Information about Dick Lee

For the Australian rules footballer, see Dick Lee (footballer). For the American Basketball Association player, see Dick Lee (basketball).

Richard "Dick" Lee Peng Boon (Simplified Chinese: 李炳文; Pinyin: Lǐ Bǐngwén|; born 24 August 1956) is a Singaporean pop singer, composer and playwright. He is best known as a Singapore Idol judge, but often too as spokesperson for the New Asian generation.

He was born to a Peranakan father, Lee Kip Lee, (who writes for The Straits Times), and a Chinese mother, Elizabeth Tan. He was the eldest child in the family of five, with three brothers and a deceased sister. He received his early education at St. Michael's School and his secondary education at St. Joseph's Institution. In 1992, he married jazz singer Jacintha Abisheganaden and divorced a few years later. He is a Roman Catholic.

Career

Early years

Dick Lee started his career 1971 when, at the age of fifteen, Dick participated in various talent contests with the group, Harmony, and Dick and the Gang (teaming with his siblings). His first album, Life Story, featuring his compositions, was released in 1974.

Throughout the 70s and 80s, Dick championed the acceptance of Asian elements in pop music. His pioneering album, Life In The Lion City (1984), won acclaim for just that. But the album that shot him to regional prominence was his 1989 release, The Mad Chinaman. Dick has also won several awards in Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

The 90s

In 1990 Dick moved to Japan where he continued to develop the new Asian identity through his solo work, as well as collaborations with top Asian artistes like Sandy Lam from Hong Kong and Japanese group Zoo. He has to date, written countless songs for the top singing talents in Asia.

Dick's album, Transit Lounge, released under the Sony Label, won both critical and popular praise during the same time when he was also the regional Vice-President of Artiste and Repertoire for Sony Music Asia, based in Hong Kong from 1998 to 2000. Dick's most recent album, Everything, released in November 2000, features a rare collection of his works written since 1970s. In December 2001, Dick and his friend Leonard T contributed a song in a Charity CD - Love Is The Answer For Kids With Aids, KK Outreach for Kids Fund. The song tile "It All Begins With Love" is heard frequently in Singapore's radio stations.

Plays and Musicals

Dick is also passionate about musicals. He has written many staged musicals including Beauty World (1988), Fried Rice Paradise (1991), Kampong Amber (1994), Hotpants (1997), and Jacky Cheung's acclaimed Snow.Wolf.Lake (1997). Nagraland (1992) toured Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong in a sold-out season. Dick continues his love for theatre by being Associate Artiste Director of The Singapore Repertory Theatre, an appointment he has held since 1998.

For 2000, Dick composed the songs to the musical of Phua Chu Kang, a highly popular sitcom, for the Singapore President’s Star Charity Drive. Produced and broadcast by Television Corporation of Singapore (TCS), now known as Mediacorp Studios (MCS), the musical raised over a record-setting $2 million dollars.

In 2002 he wrote and co-directed his first dance musical ­ re:MIX for Singapore Repertory Theatre Young Company (SRT Young Company), as well as a specially commissioned work, , one of the highlights of Singapore’s prestigious new cultural centre, The Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay opening festival in October that year and a popular re-run in September 2003, and again in 2006. It will go on a world tour in 2008, first stop London's West End.

The New Millennium

A dream come true for Dick was to be appointed the Creative Director for Singapore’s 2002 National Day Parade. Coincidentally, his song We Will Get There was selected to be 2002 theme song for the parade. Top Singapore-born Chinese pop superstar Stefanie Sun performed the song and also included it in her own top-selling album. This is his second National Day theme song, having written Home, performed by Kit Chan, in 1998.

In 2003, he penned the English lyrics of Treasure The World, the image song of J-ASEAN campaign by The Japan Foundation. Artistes from Japan and 10 ASEAN countries recorded this song for the campaign in English and their respective native languages. In July 2003, the highest honour to Dick’s works came in the form of the prestigious Fukuoka Arts and Culture Prize, an award by the Fukuoka Asian Culture Prizes committee to recognise an individual’s substantial contributions to the arts scene in Asia.

Lee wrote an autobiography about himself, The Adventures of the Mad Chinaman in 2004.

On 17 December and 18 December 2004, Lee had a 30th anniversary concert which was titled Life Stories at the Kallang Theatre. There were also other guest stars such as Singapore Idol winner, Taufik Batisah and runner up, Sylvester Sim. His friends, Kumar, ex-wife Jacintha, Koh Chieng Mun, Hossan Leong, and many more.

Fashion Interest

Apart from music, Dick’s other passion is for fashion, having studied fashion design at Harrow School of Art in London. His interest began at the early age of 16 when he designed for his mother’s boutique Midteen.

His fashion career has taken him to Carrie Models, where he scouted and trained the top Singapore models, and designing his own labels for his boutique Ping Pong, as well as in Hemispheres, the first young designer store he set up with a partner.

Other forays in the fashion world include Display Director for Tangs departmental store in 1984, fashion editor of Female magazine in 1986 and one of the founders of the Society of Designing Arts, which spearheaded the introduction of Singapore designers to the local fashion market.

From 1982 to 1990, Dick also ran his own event company Runway Productions, which specialized in fashion and tourism events. His company also had a hand in the creation of the Boom Boom Room, a successful cabaret featuring the now renowned talents of drag comedian Kumar.

In January 2004, his composition Sandarken won the Best Malay Pop from the Compass Awards.

On the platform of his musical talent, Dick has always been actively involved in fund-raising projects for several beneficiaries including Singapore Repertory Theatre, KK Children’s Hospital, Make-A-Wish Foundation and Church of St Ignatius.

Achievements

Year	Achievement
1995	The Perfect 10 Music Achievement Award for outstanding contribution in the Singapore Music scene, by Singapore's leading radio station, Perfect 10.
1996	Best Original Theme Song in the Golden Horse Awards for his song, The Search of My Life, which was selected as the theme song for the hit movie, He is a Woman, She is a Man, starring Leslie Cheung and Anita Yuen.
1998	Received the awards for Top Local English Pop Song and Top Local Composer of the Year in the Composers and Authors Society of Singapore Ltd (Compass) Awards.
1999	Best Original Movie Theme Song in the Hong Kong Academy Awards for the theme song of the movie The City of Glass, starring Leon Lai and Shu Qi. Awarded three top accolades in the Compass Awards for: COMPASS Artiste Excellence Award Top Local Chinese Pop Song Top Local Composer of the Year 1999
2000	Released English album "Everything." under Sony Music Top Local Composer of the Year in the COMPASS Awards 2000
2001	Top Local Composer of the Year in the COMPASS Awards 2001
2003	Fukuoka Asian Culture Awards: Arts Award. COMPASS Award for top Malay song
2005	Cultural Medallion Award Winner
2006	Top Local Composer of the Year in the COMPASS Awards 2006

Discography

Year	Album
1974	Life Story
1979	Single - Internationaland
1984	Life In The Lion City Surirum Bumboat!
1985	Fried Rice Paradise
1986	The Songs From Long Ago
1988	Connections
1989	The Mad Chinaman When I Play
1990	Asiamajor
1991	Orientalism
1993	The Year of The Monkey Peace Life Love Life Story Hong Kong Rhapsody
1994	Compass
1995	Secret Island
1996	Singapop
1999	Transit Lounge
2000	Everything
2003	Rice
2004	Life (Compilation English album)
2004	Stories (Compilation Chinese album)

External links

• Dick Lee at the Internet Movie Database
• Dick Lee's Official Site