Jon Lee was the original drummer for Feeder. For years he played a vital role in the bands success and is one of the most respected British drummers in history.
Jon committed suicide at the age of 33 on January 7th 2002.
Thousands turned out for his funeral and many more wrote poems, messages and tributes to him in and on the many magazines, fan sites and tribute pages to him.
Jon was born in Newport, South Wales on the 28th March 1968.
He was a keen sprinter and even represented Wales, up until a knee injury ruled him out of future athletics.
Jon formed his first band at the age of 13.
He had seven GCSE's at school before moving onto College, but he dropped out after a year, bored.
When he was 18, Jon worked as a journalist in South Wales for the 'South Wales Argus', and wrote music reviews after breaking a Union Directive, reviewing an Elton John gig when the other journalists were on strike.
Before Feeder, Jon was in an unsucessful 10-piece band
Other bands he played in include Temper Temper also with Grant and Raindancer.
He followed Grant to London where together they formed Feeder with aspirations of fame and fortune
In summer 2000, Jon married Tatiana Englehart, a model from Brazil. They had two sons, Cameron and Nick (Nick being from Tatiana's previous relationship) and they moved to a villa in Miami, Florida.
Tatiana and Jon's son were offered roles in a Pampers advert Jon said. "Three days old and already he's earning more money than me, He must take after his dad."
Jon once woke up covered in bruises after a 'scuffle' with bouncers at the Kerrang Awards.
Grant has said he wore Jon's socks at the first Reading Festival after his death. Grant said he hopes Jon was looking down on him and saying "You bastard. You've got my socks."
After his death, Grant wrote this about the drummer:
"Jon had such a taste for life, which makes this whole thing such a mystery to us all. He could be the life and soul of any party, yet quiet, sensitive and understanding to anyone that needed a friendly ear. I always felt there was a raging fire in his soul which he channelled into his drumming; showing no fear to anything he put his hand to - except maybe gardening, press interviews and getting up early. (The latter not one of Jon's strong points).
He also had a great sense of humour, which most of you would have experienced and he would often quote lines from our favourite tour bus films such as Twin Town and One Flew Over the Coockoos Nest, which would have everyone in stitches of laughter. He was a complex person, which often went unnoticed unless you spent any real quality time with him. He could mesmerize you with his drumming ability and would make the most difficult of drum fills seem so effortless. He was a loving husband to Tatiana and father to Cameron and Nick, who he treated like his own son. He totally adored them all and would always be showing photgraphs of them to anyone he knew. He was also a caring son, himself to Pat and Norman as well as a great brother to Andrew.
Jon always wanted to be the centre of attention (like myself!) and to have the biggest, brightest, highest and most flamboyant drum riser in musical history.
I (Grant) first met Jon on the local band scene here in Newport and Chapstow, 16 years ago, where we both realised that we shared the same dream, girlfriend and hairstyle! That dream was to become rock stars and conquer the world.
After moving to London we met Taka and that dream started to become a reality. Sheer perseverance and a strong bond between us over the past years have brought us a step closer to our goal. As Jon often said in interviews "talent can never be denied" and of course Jon Lee was never wrong ? ?
He will be dearly missed by his family, myself, Taka , Matt and the Feeder crew, all the fans who have been so supportive over the years and his friends that I know loved him so much. Hope you are at peace now, Jon boy. Forever young. Your friend always".
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