulate dancing to rock n’ roll music. Sue also attended many of the local rock ‘n’ roll reunions as the Disc Jockey, another string to her bow.