Camden Town - Thommo

Thommo was born on the 5th of October 1957 in Kentish Town.

Lee went to school in Tufnel Park, though he wasn't really interested in his education. In his last year he probably spent more time absent than in class and although he did take a few exams he only had any real interest in Art and English. He had a gardening job, which felt much more worthwhile, and was even doing that instead of sitting in a classroom. Once he'd left school, Lee and Chris stuck it out together in the gardening job for a while, but Lee couldn't hold a job down full time.

After a while, all Lee had on his mind was learning to play the saxophone. He had a clarinet for a time but didn't like its sound and opted for the sax. It's the only instrument he ever really wanted to play.

Of course, the reason behind Lee going out and getting a sax was thanks to Kilburn and the High Roads, Ian Dury's band. The saxophonist, Davey Payne, was the only reason he'd go to watch them perform. The band were very funny and always made him feel great; they inspired Thommo a lot at the beginning. At the early Madness gigs they'd start the set with balloons flying around and party poppers going off - the sort of things that Davey Payne would do.