The 'Catch My Disease' songwriter uses Cub Sport's Tim Nelson and Sam "Bolan" Netterfield's high school formal photo as the cover image.
At 45 years old, eccentric Australian pop artist Ben Lee is still singing about love. Today he shares his latest offering ‘Lovers’, a mature exploration of his past and present romantic relationships.
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Ben Lee Upcoming Tour Dates
- Thu 2 May – The Wedge Theatre, Sale VIC
- Fri 3 May – The Round Theatre, Nunawading, VIC
- Sat 4 May – Haba, Rye, VIC
- Sun 5 May – ‘Not On Your Rider’, Sydney, NSW
- Sun 12 May – Dangar Island Bowling Club, Dangar Island, NSW
- Fri 17 May – Tanks Art Centre, Cairns, QLD
- Sat 18 May – Mansfield Hotel, Townsville, QLD
- Thu 23 May – Weirder Together Variety Show, Melb, VIC
- Fri 24 May – Royal Theatre, Castlemaine, VIC
- Sun 25 May – Memo Music Hall, St Kilda, VIC
- Fri 31 May – Brunswick Picture House, Brunswick Heads, NSW
- Sat 1 Jun – The Triffid (‘Small Fry Rock’), Fortitude Valley, QLD
- Fri 7 Jun – Street Theatre – Canberra, ACT
- Sat 8 Jun – The Marlin, Ulladulla, NSW
- Fri 14 Jun – Everglades, Woy Woy, NSW
- Sat 15 Jun – Avalon RSL – Avalon Beach, NSW
- Fri 21 Jun – Studio 188, Ipswich, QLD
- Sat 22 Jun – Kingston Butter Factory, Black Box Theatre, Kingston, QLD
- Sat 29 Jun – The Concourse Lounge, Chatswood, NSW
- Thu 4 Jul – Redland Performing Arts Centre, Redland, QLD
- Fri 5 Jul – Star Court Theatre, Lismore, QLD
- Sat 6 Jul – Jetty Memorial Theatre, Coffs Harbour, NSW
- Sat 7 Jul – Hello Sailor, Port Macquarie, NSW
Not to be mistaken for the Taylor Swift ‘Lover’, ‘Lovers’ was born of deep reflection. As Lee’s wife and co-owner of his company Weirder Together, actress Ione Skye penned her memoir (due for release in 2025) detailing her past romances, Lee found himself sucked into the retrospective whirlpool, digging into his own past loves and his present circumstances.
Lee says, “It’s been interesting witnessing my wife write a book that talks about her past loves; her big dangerous sexy relationships, the ways they burned and consumed her. I’ve gotten to pay close attention to her process of…processing. And I’ve developed an appreciation for the ways that these relationships made her who she is today; the person that I love.”
“When I sat down to write this song, ‘Lovers’, I wanted to write a modern, mature, romantic song. One that didn’t deny the past. If anything, it celebrated it. It felt healing and healthy for me to thank my past loves and lovers, and hers.”
The single is accompanied with a glorious archive photo, not of Lee and Skye but of another power couple in the Australian music scene, Tim Nelson and Sam “Bolan” Netterfield of Cub Sport fame. A snap from their high school formal, taken about two weeks before the dream duo shared their first kiss, the image represents the merging of past and present in the love timeline.
“When it came to creating the artwork for the single, I knew I wanted a vintage photo of a young couple in love. I’ve been really inspired by the creative and romantic union between Sam and Tim from Cub Sport, so I texted Tim and asked if he might be open to sending me some old photos of them to choose from. The picture Tim sent was perfect, and is the one you now see as the single cover. I’m very grateful for their openness to letting me use their image to illustrate my message,” comments Lee.
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‘Lovers’ is Lee’s first single since his 2021 album I’M FUN. The 20th album in his collection, I’M FUN was overflowing with anthems including ‘Born For This Bullshit (feat. Sad13)’, followed by subsequent singles including the non-duality of ‘Like This Or Like That’, the time-warping ‘Parents Get High (feat. Washington)’, and the reflective ‘Arsehole (feat. Georgia Maq)’. As a new entry for the ‘Cigarettes Will Kill You’ singer, ‘Lovers’ continues the long Ben Lee line.
Ben Lee and Ione Syke are touring together, doing iconic Weirder Together Variety Shows which will be heading to Melbourne on Thursday 23 May at Brunswick Ballroom with guests Gab Strum, Kirsty Webek and Vigilantonie. Additionally Lee will be heading on the road for solo performances, hitting up Victorian spots Sale, Nunawading, Rye, St Kilda, and Castlemaine across May.
Ticket information for the tour can be found here. Stream ‘Lovers’ now on all major streaming platforms.
