Francesco Bontempi, known professionally as Lee Marrow, was born on July 23, 1957, in Marina di Carrara, Italy. He began his musical career in 1970 as a drummer in various local bands and later transitioned to DJing in Italian clubs starting from 1974. In the mid-1980s, Bontempi signed a recording contract under the name Lee Marrow. His breakthrough came with the single "Shanghai", produced by Lombardoni Edizioni Musicali, which reached number 6 in Switzerland, number 8 in Germany and number 12 in Austria in 1985. Following this success, he released several other singles including "Sayonara (Don't Stop...)", which charted at number 24 in Germany. In 1990, Lee Marrow achieved notable chart positions in the UK with "Pain" and "Movin' / Pain". In 1994, Bontempi formed the duo Corona with Olga de Souza, which achieved significant success with "The Rhythm of the Night", continuing to release multiple albums and EPs, including The Album (1990), The Best Of Lee Marrow (2016).
