Lee Ryan
Template:Infobox musical artist 2
Lee Ryan (born June 17 1983 in Chatham, Kent) is a former member of the British boy band Blue and is now pursuing a solo career.
Early life
Lee Ryan was born in Rainham, Kent. His mother, Sheila, and his father, John, split up when he was five years old. Lee mostly lived with his mother, sister Gemma and grandmother in Erith. He was brought up in Plumstead. At the age of 5 it was discovered that he suffered from dyslexia.
Lee attended performing arts schools prior to joining Blue, including Sylvia Young and Italia Conti. In Blue, Lee was an irreplaceable member of the band as he was often regarded as the lead singer with his solid vocal performances. While in Blue, Lee recorded "Stand Up As People" for the War Child album. He left the band in 2005 to become a solo artist after a commercially successful career with the band.
Going solo
Lee was the first member of the boyband Blue to pursue a solo career. He released his first single "Army of Lovers" on 18 July 2005. It was released to mixed reviews and debuted (and peaked) at #3 in the UK Singles Chart. It hit #1 in Italy.
On 1 August, Lee released his debut album, Lee Ryan, to mixed reviews. The album reached #6 in the UK Album Chart and #3 in Italy, where it has spent 5 weeks in the Top10.
On 10 October, Lee released his second solo single "Turn Your Car Around". The single went under a heavy wave of promotion but due to the release of his album and the lack of enthusiasm for his first single, the track failed to reach the top ten, peaking at #12.
In January 2006, Lee released his third and final single in the UK "When I Think of You". The song reached #15 in the UK.
Lee later presented two more tracks to the world. "Real Love" was used for the end credits of the film Ice Age 2: The Meltdown which later led to Lee voicing the part of an elk in the UK version of the movie. "How Do I" was released on Lee's website in the form of a video directed by Lee himself to thank his fans for their support. Lee had previously co-directed the video for Blue's single "Breathe Easy" after he wrote the track.
In late 2005, Dolce & Gabbana signed Lee up to be UK face of their new line of clothing.
The second album
After the relative failure of his first solo album, Lee is currently planning his second solo album. The currently unnamed album will now be under his old Blue label EMI, after Lee and his old solo label SonyBMG decided to part ways due to creative differences.
Reports say that the new album may feature Elton John, Jo O'Meara and his ex-Blue band mate Simon Webbe on three brand new songs.
Although nothing has been confirmed, rumored tracks from the album are "Peaches" which Lee has performed at many live performances and has released on his MySpace page, "It's Not Me", a song which Lee has told he would have liked on the first album but couldn't get produced fast enough, "Stand Up As People" and "Free" also released on his MySpace page.
Lee has already begun promotion for the album with a number live and acoustic performances across the UK, he also announced on his website that he has recently finished filming a TV show for BBC2 which is set to air in April and has also filmed a 24 Hours With... special for ITV which is due in June.
With the air dates of both these programs to air in April and May it is likely that his second album is to be expected not long after.
One of Lee's anticipated new songs is Beautiful Spiritual, a slick world class song which has been reported to be the first single to be released from the album.
Controversies
Of all the Blue members, Lee was the only member that courted controversies since the group started, which was usually covered by the tabloids. In 2001, he made a remark about the September 11 terrorist attacks, comparing the media coverage with elephants,[1] though it caused media uproar, the bands continued to have successes. As a result of Lee's comment, the management abandoned a plan to market the band in the United States in fear of a media backlash there.[2]
As the most outgoing member of the band, Lee was seen in bars and clubs that was frequented by celebrities, that as a result attracted the paparazzi and it led to fights and court appearances.[3]
Filmography
- The Heavy (2007)
- Ice Age 2: The Meltdown (2006)
- Holby City (October 12, 2000) - Guest appearance
Discography
Albums
- Lee Ryan — (2005), #6 UK, #3 ITA
- Second studio album (as yet untitled) — (2007)
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles |
UK Downloads |
ITA | |||
| 2005 | "Army of Lovers" | 3 | 17 | 1 | Lee Ryan |
| 2005 | "Turn Your Car Around" | 12 | 22 | 2 | Lee Ryan |
| 2005 | "When I Think of You" | 15 | 29 | — | Lee Ryan |
| 2006 | "Real Love" | — | — | — | Lee Ryan |
| 2007 | "Beautiful Spiritual" | TBR | TBR | TBR | New album |
References
External links
- Official website
- Blue website
- Lee Ryan Spain-- Lee Ryan Spain
- 24 Hours With Lee Ryan preview