Lee Gray

Since forming at the end of 2011, Lee Gray & The Beat have been regulars on the New Zealand music circuit; their high energy, well-crafted live performances giving them an ever increasing fan base together with a fast growing reputation. The pair, Lee Gray (UK) and legendary drummer Pete Warren (NZ), have just finished recording their first project with ex-Pretenders bass player Malcolm Foster at his ‘Blue Octopus’ studio in Whangaparaoa. Come On Down, a 5-track EP which melds Lee’s ‘singer/songwriter’ vocals and acoustic guitar with a mixture of Pete’s dance grooves is a record setting itself apart from typical pop/dance music.

“We wanted to make dance music that we could play on acoustic guitar and drums.”
The Duo recently finished 2nd out of hundreds of bands in New Zealand’s acknowledged launching pad ‘Battle of the Bands’ National Championship, receiving great feedback from the judges for their live performances and song writing. They represented the competition on TV One’s Good Morning show at the end of May, playing the track Million Lights to rave reviews.

Lee Gray – Vocals, guitar, loops
Lee is originally from the UK where he wrote and released two albums before touring much of Europe as part of the Duo “Woodface”. He opened the main stage at the 2009 ‘Fete de le Musique’ music festival in Nice and has received several awards including ‘Best male vocalist’ in VF (Swedish Music Magazine) and ‘Best Vocalist’ in this year’s Battle of the Bands National Championship. Since moving to New Zealand two years ago, his career has really exploded and has seen him play some of the top events at the most prestigious venues Auckland has to offer.

Pete ‘The Beat’ Warren – Drums, samples
Pete is nothing short of an institution having shot to fame in New Zealand in the 80s after co-founding iconic Kiwi band ‘DD-Smash’ whose first album titled 'Cool Bananas' debuted at #1 - an historic first - remaining in the charts for 24 weeks, going triple gold in the process. Pete is one of the only drummers in New Zealand history to receive the ‘best drummer’ award 4yrs running and was among the first rock drummers to have a world-wide drum endorsement with Remo drums and Sabian cymbals. He has since toured much of the globe playing alongside some of music’s all time greats, racking up yet more Top 10 hits around the world. Pete is labelled the ‘human drum machine’ for his ability to do just that.

Online social media sites:
Website - www.leegrayandthebeat.com
Facebook – www.facebook.com/leegraymusic
Twitter – www.twitter.com/leegraymusic
Youtube – www.youtube.com/leegraymusic
SoundCloud – www.soundcloud.com/leegraymusic