Jon Lee (S Club 7)
Encyclopedia
Jonathan "Jon" Lee is an English singer and actor. Lee is best known as a former member of pop group S Club 7 (later S Club) who split in April 2003. He was the youngest member. S Club 7 also starred in a number of their own TV sitcoms, playing themselves.
At the London Palladium
Theatre alongside Jonathan Pryce
's and George Layton's Fagin.
Prior to joining S Club 7, Lee had a part in the BBC
soap opera EastEnders
playing Josh Saunders from 1997 to 1998. He also played Julian in the musical version of Enid Blyton’s
The Famous Five
, later published on VHS and DVD under the title The Famous Five – Smuggler’s Gold – The Musical (1997).
In 2003 and 2004, Lee played the role of Marius in Les Misérables
at the Palace Theatre
in London, and continued to play the role following the show's move to the smaller Queen's Theatre
. In 2005, Lee toured the UK in a brand new musical, Love Shack, featuring disco classics and hit dance
songs from the charts. He starred alongside Steps' Faye Tozer
and Hear’Say
's Noel Sullivan
. In August 2006 Lee Starred in The Heathers brother production of Teen Scream at the Assembly Rooms at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe festival. He returned to the London stage in 2010 in the musical Tomorrow Morning
.
Recently, Lee worked on a number of other musical projects before returning to the stage and starred in BBC's "The Sound of Musicals
".
Also in 2008 Lee recorded a song for the CD "Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange
", an album of 20 new recordings by 26 West End
stars, released in November 2008 on Dress Circle Records.
Over Christmas and New Year 2008–09 Lee appeared at The White Rock Theatre, Hastings
, performing the leading role in the pantomime
Peter Pan
Both Lee and the show were well received. Later in 2009 Lee appeared as Billy Fury
in Nick Moran
’s new film "Telstar
".
Over the following Christmas and New Year, Lee appeared at the New Victoria Theatre
, Woking as Prince Charming
in Cinderella
.
Lee took on the role of alternate Frankie Valli
in Jersey Boys
at the Prince Edward Theatre
, London, from 15 March 2011.
cartoon series "Famous 5: On the Case
" On 22 May 2010 he appeared in BBC One's Casualty
as Craig who is unexpectedly diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease
On 24 March 2011, Lee appeared in the "Morerer" slot of Celebrity Juice
and on 8 April appeared on The Vanessa Show on Channel 5.
in an interview with Gay Times
magazine. He added that he had come out
to family and friends at a young age, and that "it's never needed to be a huge change that I've had to tell everyone about."
Music and Theatre
At the age of 13, Lee played the leading role in the West End production of Oliver!Oliver!
Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
At the London Palladium
London Palladium
The London Palladium is a 2,286 seat West End theatre located off Oxford Street in the City of Westminster. From the roster of stars who have played there and many televised performances, it is arguably the most famous theatre in London and the United Kingdom, especially for musical variety...
Theatre alongside Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
's and George Layton's Fagin.
Prior to joining S Club 7, Lee had a part in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
soap opera EastEnders
EastEnders
EastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
playing Josh Saunders from 1997 to 1998. He also played Julian in the musical version of Enid Blyton’s
Enid Blyton
Enid Blyton was an English children's writer also known as Mary Pollock.Noted for numerous series of books based on recurring characters and designed for different age groups,her books have enjoyed huge success in many parts of the world, and have sold over 600 million copies.One of Blyton's most...
The Famous Five
The Famous Five (series)
The Famous Five is the name of a series of children's novels written by British author Enid Blyton. The first book, Five on a Treasure Island, was published in 1942....
, later published on VHS and DVD under the title The Famous Five – Smuggler’s Gold – The Musical (1997).
In 2003 and 2004, Lee played the role of Marius in Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
at the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
in London, and continued to play the role following the show's move to the smaller Queen's Theatre
Queen's Theatre
The Queen's Theatre is a West End theatre located in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster. It opened on 8 October 1907 as a twin to the neighbouring Gielgud Theatre which opened ten months earlier. Both theatres were designed by W.G.R...
. In 2005, Lee toured the UK in a brand new musical, Love Shack, featuring disco classics and hit dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
songs from the charts. He starred alongside Steps' Faye Tozer
Faye Tozer
Faye Louise Tozer is an English singer, songwriter and actress; famous for being a member of pop group Steps.-Music:Steps were a pop group that achieved a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2001...
and Hear’Say
Hear’Say
Hear'Say were a British manufactured pop group created in February 2001 from the winners of Popstars, an ITV reality TV show based on a New Zealand show of the same name. They enjoyed huge success with their debut single "Pure and Simple", helped by the publicity surrounding Popstars, the first of...
's Noel Sullivan
Noel Sullivan
Noel Sullivan , is a Welsh singer and actor. He was a member of the British pop group Hear'Say. Like the other members of the group, he won his part through the talent show Popstars.-Early life and career:...
. In August 2006 Lee Starred in The Heathers brother production of Teen Scream at the Assembly Rooms at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe festival. He returned to the London stage in 2010 in the musical Tomorrow Morning
Tomorrow Morning
Tomorrow Morning is a musical by British composer and lyricist Laurence Mark Wythe. The story concerns the relationships of two couples separated by a span of time; one couple is getting married, while the other is getting divorced....
.
Recently, Lee worked on a number of other musical projects before returning to the stage and starred in BBC's "The Sound of Musicals
The Sound of Musicals
The Sound of Musicals was a 2006 four part BBC series starring several different musical theatre actors and some other professional singers who performed acts from different musicals. Each week the standard cast was joined by a celebrity guest host who also performed their favourite numbers...
".
Also in 2008 Lee recorded a song for the CD "Act One – Songs From The Musicals Of Alexander S. Bermange
Alexander S. Bermange
Alexander S. Bermange is an English musical theatre composer and lyricist. He has often served as musical director and pianist for his own productions. He is also a regular broadcaster on UK radio.-Career:...
", an album of 20 new recordings by 26 West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
stars, released in November 2008 on Dress Circle Records.
Over Christmas and New Year 2008–09 Lee appeared at The White Rock Theatre, Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
, performing the leading role in the pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
Peter Pan
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie . A mischievous boy who can fly and magically refuses to grow up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood adventuring on the small island of Neverland as the leader of his gang the Lost Boys, interacting with...
Both Lee and the show were well received. Later in 2009 Lee appeared as Billy Fury
Billy Fury
Billy Fury, born Ronald William Wycherley , was an internationally successful English singer from the late-1950s to the mid-1960s, and remained an active songwriter until the 1980s. Rheumatic fever, which he first contracted as a child, damaged his heart and ultimately contributed to his death...
in Nick Moran
Nick Moran
Nicholas James "Nick" Moran is an English actor, writer, producer and director, best known for his role as Eddy the card shark in Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels...
’s new film "Telstar
Telstar (film)
Telstar is a film adaptation of James Hicks' play of the same name. It stars Con O'Neill as Joe Meek and Kevin Spacey as Meek's business advisor, Major Banks...
".
Over the following Christmas and New Year, Lee appeared at the New Victoria Theatre
New Victoria Theatre
The New Victoria Theatre in Woking, England opened in June 1992. The main theatre seats approximately 1,300 people, making it one of the largest receiving house theatres outside London. In addition to the main theatre the complex also contains the smaller Rhoda McGaw theatre and a six-screen cinema...
, Woking as Prince Charming
Prince Charming
Prince Charming is a stock character who appears in a number of fairy tales. He is the prince who comes to rescue of the damsel in distress, and stereotypically, must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell...
in Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
.
Lee took on the role of alternate Frankie Valli
Frankie Valli
Frankie Valli is an American musician, most famous as frontman of The Four Seasons. He is well-known for his unusually powerful falsetto singing voice...
in Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys
Jersey Boys is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is a documentary-style musical, based on one of the most successful 1960s rock 'n roll groups, the Four Seasons...
at the Prince Edward Theatre
Prince Edward Theatre
The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster.The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc-Henri Levy and Gaston Laverdet...
, London, from 15 March 2011.
Television
In 2008 Lee voiced the part of good-looking, bike-riding Max, in the British Disney ChannelDisney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
cartoon series "Famous 5: On the Case
Famous 5: On the Case
Famous 5: On The Case is an animated television series which is currently broadcast in the United Kingdom, on the Disney Channel. It is a British and French television co-production, loosely based on The Famous Five series of books created by Enid Blyton...
" On 22 May 2010 he appeared in BBC One's Casualty
Casualty (TV series)
Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
as Craig who is unexpectedly diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
On 24 March 2011, Lee appeared in the "Morerer" slot of Celebrity Juice
Celebrity Juice
Celebrity Juice is a British television comedy panel game show on ITV2 that has been airing since 24 September, 2008. The show is presented by Keith Lemon, with regular captains Holly Willoughby and Fearne Cotton, alongside regular panellist Rufus Hound...
and on 8 April appeared on The Vanessa Show on Channel 5.
Personal life
In August 2010, Lee said he is gayHomosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
in an interview with Gay Times
Gay Times
Gay Times is one of the United Kingdom's leading gay magazine for gay and bisexual men.-Publication and content:...
magazine. He added that he had come out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
to family and friends at a young age, and that "it's never needed to be a huge change that I've had to tell everyone about."
Filmography
- The Famous Five – Smuggler’s Gold – The Musical (1997) – Julian
- The Mill on the FlossThe Mill on the FlossThe Mill on the Floss is a novel by George Eliot , first published in three volumes in 1860 by William Blackwood. The first American edition was by Thomas Y...
(1997) – Young Tom - EastEndersEastEndersEastEnders is a British television soap opera, first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC One on 19 February 1985 and continuing to today. EastEnders storylines examine the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional London Borough of Walford in the East End...
(1997–1998) – Josh Saunders - Miami 7Miami 7Miami 7 is a television series starring British pop group S Club 7. Thirteen episodes were produced and aired on CBBC from 8 April 1999 to 1 July 1999 During each episode, the members would perform one of the songs from their album S Club. All seven members of the band starred as themselves...
(1999) – Himself - Back to the 50's (1999) – Himself
- Boyfriends & Birthdays (1999) – Himself
- The Greatest Store in the WorldThe Greatest Store in the WorldThe Greatest Store in the World is a book by Alex Shearer and later made into a telemovie which was broadcast on 24 December 1999. The story is told in flashback by Livvie , a bright young girl who is in police custody on Christmas Day...
(1999) – Himself - L.A. 7L.A. 7L.A. 7 was the second series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club 7. The programme was shown every week on CBBC from April 6, 2000 to July 6, 2000 and starred all seven members of the band as themselves...
(2000) – Himself - Christmas Special (2000) – Himself
- Artistic Differences (2000) – Himself
- Hollywood 7Hollywood 7Hollywood 7 was the third series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club 7 and the second television series shot in California. The programme was shown every week on CBBC from September 25, 2001 and December 20, 2001 and starred all seven members of the band as themselves...
(2001) – Himself - Viva S ClubViva S ClubViva S Club was the fourth and final series in the BBC television series starring British pop group S Club. This was the only series that was not filmed in America, filming, instead, in Barcelona, Spain. The programme was shown every week on CBBC from 20 September 2002 to 27 December 2002 and...
(2002) – Himself - Seeing Double (2003) – Himself
- Famous 5: On the CaseFamous 5: On the CaseFamous 5: On The Case is an animated television series which is currently broadcast in the United Kingdom, on the Disney Channel. It is a British and French television co-production, loosely based on The Famous Five series of books created by Enid Blyton...
(2008) – Max Kirrin - TelstarTelstar (film)Telstar is a film adaptation of James Hicks' play of the same name. It stars Con O'Neill as Joe Meek and Kevin Spacey as Meek's business advisor, Major Banks...
(2009) – Billy Fury - CasualtyCasualty (TV series)Casualty, stylised as Casual+y, is a British weekly television show broadcast on BBC One, and the longest-running emergency medical drama television series in the world. Created by Jeremy Brock and Paul Unwin, it was first broadcast on 6 September 1986, and transmitted in the UK on BBC One. The...
(2010) – Craig Robbins