Thomas Lee (born Thomas Lee Bass; October 3, 1962) is an American musician who co-founded and plays drums for the heavy metal band Mötley Crüe.
He also founded rap metal band Methods of Mayhem and has pursued solo musical projects.
Lee was born Thomas Lee Bass on October 3, 1962, in Athens, Greece, to father David Lee Thomas Bass, an American U.S. Army sergeant, and mother Vassiliki "Voula" Papadimitriou (Greek: Βασιλική Παπαδημητρίου), a contestant on the 1957 Miss Greece beauty contest.
He has a younger sister, Athena, who is also a drummer.
When Lee was approximately two years old, his father moved the family back to the United States, settling in California.
Lee received his first drum sticks when he was four years old, and his first proper drum kit when he was a teenager.
He dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music, starting with the L.A. club band Suite 19.
As a teenager, he listened to Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, Cheap Trick, Kiss, AC/DC and Sweet.
His main drumming influences are John Bonham, Tommy Aldridge, Alex Van Halen and Terry Bozzio.
1970
In the late 1970s Lee's band, Suite 19, was a regular on the Sunset Strip club circuit in Los Angeles along with other up-and-coming acts such as Van Halen and Quiet Riot.
He became acquainted with bassist Nikki Sixx, whose bands Sister and later London played the same circuit.
Sixx was forming a theatrical band that borrowed heavily from Sister's fusion of occult imagery with a theatrical heavy metal performance, and became a fan of Lee's drumming.
It was during this time period that Lee dropped his surname and earned the nickname "T-bone" due to his 6′ 2½″ height and his lean physique.
1981
When London finally broke up in 1981, Lee and Sixx decided to form a new group together.
Shortly afterward, guitarist Mick Mars joined the band.
Seeking a charismatic frontman, Lee mentioned to the others a singer, Vince Neil, whom he had known casually in high school; Neil soon joined the group, and Mötley Crüe was formed.
Mötley Crüe quickly built a strong fanbase, and released its debut album Too Fast for Love in 1981 on its own independent label (Leathür Records).
1982
Elektra Records decided to sign the band shortly thereafter, reissuing the debut in 1982.
1983
The band then began a string of hit releases throughout the decade—1983's Shout at the Devil, 1985's Theatre of Pain, 1987's Girls, Girls, Girls, and 1989's Dr. Feelgood—establishing the quartet as one of the biggest hard rock/metal bands of the 1980s.
Lee used several memorable gimmicks during his drum solos at concerts, such as having his entire kit revolving and spinning, or having the entire kit float above the crowd while he continued to play.
He was noted for mooning the crowd at nearly every show.
The band was known for its decadent behavior both on and offstage, often consuming excessive amounts of drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, pills and alcohol.
The duo of Lee and Sixx are called the "Terror Twins".
1996
He also contributed a song, "Planet Boom" (originally on Mötley Crüe's Quaternary EP) to the soundtrack of then-wife Pamela Anderson's 1996 movie, Barb Wire, and produced an album for the pre-Goldfinger project from John Feldmann and Simon Williams, the Electric Love Hogs.
Lee parted ways with Methods of Mayhem partner TiLo and began recording with members of Incubus.
He then released his first solo album.
1999
Lee came back once with Mötley Crüe to go on the Crüe's Greatest Hits tour in 1999.
With the popularity of rap metal, he formed a band called Methods of Mayhem.
The band released a self-titled album the same year and toured in support of it.
2001
Although Lee distanced himself from Mötley Crüe after splitting, he agreed to take part in the band's 2001 autobiography, The Dirt.
In addition to Mötley Crüe and Methods of Mayhem, Lee has made guest appearances on albums by other artists, such as Stuart Hamm, Nine Inch Nails and Rob Zombie.
2002
The album, 2002's Never a Dull Moment, has tones of rap metal and electronica.
The song "Blue" features guest vocalist Rodleen Getsic (the credits read: "Rolleen").
In August 2002, Tommy Lee and his solo band joined Ozzfest, mainstage.
2004
In 2004, Lee reunited with the original Mötley Crüe line-up to release the double-disc anthology album entitled Red, White & Crüe, which went quadruple-platinum and launched a monumental reunion tour to support it, The Red, White & Crüe Tour 2005: Better Live Than Dead, the band's first tour in six years.
Mötley Crüe finished the year at #8 on the Top Concert Money Earners list.
It played 81 shows and grossed US$33 million according to Billboard Boxscore.
2006
In 2006, he formed a new band called Rock Star Supernova with Jason Newsted (ex-Flotsam & Jetsam, Voivod, Metallica) and Gilby Clarke (ex-Guns N' Roses).
The 2006 season of Rock Star selected Lukas Rossi as the lead singer for Supernova.
Dilana, Magni Ásgeirsson, and Toby Rand with his own band Juke Kartel were the three runners up and accepted an offer to go on tour with Supernova.
