Eyes of Blue
| Phil Ryan | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Philip Ryan |
| Born |
21 October 1946 Port Talbot, South Wales |
| Died | 30 April 2016 (aged 69) |
| Genres | Rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, composer |
| Instruments | Keyboards, trombone |
| Years active | 1964 - 2016 |
| Associated acts |
Pete Brown & Piblokto!, Man Neutrons, Pete Brown |
Phil Ryan (21 October 1946 – 30 April 2016) was a Welsh keyboardist and composer, best known for his work with Man and Pete Brown.
Born in Port Talbot, Ryan played trombone in the National Youth Orchestra, but his rock career started in 1964 when he formed the Port Talbot/Neath band The Smokestacks, with John Hockin, Gary Pickford-Hopkins, Peter Randal and Gerald Trolley.
In 1966 Ryan and Hopkins - together with the drummer John Weathers - joined The Eyes of Blue, who then turned professional. They won the 1966 Melody Maker Beat Contest, winning a one-year record contract, but had to record songs chosen for them, rather than their own material, and neither of their singles, "Heart Trouble" / "Up And Down" and "Supermarket Full of Cans" / "Don't Ask Me To Mend Your Broken Heart", sold well.
The Eyes moved from Decca to Mercury Records and recorded their first album Crossroads of Time in 1968, which was produced by Lou Reizner. The album included two tracks written by Graham Bond "Crossroads of Time" and "Love is the Law", who was a major influence on Ryan. and who also wrote the album sleeve notes. Despite poor sales, the album was "acknowledged as a major influence on the nascent Yes" Reizner then used The Eyes as the backing band for American singer-songwriter Buzzy Linhart's album Buzzy. They collaborated with Quincy Jones on the score of the movie Toy Grabbers, some tracks of which appear on their second album In Fields of Ardath (1969) and they also appeared in the movie Connecting Rooms.
Through producer Lou Reizner, Ryan began getting work as an arranger, and wrote the string arrangements on Caetano Veloso's third self-titled album called either his 1971 album or A Little More Blue.
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