IN his own words Lee Bowater admits he has been 'nuts about drumming' since he was a child.
He was just 10 years old when he had his first toy drum kit and 15 when he moved on to his first proper drum kit.
But despite his obsession with drumming he says he never had natural rhythm, he couldn't read music and much of his drumming is self-taught.
"It's just something I've always been interested in," said Lee. "I didn't come from a particular musical family but I've wanted to be a drummer for as long as I can remember."
When he was a teenager he had some lessons with a teacher in Halifax.
"He played a traditional style of jazz," said Lee. "He was really good but his type of drumming wasn't for me so after about six months I left and since then I've been self-taught."
And now Lee is passing on everything he has learned to other enthusiastic young drummers at LBO Drum Tuition based at Bailiff Bridge.
He started the workshop about four years ago and teaches youngsters from as young as five through to those in their late teens.
"At the moment I have a five-year-old called Archie who has so much natural talent," said Lee. "I'm looking forward to watching him progress."
Archie will be the youngest performer when he appears along with about 20 of Lee's drummers who will showcase their work at Brighouse Sports and Social Club on March 5.
"I remember when I made my first public appearance in Rastrick when I was a teenager it was like being a pop star," said Lee, who lives in High Street, Brighouse, with his partner Colette Rogers. "It was an amazing experience and I want to give my young students that same opportunity. There's nothing like performing before a live audience, the musicians become rock stars for the night."
When Lee, who is 43, made his first public appearance he played with a band called Cloud.
"I was 15 in the early 1980s and we were asked to take part in a Rastrick Grammar School PTA event. We did our own stuff – and when I listen to the tape now I realise we were dreadful! But we didn't think so at the time and it was a wonderful experience," he said.
Lee, who was brought up in Brighouse and went to Longroyde Junior School, Rastrick, before going to Crossley and Porter School in Halifax, continued his playing and over the years Cloud made several comebacks with different names.
"Eventually we got ourselves a manager and took on the name 'The Elect'. We became known as a club band about the same time as the miners' strike and we appeared at working men's clubs in the Barnsley area and other clubs doing benefit gigs," said Lee.
A spell working overseas led to the group splitting up and Lee spent six months working in a kibbutz in Israel before moving to Holland where he lived and worked for three years.
"I played with bands all over Holland – and I also learned to speak Dutch," said Lee.
From Holland he returned to the UK and went to university in Humberside where he did a degree in business studies.
When he married and his two daughters, Charlotte, now 13, and Ellie, 12, came along his music once again took a back seat but Lee was still very interested.
"Eventually I got an electronic drum kit for home and I picked up from there again," he said. "People became aware I was a drummer and when I took Charlotte to Treble Clef in Brighouse for keyboard lessons I was asked about drum tuition."
Since he set up LBO Drum Tuition he gives lessons regularly in the evenings and at weekends. His full-time job is in IT at Bingley but he would love to make music his full time profession.
"My music is really my hobby but I'm pleased to say the drum tuition does support itself," said Lee, who has plans to take his students to grade level and also hopes to be teaching in schools.
Last June LBO proved a popular attraction at Brighouse Charity Gala when people had the chance to try their hand at drumming.
"We had crowds around the stand all afternoon," said Lee. "I was just a bit worried that the noise was drowning out other people. We'll be there again this year and I'll ask to be in a different spot on the field."
Among the people supporting Lee at the gala was Susan Connor, whose son James attends the drumming classes. Susan, who lives in Halifax Road, Brighouse, provided an X Box which was won on the stall and raised just short of £80 for the gala charities.
Susan, who runs her own small business supplying pestos and Thai curry pastes from ingredients mainly grown in her own allotment will be doing the catering at the drum show in March. Lee's partner Colette, who helps with LBO, plays a big part in organising the shows.
"She plays an important part in all the work I do," said a grateful Lee.
The show at the Sports Club last year was held in memory of two of Lee's friends Steve Mason and Steve Wilson and featured Lee's band Big Noise who will be on the programme again this year.
Lee also plays regularly at The Barge in Brighouse which he describes as a great meeting place for musicians.
"Drumming for me is wonderful. It's something I really enjoy but I can do it without being centre stage," he said.
"It gives youngsters confidence. I recall one student who came to me really frightened but he has progressed. It's good to see that."
Lee also finds time to go running and he has taken part in the Great North Run three times raising money for cancer charities and the West Yorkshire Forget-Me-Not Trust. He hopes to secure a place at the race in September and raise money for Yorkshire Cancer Research.