Barry Ryan (born
Barry Sapherson, 24 October 1948, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire) is an English former pop singer. He currently works as a photographer.
The son of pop singer Marion Ryan, with his twin brother Paul, Ryan began to perform at the age of 16. In 1965 they signed a recording contract with Decca and, under the name of "Paul & Barry Ryan", brought out singles such as "Don't Bring Me Your Heartaches" (1965), "Have Pity on the Boy" (1966) and "Missy Missy" (1966). His stepfather was the American agent and music promoter Harold Davison.
When it turned out that Ryan's brother was unable to cope any longer with the stress connected with show business, the brothers decided that Paul would write the songs which Ryan would interpret as a solo artist. Their greatest success as a composer-singer duo, now for MGM Records, was "Eloise" (1968), melodramatic and heavily orchestrated. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.
Ryan was also popular in Germany and France. The Single
Red Man reached number 2 in the French Charts in 1971. Promoted by
Bravo, the German youth magazine, he also recorded a number of songs in German, for example "Die Zeit macht nur vor dem Teufel Halt" ("Time Only Stops for the Devil").
Ryan stopped performing in the early 1970s. There were rumours that he had had an accident in the recording studio. Supposedly he suffered serious burn wounds in the face and could no longer appear in public. However, he made a comeback in the late 1990s when a two CD set with his and his brother's old songs was released. Ryan was also part of the "Solid Silver '60s Tour" of the United Kingdom in 2003, singing "Eloise" backed by the Dakotas.