Ryan Molloy (born 21 November 1972) is a British singer, songwriter and actor, who replaced

Holly Johnson William Holly Johnson (born 9 February 1960) is an English artist, musician, and writer, best known as the lead vocalist of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who achieved huge commercial success in the mid-1980s. Prior to that, in the late 1970s he was ...

as the lead singer in

Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...

for a charity concert in 2004. He has also been successful in musical theatre, appearing in a number of hit musicals in the UK and most recently as a headliner for Royal Caribbean International.

Early life and education

Originally from

North Shields North Shields () is a town in the Borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It is north-east of Newcastle upon Tyne and borders nearby Wallsend and Tynemouth. Since 1974, it has been in the North Tyneside borough of Tyne and Wea ...

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...

, he attended

Monkseaton High School Monkseaton High School is a coeducational upper school situated in Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, England for 13- to 18-year-olds. There are 465 students on roll, over 150 of whom are in the sixth form. The school has initiated or led a number of ...

. He left high school at the age of 16 in 1989. Molloy later moved to London to train as an actor. He attended

The Poor School The Poor School and Workhouse Theatre was a drama school situated in King's Cross, London, United Kingdom. The Poor School was created in 1986 by former Royal Central School of Speech and Drama vocal coach Barbara Caister in response to the nee ...

; and later also trained at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Career

He began his musical career in the late 1990s, singing with a number of bands, including

Ultra adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. '' ...

, supporting

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai () are an English funk and acid jazz band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in the ...

and

The Lighthouse Family Lighthouse Family were a British musical duo that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and initially remained active until the early 2000s. Singer Tunde Baiyewu and songwriter Paul Tucker formed the act in 1993 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, a ...

. He appeared in a number of dramatic roles, including London productions of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'' and ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

''. In 2004, he gained a chorus role in the controversial production of ''

Jerry Springer – The Opera ''Jerry Springer: The Opera'' is a British musical written by Richard Thomas and Stewart Lee, based on the talk show ''Jerry Springer''. It contains irreverent treatment of Christian themes, extensive profanity, and surreal images, such as a tr ...

''. Molloy was a member of the original cast at the National Theatre, and went on to play the parts of the transvestite Tremont and the Angel Gabriel, for which he gained an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

for Best Supporting Actor. He also starred in the West End hit ''Taboo'', playing

Steve Strange Stephen John Harrington (28 May 1959 – 12 February 2015), known professionally as Steve Strange, was a Welsh singer. From the late 1970s he was a nightclub host and promoter. He became famous as the leader of the new wave synth-pop group ...

alongside

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

and

Lyn Paul Lyn Paul (born Lynda Susan Belcher; 16 February 1949) is an English pop singer and actress. She came to fame as a member of the international chart-topping pop group the New Seekers in the early 1970s. She has more recently found success and criti ...

. In October 2004 Molloy was chosen from 200 candidates as the new lead singer of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, appearing in a special charity show for The Prince’s Trust at

Wembley Arena Wembley Arena (originally the Empire Pool, now known as OVO Arena Wembley for sponsorship reasons) is an indoor arena next to Wembley Stadium in Wembley, London, England, used for music, comedy, family entertainment and sport. The 12,500-sea ...

, and on their subsequent tour. An established songwriter as well as singer and actor, he spent some time in 2005 working with Dave Stewart of

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio album, '' In the Garden'', in 1981 to little succ ...

on the spoof documentary ''

Platinum Weird Platinum Weird is a musical collaboration formed in 2004 between Dave Stewart and Kara DioGuardi. It is also the subject of an elaborate hoax placing the band in 1974, including a half-hour mockumentary produced for television network VH1 and a ...

'', which also involved

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

and

Carmen Electra Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...

. He has also written new songs for Frankie Goes to Hollywood. In 2006 Molloy starred in the role of Stuart in the touring production of

Ben Elton Benjamin Charles Elton (born 3 May 1959) is an English comedian, actor, author, playwright, lyricist and director. He was a part of London's alternative comedy movement of the 1980s and became a writer on the sitcoms '' The Young Ones'' and ''Bla ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

musical, '' Tonight's The Night''. He also appeared at

Jools Holland Julian Miles Holland, (born 24 January 1958) is an English pianist, bandleader, singer, composer and television presenter. He was an original member of the band Squeeze and has worked with many artists including Jayne County, Sting, Eric C ...

s' Jam House Club for the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...

in August 2006, together with his band Suntan. In October 2007, Molloy was cast as

Frankie Valli Francesco Stephen Castelluccio (born May 3, 1934), better known by his stage name Frankie Valli, is an American singer, known as the frontman of the Four Seasons beginning in 1960. He is known for his unusually powerful lead falsetto voice. ...

in the West End premiere of ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...

'' at the

Prince Edward Theatre The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. History The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Ma ...

, and played his first performance on 28 February 2008. Later that same year, on 31 December, Molloy appeared on '' The Weakest Link West End Special'', and was the fifth contestant voted off. He remained with ''Jersey Boys'' for six years, leaving in March 2014, making him the longest-running star in a West End musical. Molloy also provided vocals in the soundtrack of the

film version A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of the musical. He reprised the role in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production for a limited engagement lasting from July to October 2014.London Jersey Boys Star Ryan Molloy Will Be Broadway's New Frankie Valli
Playbill, Retrieved 12 June 2014 In September 2017, Molloy took part in the

Great North Run The Great North Run (branded the Simplyhealth Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and Sou ...

References

External links

* *
BBC news article, 31 October 2004

Interview with The Northern Echo, May 2006

{{DEFAULTSORT:Molloy, Ryan English male musical theatre actors Living people English male singers English male stage actors English songwriters Frankie Goes to Hollywood members 1972 births British male songwriters