Paul Ryan (born Paul Sapherson; 24 October 1948 – 29 November 1992) was an English singer,

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

Biography

Early life

Born in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, England, Paul and his twin brother Barry were the sons of singer

Marion Ryan Marion Ryan (4 February 1931 – 15 January 1999) was a British singer in the 1950s in the early years of British Independent Television. She was once called "the Marilyn Monroe of popular song". Early life Born in Middlesbrough, North Ridi ...

Career

Ryan's success came as a singing duo, with his twin brother Barry Ryan during the 1960s, known simply as "Paul & Barry Ryan". However, the stress of public attention caused Paul to retreat into the background, while Barry went

solo Solo or SOLO may refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Han Solo, a ''Star Wars'' character * Jacen Solo, a Jedi in the non-canonical ''Star Wars Legends'' continuity * Kylo Ren (Ben Solo), a ''Star Wars'' character * Napoleon Solo, fr ...

Later career

Paul Ryan wrote Barry's 1968 hit " Eloise", the 1971 hit "Who Put the Lights Out?" for Dana and another of his songs, "I Will Drink the Wine", was a top-20 hit on the UK Singles Chart for

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

. In the 1970s Ryan relocated to the United States, and in 1976 released an album, ''Scorpio Rising'', but later left the music industry. After returning to the UK in 1985, he earned his living from operating a chain of hairdressing salons. The gothic

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band the Damned reached number 3 in the UK Singles Chart in 1986 with their

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of "Eloise".

Death

Ryan died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

in 1992 in London at the age of 44.

Songwriting credits

*" Eloise" – Barry Ryan *" Love Is Love" – Barry Ryan *"Who Put the Lights Out?" – Dana *"I Will Drink the Wine" –

, Joe Longthorne *" The Colour of My Love" -

Dalida Iolanda Cristina Gigliotti (; 17 January 1933 – 3 May 1987), professionally known as Dalida (, ; ), was an Italian naturalized French singer and actress. Leading an international career, Dalida has sold over 140 million records worldwide. Some ...

, Jefferson, Barry Ryan *"Love's Only Love" – Engelbert Humperdinck *"Sunrise in the Morning" – Frank Sinatra Both of the above Sinatra tracks appeared on his 1971

album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

'' Sinatra & Company''.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Paul 1948 births 1992 deaths Singers from Leeds English male singers English male songwriters English record producers English twins Deaths from lung cancer in England Charisma Records artists 20th-century English singers 20th-century English male singers