Michael Lee (musician)

Michael Lee (19 November 1969 – 24 November 2008) was an English drummer who toured and recorded with former Led Zeppelin musicians Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.

Lee was born Michael Gary Pearson, and, similarly to Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, used large drum sizes, something he attributed to his height. His bass drum was 26" in diameter, and his snare drum was a brass 14" x 14" shell.

He started his professional career as drummer with Little Angels, a band from Scarborough who became one of the primary British rock acts of the early 1990s, however, Lee was sacked from Little Angels during their Young Gods tour, after it was discovered he had auditioned for The Cult behind their backs. He went on to play the full Ceremony world tour with The Cult (and was replaced in Little Angels by Mark Richardson.)

After playing with The Cult, he would go on to work with Echo & The Bunnymen and the reformed version of Thin Lizzy. Lee also worked with many other bands including Holosade, Alaska, and Sweet Janes.

Ultimately, it would be his work with Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant that garnered him the highest profile. As a result of his work on Plant's solo material, he was invited to continue this collaboration when Plant re-joined forces with Jimmy Page for their Page & Plant project. Lee became the drummer for their touring and recording band, also earning writing credits.

Lee also toured with Jeff Martin and played drums on Martin's solo album, Exile and the Kingdom. He also performed with The Cult founders Billy Duffy and Ian Astbury on their Ceremony tour. He also co-operated on the 2006 Ian Gillan album, Gillan's Inn.

Lee died on 24 November 2008 from an epileptic seizure. He was found dead in his flat and his funeral took place in his hometown of Darlington the following week. Former bandmates Toby Jepson and Jimmy Page were amongst the mourners in attendance.