Lee Ryan (born 17 June 1983) is an English singer, songwriter and actor, best known as a member of the boy band
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
.
Ryan took part in the BBC series ''
Strictly Come Dancing''. He was partnered with professional dancer
Nadiya Bychkova
Nadiya Bychkova ( uk, Надія Бичкова) (born 24 August 1989) is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin American dancer who is a multiple-time Slovenian Ballroom and Latin Champion and two-time World and European Champion in ‘10’ Dance. In 20 ...
and was the second contestant to be eliminated on 7 October 2018. In 2019, Ryan starred in ''
Celebs Go Dating
''Celebs Go Dating'' is a British dating reality series. It began broadcasting on 29 August 2016 on E4, with the first series having 15 episodes. Paul Carrick Brunson and Anna Williamson currently appear as the dating agents, with Tom Read Wil ...
'' on
E4 and released his first single after nine years called "Ghost". Ryan subsequently released two further solo singles in 2020, "Mockingbirds" and "Swayed".
Ryan reunited with Blue in 2011 and in 2022 they released singles "Haven't Found You Yet" and "
Dance with Me" from their upcoming sixth studio album ''Heart & Soul''.
Early life
Lee Ryan was born in
Chatham, Kent. His parents split up when he was six years old. Ryan mostly lived with his mother, sister Gemma and his grandmother. Ryan went to Bedonwell School before attending performing arts schools, including Welling School and the Independent Performing Arts School Belcanto London Academy (BLA), where he first developed his talent, then independent fee-paying theatre schools
Sylvia Young Theatre School
Sylvia Young Theatre School is an independent school in Marble Arch, London, England. It is a specialist performing arts school named after its founder and principal, Sylvia Young OBE.
Outline
The Sylvia Young Theatre School was founded in ...
and
Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts
The Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts is a performing arts conservatoire based in Woking, England. It was founded in 1911 by Italia Conti, an actress. The first production at Italia Conti Academy was the play '' Where the Rainbow Ends''. F ...
.
Career
2000–2005: Career with Blue
Ryan is a member of boy band
Blue
Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...
along with
Simon Webbe,
Duncan James
Duncan James (born Duncan Inglis, 7 April 1978) is an English singer and actor. He became widely known in 2001 as a member of the boy band Blue and later for playing Ryan Knight in the British soap opera ''Hollyoaks''.
Early life
James grew u ...
and
Antony Costa
Antony Daniel Costa (born 23 June 1981) is an English singer and songwriter. He is best known as a member of the boy band Blue.
Early life
Costa was born in Edgware, North London, Costa attended Hendon School in nearby Barnet. He is half-Greek ...
. The group has sold over 14 million records worldwide. In August 2005, Blue split up to pursue solo careers under the advice of
Sir Elton John. Blue reformed on 28 April 2009.
Ryan has had three number one hits while with Blue. He had previously co-directed the video for Blue's single "Breathe Easy", which he also wrote and which was shot in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
. In 2001 the group were in New York during the
September 11 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
after which Ryan commented that "This New York thing is being blown out of proportion" and asked "What about whales? They are ignoring animals that are more important. Animals need saving and that's more important." The other members of the group tried to silence Ryan, but he went on. This caused a huge media backlash that resulted in Blue losing a record deal in the United States and campaigns to sack Ryan from the line up.
2005–2008: ''Lee Ryan'' and stage
Ryan released his first single "
Army of Lovers
Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the E ...
" in July 2005. It debuted at No. 3 in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
and hit No. 1 in Italy. In August 2005, Ryan released his debut album, ''
Lee Ryan
Lee Ryan (born 17 June 1983) is an English singer, songwriter and actor, best known as a member of the boy band Blue.
Ryan took part in the BBC series ''Strictly Come Dancing''. He was partnered with professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova and was ...
'', to mixed reviews. The album reached No. 6 in the
UK Album Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
and No. 3 in Italy. "
Turn Your Car Around
"Turn Your Car Around" is the second single released from Blue member Lee Ryan's debut solo album, ''Lee Ryan''. The track peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, also reaching the top 20 in several other European countries, including number t ...
" was the second single lifted from the album which had moderate success. In January 2006, Ryan released his third and final single in the UK "
When I Think of You
"When I Think of You" is a song by American singer Janet Jackson from her third studio album, ''Control'' (1986). It was released on July 28, 1986, as the album's third single. Composed by songwriters and record producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Le ...
". The song reached No. 15 in the UK. "
Real Love" was used for the end credits of the film ''
Ice Age: The Meltdown'' which later led to Ryan voicing the part of an elk in the UK version of the film and
Eddie
Eddie or Eddy may refer to:
Science and technology
*Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle
* Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...
in the Italian version. In late 2005,
Dolce & Gabbana
Dolce & Gabbana (), also known by initials D&G, is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1985 in Legnano by Italian designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana. The house specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, accessories, and cosmet ...
signed Ryan up to be the UK face of their new line of clothing.
After the relative success of his first solo album, Ryan started planning his second solo album. The single "
Reinforce Love
"Reinforce Love" is a charity single, recorded by British singer Lee Ryan. The song was released as a promotional single on 10 December 2007 for the cancer charity project CLIC Sargent. The track did not receive any airplay on British radio stat ...
" was released in December 2007. The single was being released for
Great Ormond Street Hospital
Great Ormond Street Hospital (informally GOSH or Great Ormond Street, formerly the Hospital for Sick Children) is a children's hospital located in the Bloomsbury area of the London Borough of Camden, and a part of Great Ormond Street Hospit ...
and
CLIC Sargent
Young Lives vs Cancer, the operating name for "CLIC Sargent", is a charity in the United Kingdom formed in 2005. Young Lives vs Cancer is the UK's leading cancer charity for children, young people and their families. Its care teams provide speci ...
, which were the two charities that Ryan was touring for in November and December 2007, with young voices. The album was then postponed, and finally cancelled. He appeared in the video for the single "Red Light" by a British girlband named Fe-Nix. In September 2007, he appeared as one of the contestants in ''
Hell's Kitchen
Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...
''. However he rowed with
Marco Pierre White
Marco Pierre White (born 11 December 1961) is a British chef, restaurateur, and television personality. He has been dubbed "the first celebrity chef" and the ''enfant terrible'' of the UK restaurant scene. In January 1995, aged 33, White became ...
about White's use of the term "
pikey
''Pikey'' (; also spelled ''pikie'', ''pykie'' ) is a slang term, which is pejorative and considered by many to be a slur. It is used mainly in the UK to refer to people who are of the Traveller community, a set of ethno-cultural groups found pr ...
", and subsequently left the show.
In August and September 2008, Ryan acted alongside
Natalie Casey
Natalie Casey (born 15 April 1980) is an English actress, presenter, narrator and singer. She portrayed Carol Groves in the television show ''Hollyoaks'' (1996–2000) and Donna Henshaw in '' Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps'' (2001 ...
in ''The Pretender Agenda'' at The New Players Theatre in London. In June 2008 Ryan was found guilty of assaulting a taxi driver in Oxted and ordered to pay compensation to the victim.
2009–2010: Film and cancelled second album
In March 2010, Ryan confirmed that he had signed a new record deal with
Geffen Records
Geffen Records is an American record label established by David Geffen and owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M Records imprint.
Founded in 1980, Geffen Records has been a part of Interscope Geffen A&M since 1999 and h ...
, due to last until 2013. Later that month, it was announced that Ryan's first album on his new record label, ''Confessions'', was due to be released in October 2010. The first single from the album, "Secret Love", was released as a double A-Side with "I Am Who I Am" on 4 July 2010. The single peaked at number 33 on the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. Following this, it was announced that
Geffen were set to drop Ryan from the label, before work on his album had been completed. Ryan announced in January 2011 that there was no deal to release his album.
[
The track listing for Ryan's aborted album was as follows: "Secret Love", "I Am Who I Am", "Guardian Angel", "Perfect Strangers", "I Don't Wanna Let You Down", "I Love Your Smile", "It's Not Me", "Confessions", "Light of Your Soul", "Peaches", "Reinforce Love", "Suffice to Say", "To See the Stars", "Stop the Rain", "Why Me" and "Stand Up as People".
]
2011–2019: Blue return, ''EastEnders'' and ''Rip it Up''
Ryan stated in January 2011 that he was working on an album with Blue to be released later in the year.[Lee Ryan dismisses Tesco album deal – Music News]
Digital Spy (5 January 2011). Retrieved on 3 December 2011. Blue represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011
The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...
in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
, Germany with the song " I Can", placing 11th overall.
In 2013, Blue released "Hurt Lovers
"Hurt Lovers" is a song by English boy band Blue. It was written by Alexander Zuckowski, Martin "Fly" Fliegenschmidt, Jez Ashurst, and David Jost and recorded for the group's fourth studio album, ''Roulette'' (2013). Production was helmed by Gru ...
" the first single from their fourth album '' Roulette''.
In August 2013, Ryan and Duncan James appeared in an episode of comedy panel show ''Through the Keyhole
''Through the Keyhole'' is a British comedy panel game show created by the TV producer Kevin Sim and originally presented by Sir David Frost in the studio and Loyd Grossman on location. The location presenter goes around celebrities' houses and ...
'' in which the host showed around their home in London.
Ryan appeared in ''Celebrity Big Brother 13
''Celebrity Big Brother 13'' was the thirteenth series of the British reality television series ''Celebrity Big Brother''. The series launched on 3 January 2014 on Channel 5 and was originally meant to end after 22 days on 24 January 2014. Howe ...
'' in 2014. Following the show he entered a relationship with fellow ''Big Brother'' participant Jasmine Waltz
Jasmine Waltz is an American model, actress, and reality television personality from Las Vegas, Nevada.
Career
Waltz began modeling while studying at the University of Performing Arts, and appeared in commercials and the televisions sitcom ''Rule ...
. Waltz split with Ryan a few weeks later claiming on Twitter that Ryan had cheated on her with a man. Ryan came out as bisexual during his time on ''Big Brother'', later stating in an interview, "I'm very open about what I've done in the past but that was the easiest way to come out. I did so much other stuff that people didn't even notice." During his time on Big Brother Ryan admitted he sleeps with his Blue bandmate Duncan James stating, “I work with Duncan, I go on holiday with Duncan, I live with Duncan.” Asked: “Do you have sex with Duncan?”, he replied: “Yeah all the time".
In November 2014, Blue announced they had signed a two-album record deal with Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainme ...
. The band released their fifth studio album ''Colours
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
'' on 9 March 2015. He was in '' Strictly Come Dancing 2018'', but went out in the third round.
On 15 February 2017, it was confirmed that Ryan had landed a role in the BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
''. He was cast as
, initially for a short stint between 18 April and 19 May.
It was later announced that Woody would be promoted to a regular role and that Ryan had signed a one-year contract with the show. He later received
nomination for Best Newcomer. Unsure his contract would be extended, Ryan signed to play
, and was hence written out of ''EastEnders''.
In 2019, he was a candidate in the seventh season of the British reality TV-show ''
''. From September to November 2019 Lee Ryan went on a UK-Tour with the
"Rip it Up the 70s".
On 30 November 2021 the group confirmed they would be going on an arena tour to celebrate their 20th anniversary, it was also confirmed that
would be supporting them on the tour. When interviewed on ''
'' the group also confirmed that they were back in the studio recording, a new album is expected to follow along with the tour.
On 11 April 2022 the group announced that their sixth studio album ''Heart & Soul'' which would be released on 9 September 2022. On 20 May the group unveiled the track listing for the album on their social media accounts, following with first single "Haven't Found You Yet". On 29 June 2022, the group released the single "
single.
In August 2003, Ryan was arrested and charged with driving with excess alcohol in central London. In May 2004 Ryan was cleared of assaulting two photographers who had attempted to take photos of him leaving a nightclub, however he was convicted of criminal damage for smashing their cameras.
In August 2010, Ryan was charged with assaulting his former fiancée, but these charges were officially withdrawn.
In May 2014, Ryan pleaded guilty to criminal damage and failing to provide a specimen after being caught driving erratically in April.
In 2020, on two occasions Ryan was charged with driving a Mercedes at 70 mph in a 60 mph limit in
, but the charges were dismissed as the prosecution offered no evidence, due to there being no means of proving who was driving. However, Ryan was later charged and found guilty at trial of two counts of failing to provide information about the driver. At a subsequent hearing, Magistrate Alison Marsh gave Ryan two lots of six points against his driving licence, resulting in a disqualification from driving for 12 months. Fined £1,501 for one of the charges, Ryan, speaking via a remote link from
'' in August 2019, Ryan was asked if he had dated men, to which he replied, "Yeah, I think a lot of people are a lot more liberal which is great for our society. I mean we aren't living in the
any more and for people to have some kind of prejudice against these kinds of things is just ignorant".