Lee Mulhern
Encyclopedia
Lee Mulhern is a singer from Northern Ireland
, who won awards at the World Championships for Performing Arts competition at age 11. The song that won him a gold medal there, "I May Be Young", later became used as a peace song, in particular with memorials of the attacks of September 11. He was also a member of the international bands Streetwize and Stateside and is now part of the band project Access All Areas.
, Northern Ireland
. He grew up in the County Tyrone
town of Castlederg
and lived there until the age of 13; he later moved to County Donegal
, Republic of Ireland
. He started his career at age 7. He made his first appearance on Irish television winning the top prize in 'Children At Heart'. He went on to sing live on the BBC 'Children in Need' appeal.
Aged 8 Lee released his first cassette album entitled Hey Good Looking a selection of pop, country and ballads. At 10, he won top spot in an 'Esat Digifone' talent competition. At age 11, in 1999, Lee was chosen to represent Ireland at the World Championships for Performing Arts in Los Angeles, California. He travelled with 35 other Irish contestants to compete against 1500 hopefuls from around the world. He won a gold, a silver and two bronze medals. His gold medal was for the song "I May Be Young", written by his mother Veronica, who was in Irish showbands in the 1980s.
In 2001, at age 13, he participated in a Las Vegas
New Year's Eve concert that included Barbra Streisand
, Billy Joel
and Neil Diamond
. He made television appearances on TV3, BBC, ITV, RTE.
In 2002, he performed at the Buncrana Music Festival and also in many TV shows in Ireland and in the UK.
On 6 September 2002 in New York, Lee joined Ronan Tynon of the Irish Tenors
and a host of other American artists at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
for a concert to remember the victims of the September 11th attacks on New York
. Lee also joined RTÉ's Gerry Ryan
at Ground Zero on 9 September when he sang "Fields of Gold" at a special wreath-laying ceremony.
Songs from this early period performed by Mulhern include most notably "I May Be Young", "The River
", "Fields of Gold
" and "Bright Eyes
"
In 2004, he was the lead actor in the short film "Buy Rights" about shoppers rights in the UK. He also completed a one year acting course in performing arts in Northern Ireland's NW Institute of Performing Arts.
In 2005, Mulhern joined the band Streetwize, billed as the world's first "global boyband", as one of its original members, following worldwide auditions. Two of the original members of Streetwize, Donal Skehan and Lee Hutton
went on to form a 4-member boy/girl Irish band named Industry
. Another Streetwize member, Jonathan Fagerlund
is a successful solo singer in Sweden.
Streetwize (with the amended set-up of Lee Mulhern, Lee Hutton, Kyle Carpenter and Antonio Jones sang it's signature song, a cover of Living in a Box
's hit "Room in Your Heart
" during the "Childline" charity event in 2007 in Ireland.
Streetside
After many member changes, Streetwize was reformed and renamed Stateside. The main vocalists were Lee Mulhern and Venezuelan Antonio Jones, a young singer in a popular Latin American children's program Fuera de clase. Lee Mulhern left the band in August 2008 preferring a solo career. He also recorded a cover version of the Cliff Richard
hit "Miss You Nights".
Access All Areas
In 2009, Lee Mulhern became part of a 4-member boy band project called Access All Areas alongside former Stateside member, the Venezuelan Antonio Jones in addition to 2 new recruits, Mali-Michael McCalla, the UK X Factor
Final 24 contestant from series 5
and another UK recruit Tom Pepper. McCalla was later replaced by the Irish/Welsh/Australian Brandon Kemeny.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, who won awards at the World Championships for Performing Arts competition at age 11. The song that won him a gold medal there, "I May Be Young", later became used as a peace song, in particular with memorials of the attacks of September 11. He was also a member of the international bands Streetwize and Stateside and is now part of the band project Access All Areas.
Early years
Lee Mulhern was born in OmaghOmagh
Omagh is the county town of County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is situated where the rivers Drumragh and Camowen meet to form the Strule. The town, which is the largest in the county, had a population of 19,910 at the 2001 Census. Omagh also contains the headquarters of Omagh District Council and...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. He grew up in the County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
town of Castlederg
Castlederg
Castlederg is a village in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Derg and is close to the border with County Donegal. The village has a ruined castle and two ancient tombs known as the Druid's Altar and Todd's Den...
and lived there until the age of 13; he later moved to County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. He started his career at age 7. He made his first appearance on Irish television winning the top prize in 'Children At Heart'. He went on to sing live on the BBC 'Children in Need' appeal.
Aged 8 Lee released his first cassette album entitled Hey Good Looking a selection of pop, country and ballads. At 10, he won top spot in an 'Esat Digifone' talent competition. At age 11, in 1999, Lee was chosen to represent Ireland at the World Championships for Performing Arts in Los Angeles, California. He travelled with 35 other Irish contestants to compete against 1500 hopefuls from around the world. He won a gold, a silver and two bronze medals. His gold medal was for the song "I May Be Young", written by his mother Veronica, who was in Irish showbands in the 1980s.
In 2001, at age 13, he participated in a Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
New Year's Eve concert that included Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
and Neil Diamond
Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....
. He made television appearances on TV3, BBC, ITV, RTE.
In 2002, he performed at the Buncrana Music Festival and also in many TV shows in Ireland and in the UK.
On 6 September 2002 in New York, Lee joined Ronan Tynon of the Irish Tenors
Irish Tenors
The Irish Tenors is the PBS musical singing trio from Ireland started in 1998 by a group of television producers for a of PBS special The Irish Tenors. They have since recorded 5 PBS specials and 7 albums...
and a host of other American artists at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is a large convention center located on Eleventh Avenue, between 34th and 38th streets, on the West side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by architects I. M. Pei and partners. The revolutionary space frame structure was undertaken in 1979 and...
for a concert to remember the victims of the September 11th attacks on New York
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
. Lee also joined RTÉ's Gerry Ryan
Gerry Ryan
Gerard "Gerry" Ryan was an Irish presenter of radio and television employed by Raidió Teilifís Éireann...
at Ground Zero on 9 September when he sang "Fields of Gold" at a special wreath-laying ceremony.
Songs from this early period performed by Mulhern include most notably "I May Be Young", "The River
The River (Garth Brooks song)
"The River" is the title of a country music song co-written and recorded by American singer Garth Brooks. It was the fifth and final single from his third album, 1991's Ropin' the Wind, and in late 1991 it became his ninth Number One hit on the Billboard country charts.-Content:The song is a...
", "Fields of Gold
Fields of Gold
"Fields of Gold" is a 1993 song by Sting from his album Ten Summoner's Tales. "Fields of Gold" and all the other album tracks were recorded at Lake House, Wiltshire, mixed at The Townhouse Studio, London, England and mastered at Masterdisk, New York. The harmonica solo is played by Brendan Power...
" and "Bright Eyes
Bright Eyes (Art Garfunkel song)
"Bright Eyes" is a song written by Mike Batt, and performed by Art Garfunkel. It was used in the soundtrack of the 1978 film Watership Down and as such is considered the theme song of the film and the later television series adaptations. The track also appears on Garfunkel's fourth studio album,...
"
In 2004, he was the lead actor in the short film "Buy Rights" about shoppers rights in the UK. He also completed a one year acting course in performing arts in Northern Ireland's NW Institute of Performing Arts.
Lee Mulhern in bands
StreetwizeIn 2005, Mulhern joined the band Streetwize, billed as the world's first "global boyband", as one of its original members, following worldwide auditions. Two of the original members of Streetwize, Donal Skehan and Lee Hutton
Lee Hutton
Lee Andrew Hutton is an English singer-songwriter musician, a vocalist and plays the guitar.-Early life:...
went on to form a 4-member boy/girl Irish band named Industry
Industry (Irish band)
Industry were a pop mixed boy/girl group formed in Ireland in 2009. The band comprised Donal Skehan, Morgan Deane, Michele McGrath and British Lee Hutton...
. Another Streetwize member, Jonathan Fagerlund
Jonathan Fagerlund
Jonathan Fagerlund, sometimes just Jonathan is a Swedish singer, born January 8, 1991 in Jönköping, Sweden. He has released two albums Flying and Welcome to My World and 4 singles. He is signed to Dreamline Music record label. He has also taken part in Melodifestivalen...
is a successful solo singer in Sweden.
Streetwize (with the amended set-up of Lee Mulhern, Lee Hutton, Kyle Carpenter and Antonio Jones sang it's signature song, a cover of Living in a Box
Living in a Box
Living in a Box were a British band from the 1980s and early 1990s. They are best known for their eponymous debut single, produced by Richard James Burgess.-Formation and split up:...
's hit "Room in Your Heart
Room in Your Heart
"Room in Your Heart" is the third single from British group Living in a Box's 1989 album Gatecrashing. It ties with the band's epomynous 1987 single "Living in a Box" as the band's highest charting song. Both peaked at #5 on the UK singles chart...
" during the "Childline" charity event in 2007 in Ireland.
Streetside
After many member changes, Streetwize was reformed and renamed Stateside. The main vocalists were Lee Mulhern and Venezuelan Antonio Jones, a young singer in a popular Latin American children's program Fuera de clase. Lee Mulhern left the band in August 2008 preferring a solo career. He also recorded a cover version of the Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
hit "Miss You Nights".
Access All Areas
In 2009, Lee Mulhern became part of a 4-member boy band project called Access All Areas alongside former Stateside member, the Venezuelan Antonio Jones in addition to 2 new recruits, Mali-Michael McCalla, the UK X Factor
The X Factor (UK)
The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...
Final 24 contestant from series 5
The X Factor (UK series 5)
The fifth UK series of The X Factor was broadcast on ITV in 2008. The series started on 16 August and was won by Alexandra Burke on 13 December, with new judge Cheryl Cole emerging as the winning mentor. Auditions in front of producers were held in April/May, with callbacks in front of the judges...
and another UK recruit Tom Pepper. McCalla was later replaced by the Irish/Welsh/Australian Brandon Kemeny.