Lee was born in Didsbury, south Manchester. He was a writer, broadcaster, lecturer and performer who started playing in the North West prog and glam rock clubs of the early 1970s with his band Greasy Bear and became a linchpin of the punk rock explosion with his next band Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias. In 1977 Lee wrote the "snuff-rock" musical "Sleak", which ran for several months in London's Royal Court Theatre and the Roundhouse. Alberto y Lost Trios Paranoias split up in 1982 after releasing four albums. Lee supporting alternative rock band They Might Be Giants in 1987. Lee then wrote and performed a tribute show of routines by Lord Buckley, first in Manchester and later in other places including Amsterdam, New York, Dubai and London. He also worked as a music journalist.