Born on June 6th: Dee C. Lee, soulful elegance with English flair

Born Diane Catherine Sealy in 1961 in Balham, South London. Before launching a solo career, she sang with Wham! and The Style Council.

She began her career with Central Line, a small funk band that didn’t leave a lasting impression despite two respectable albums. They chose their name because they all regularly took that tube line, which runs through London from east to west!

She was later heard backing George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley as a backing singer for Wham! Notably, she appeared on “Young Guns (Go For It!)” in 1982 and “Club Tropicana” in 1983. Her lovely face didn’t go unnoticed in the group’s videos either!

In 1984, before joining The Style Council, the band founded by Paul Weller and Mick Talbot, she released her first single, “Selina Wow Wow”, which achieved what’s known as critical acclaim. From "Café Bleu" (1984) onwards, her velvety voice brought magic to the group’s sophisticated soul sound. Without her, tracks like “Money Go Round”, “Walls Come Tumbling Down” or “Shout To The Top” wouldn’t quite have the same intoxicating allure. In 1987, she married Weller and, during their ten years together, they had two children. But that’s another story…

Her solo career was marked by the success of the single “See The Day”, which reached the UK Top 3 in 1985. After releasing a handful of albums quietly in the 1990s, she took a long break to focus on family life. In 2024, the album "Just Something" on the Acid Jazz label marks her return. Developed over several years, the project blends newly written songs with older material. She reunites with Mick Talbot for “Walk Away” and her daughter Leah Weller, who wrote “Everyday Summer.” Paul Weller, however, remains notably absent!

(MH with Stéphane Soupart - Photo: © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Dee C. Lee in the TV studio "Cargo de Nuit" in Brussels, Belgium, January 1986