Leapy Lee

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Leapy Lee

| image =

| caption =

| image_size =

| background = solo_singer

| birth_name = Graham Pulleyblank

| alias = Lee Graham

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1939|7|2}}

| birth_place = Eastbourne, EnglandUK Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths, Jul–Sep 1939 ; Page 60: PUL-PUR

| death_date =

| death_place =

| instrument = Vocals

| genre = Pop, country

| occupation = Singer

| years_active = 1968–2014

| label = MCA (United Kingdom)
Decca (US)

| associated_acts =

| website =

}}

Lee Graham (born Graham Pulleyblank, 2 July 1939), better known by his stage name Leapy Lee, is an English singer, best known for his 1968 single "Little Arrows," which reached No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart,{{cite book

| first= David

| last= Roberts

| year= 2006

| title= British Hit Singles & Albums

| edition= 19th

| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited

| location= London

| isbn= 1-904994-10-5

| page= 316}} and was a Top 20 country and pop hit in the United States and Canada.

Career

The song "Little Arrows", written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, was also the title track of his first album, released in 1968 on Decca Records. It reached No. 71 in the Billboard 200 album chart.{{cite web |first=Jason |last=Ankeny |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/leapy-lee-mn0000116716/awards |title=Leapy Lee | Awards |website=AllMusic |date=2 July 1942 |access-date=12 July 2014}}

"Little Arrows", released in the UK by MCA Records, became a hit, reaching No. 2 in the charts. In the US, the record reached No. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 11 on the country chart. The record made No. 1 on the Canadian country music chart. It sold over three million copies worldwide, and was awarded a gold disc.{{cite book

| first= Joseph

| last= Murrells

| year= 1978

| title= The Book of Golden Discs

| edition= 2nd

| publisher= Barrie & Jenkins

| location= London

| pages= [https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/242 242–243]

| isbn= 0-214-20512-6

| url= https://archive.org/details/bookofgoldendisc00murr/page/242

| url-access=limited |via=Internet Archive Book Reader}}

Although he never reached the US pop charts again, Lee had two more country hits there with "Good Morning" in 1970 and "Every Road Leads Back To You" in 1975.

Between 1999 and 2001, Lee and his family featured prominently in the BBC television series Passport to the Sun, fronted firstly by Liza Tarbuck then by Nadia Sawalha. Around 2006, Lee was a regular columnist with the EuroWeekly News, an English language newspaper based on the Costa del Sol in Spain.{{cite news |title=The World According To Me |first=Alexei |last=Sayle |author-link=Alexei Sayle |date=1 September 2006 |newspaper=The Independent |url=http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article1223337.ece |access-date=12 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927200529/http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article1223337.ece |archive-date=27 September 2007}}

Lee released a 40th anniversary EP, Little Arrows II, on 1 March 2010.{{cite web |url=https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/little-arrows-ii/id359019207 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106153954/https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/little-arrows-ii/id359019207 |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 November 2012 |title=iTunes Store |website=iTunes |date= |access-date=12 July 2014}} In 2014 he appeared on the Channel 5 television show, OAPs Behaving Badly.{{Cite news |date=2014-07-10 |title=TV highlights 10/07/2014 |language=en-GB |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/jul/10/tv-highlights-honourable-woman-celebrity-masterchef |access-date=2023-12-07 |issn=0261-3077}}

Personal life

Lee was born Graham Pulleyblank in Eastbourne, East Sussex, on 2 July 1939. He performs as Leapy Lee,{{Cite web |title=Leapy Lee (1939-), Singer |date=1968 |publisher=Shafetsbury Music Co. Limited |quote=Sheet music cover for 'Little Arrows' by Leapy Lee |url=https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp163974/leapy-lee-graham-pulleyblank |access-date=7 December 2023 |via=National Portrait Gallery}} and also uses the names Lee Graham and Leapy Lee Graham.{{Cite web |title=Leapy Lee Graham |url=https://www.instagram.com/leapyleegraham/?hl=en |access-date=2023-12-07 |website=Instagram}}

In July 1970, Lee was arrested after a brawl at the Red Lion pub in Sunningdale, Berkshire pub in which a relief manager was wounded.{{cite encyclopedia |title=The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music |editor-first=Colin |editor-last=Larkin |editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer) |publisher=Guinness Publishing |location=London |date=1992 |edition=First |volume=2 |isbn=0-85112-939-0 |section=Entries A-Z |page=[https://archive.org/details/guinnessencyclop0002unse_z4r2/page/1442/mode/2up?q=Leapy 1443]}} Lee was sentenced to three years for unlawful wounding, and his friend Alan Lake (an actor and the third husband of actress and singer Diana Dors){{Cite book |title=Fade to Black {{!}} A Book of Movie Obituaries |last=Paul |first=Donnelly |date=2000 |publisher=Omnibus Press |location=Enfield |isbn=0-7119-7984-7 |page=188 |url=https://archive.org/details/fadetoblackbooko0000donn/page/188/mode/2up?q=Alan+lake |access-date=2024-03-19 |url-access=limited |via=Internet Archive Book Reader}} received eighteen months for his role in the brawl.{{Cite web |last=Pilditch |first=David |date=18 February 2019 |title=Legend Dors 'hid knife to cover up for her husband' |url=https://www.pressreader.com/uk/daily-express/20190218/281973198924403 |access-date=25 September 2021 |newspaper=Daily Express |via=PressReader}}

As of 2024, Lee lives in Majorca and makes occasional returns to the UK.{{cite web |last1=Woolley |first1=Ian |title=Still Doing Time - The Leapy Lee Story |url=https://www.beat-magazine.co.uk/2024/still-doing-time-the-leapy-lee-story/ |website=Beat Magazine |access-date=12 December 2024 |date=1 December 2024}}

Discography

=Albums=

class="wikitable"
rowspan="2"\| Year ! rowspan="2"\| Album ! colspan="2"\| Chart positions ! rowspan="2"\| Label
style="width:50px;"\| US Country ! style="width:50px;"\| US
1968 \| Little Arrows \| style="text-align:center;"\| 3 \| style="text-align:center;"\| 71 \| rowspan="2"\| Decca
1970 \| Leapy Lee \| style="text-align:center;"\| — \| style="text-align:center;"\| —
1976 \| Every Road Leads Back to You \| style="text-align:center;"\| — \| style="text-align:center;"\| — \| Bell
2010 \| Little Arrows II \| style="text-align:center;"\| — \| style="text-align:center;"\| — \| HalfpennyStudios.com

class="wikitable"

rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Album

! colspan="2"| Chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Label

style="width:50px;"| US Country

! style="width:50px;"| US

1968

| Little Arrows

| style="text-align:center;"| 3

| style="text-align:center;"| 71

| rowspan="2"| Decca

1970

| Leapy Lee

| style="text-align:center;"| —

1976

| Every Road Leads Back to You

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| Bell

2010

| Little Arrows II

| style="text-align:center;"| —

| HalfpennyStudios.com

=Singles=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"
rowspan="2"\| Year ! rowspan="2"\| Single ! colspan="6"\| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2"\| Album
style="font-size:smaller;" ! style="width:40px;"\| US Country ! style="width:40px;"\| US ! style="width:40px;"\| CAN Country ! style="width:40px;"\| CAN ! style="width:40px;"\| UK ! style="width:40px;"\| AUS
1962 \| "It's All Happening" \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|rowspan=3 {{n/a}}
1966 \| "King of the Whole Wide World" \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|—
1967 \| "The man on the flying trapeze"{{cite web\|title=Big L charts\|url=https://www.radiolondon.co.uk/rl/scrap60/fabforty/jan67/jan674/fab290167.html\|publisher=radiolondon.co.uk\|access-date=2022-11-18}} \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|—
1968 \| "Little Arrows" \|align=center\|11 \|align=center\|16 \|align=center\|1 \|align=center\|8 \|align=center\|2 \|align=center\|2 \| Little Arrows
rowspan=3\| 1969 \| "It's All Happening" (re-release) \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|90 \| {{n/a}}
"Here Comes the Rain" \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|62 \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|80 \|rowspan=3\|Leapy Lee
"Little Yellow Aeroplane" \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|63
1970 \| "Good Morning" \|align=center\|55 \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|29 \|align=center\|96
1971 \| "Just Another Night" \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|87 \|rowspan=3 {{n/a}}
1971 \| "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|—
1973 \| "Helena" \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|—
1974 \| "Every Road Leads Back to You" \|align=center\|82 \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|— \|align=center\|55{{Efn\|Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List".\|name=fn2\|group=upper-alpha}} \|align=center\|— \| Every Road Leads Back to You

class="wikitable" style="text-align:left;"

rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2"| Single

! colspan="6"| Peak chart positions

! rowspan="2"| Album

style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:40px;"| US Country

! style="width:40px;"| US

! style="width:40px;"| CAN Country

! style="width:40px;"| CAN

! style="width:40px;"| UK

! style="width:40px;"| AUS

1962

| "It's All Happening"

|align=center|—

|rowspan=3 {{n/a}}

1966

| "King of the Whole Wide World"

|align=center|—

1967

| "The man on the flying trapeze"{{cite web|title=Big L charts|url=https://www.radiolondon.co.uk/rl/scrap60/fabforty/jan67/jan674/fab290167.html|publisher=radiolondon.co.uk|access-date=2022-11-18}}

|align=center|—

1968

| "Little Arrows"

|align=center|11

|align=center|16

|align=center|1

|align=center|8

|align=center|2

| Little Arrows

rowspan=3| 1969

| "It's All Happening" (re-release)

|align=center|—