Lee Powell 1967-2026

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the recent passing of my long-term friend, music performance colleague, writing, and recording partner — Lee ‘The Bass’ Powell.

We met around 1983 when we were young rockers and formed a band called Rufus T. Fly, performing songs by Gary Moore, Deep Purple, Iron Maiden, and Ozzy Osbourne. The name came from a character in a Marx Brothers film, who I was a huge fan of along with fellow band guitarist, John Slattery. Lee hated it at first, saying, "I’m not going to play in a hard rock band called Rufus T. Firefly." We decided to leave it with him to see if he would come around. Two weeks later, he phoned and said, "Can’t believe it... that damn name is growing on me!"

The line-up was completed by now session drummer and tutor Ian Williams, and together with three-part harmonies, we belted out classic tracks around the hard rock South Wales circuit. Music was in Lee’s genes; his father, Mike, played bass as part of the resident band at the Double Diamond Club in Caerphilly, backing some of the biggest names in the business. It was evident from those early days that Lee had incredible timing and tone, and he took on lead vocal duties without a second thought. Even before turning 20, he was always positive, professional, and reliable, effortlessly tackling highly challenging bass and vocal parts.

Guitarist and singer Sean O’Brien eventually replaced John, and we expanded our set to cover popular acts like ELO, Queen, Dire Straits, and The Eagles on the pub scene. With everyone singing, the harmonies were great fun. When we decided to tread the boards of the club circuit to earn more money, we put together a repertoire like no other — it’s not often you hear Ozzy, ELO, and Kenny Rogers in the same breath.

When our time on the club circuit ended, we went our separate ways to pursue different projects, keeping in touch by phone and text. Lee was a songwriter through and through. After recording an album with his friend Lyndon Price at Red Rock Studios, he invested in his own home recording setup. He went on to write, record, and produce several collaboration albums with another close mate, Mike Arundel, alongside several solo albums. He released his final album, In Search of Utopia, just weeks before his passing.

A couple of years ago, Lee reached out and asked if I’d be interested in reworking and recording some of the songs I had written for us back in the day. I said yes for old time’s sake, though I wasn't initially enthused — I tend to get bored easily and had left that material far in the past. But it’s funny how inspiration strikes. While watching a black-and-white Western, I jammed a riff, recorded it on my phone, and sent it to Lee as a joke, saying it could be track one of a new album. Characteristically, he replied: "I ****** love that. Develop it and we’ll make the album."

To make a long story short, we wrote, produced, mixed, and mastered The Gambler, which was released in February 2026.

By then, I had invested in my own studio setup, and we ping-ponged our parts back and forth through the power of modern recording tech. I learned how to operate Pro Tools through Lee, along with the many recording techniques required to bring an album to life. Even though he was living on borrowed time, he was remarkably patient, especially when I struggled to keep up with writing alongside my guitar teaching schedule. He even coached me through mastering the album from his hospital bed in February after doctors had initially given him just three weeks to live. Incredibly, he fought on and recovered sufficiently to see his daughter, Amy, get married in June.

His bravery, dignity, and humor throughout his illness will stay with me forever. The only time he ever brought up his health was when he wasn't well enough to discuss the album, or when he subtly reminded me of the closing window to hurry me along. He kept writing until he physically couldn't anymore, and his music will live on.

I will be doing a series of radio interviews over the coming months to talk about The Gambler, and I have a funny feeling Lee will be listening in. He probably never realized it, but he had a monumental influence on my musical career — from encouraging me to sing and perform to guiding me into writing and recording. I wouldn't be writing across the range of genres I do today if it wasn't for him.

Thank you, Lee, for the confidence, the backing, the memories, and most of all, the decades of friendship.

Lee Powell — Family man, friend, writer, performer, producer.