We first met electric guitar phenom Toby Lee when he was a 10-year-old prodigy ripping through The Thrill is Gone in tribute to BB King.
Now a weathered and wizened 16, Lee has unveiled a new song, the hard-rocking Take the Wheel, the first single from his forthcoming debut album, Aquarius.
“Take The Wheel is one of my favorite tracks,” Lee said in a statement. “I’m a huge AC/DC fan and wanted a real driving rock song with a killer solo. It’s about being with the one you love and taking off on the open road heading for adventure and a bright future.”
As for the video, he continued, “I loved filming at [UK venue] Caffeine & Machine in my dream car, a Porsche 912 – it was just a shame I had to hand it back at the end of the day.”
In addition to Lee’s singing and guitar playing, Aquarius features production and writing input from Wayne Proctor and RavenEye frontman Oli Brown, as well as blues guitarist Laurence Jones. Whitesnake legend Bernie Marsden, meanwhile, composed the instrumental Platform 15.
According to his bio, Lee began playing music at four years old, when his grandmother gifted him a ukulele. He was eight when he received his first guitar, a day in which he also coincidentally met Mick Box of Uriah Heap. Word of his talent spread when he posted a "get well" guitar message to BB King.
Since then, he’s been cast as “Zack” in the London production of School of Rock and performed with Joe Bonamassa – who dubbed Lee “a future superstar of the blues“ – at the Royal Albert Hall.
Aquarius is out June 11 and is available for preorder now. The limited edition double-vinyl and double-CD formats feature a Jams bonus disc, which includes a series of instrumentals inspired by Lee’s Sunday jam sessions video series.
To pick up a copy, head here.
