Lee Ryan

Lee Ryan
Lee Ryan in 2011.
Background information
Born	(1983-06-17) 17 June 1983 (age 33)
Origin	Chatham, Kent, England
Genres	Pop, R&B, soul
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, actor
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Sony BMG, Tale Tale, Geffen
Associated acts	Blue

Lee Ryan (born 17 June 1983) is an English singer-songwriter and actor. He is known as a member of the British boy band Blue.

Lee Ryan was born in Chatham, Kent. His parents split up when he was six years old. Ryan mostly lived with his mother, sister Gemma and his grandmother. Ryan went to Bedonwell School before attending performing arts schools, including the Independent Performing Arts School Belcanto London Academy (BLA) where he first developed his talent, then independent fee-paying theatre schools Sylvia Young Theatre School and Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts.

Ryan is a member of boy band Blue along with Simon Webbe, Duncan James and Antony Costa. The group has sold over 14 million records worldwide. In August 2005, Blue split up to pursue solo careers under the advice of Sir Elton John. Blue reformed on 28 April 2009. Ryan has had three number one hits while with Blue. He had previously co-directed the video for Blue's single "Breathe Easy" which he also wrote and which was shot in Prague. In 2001 the band was in New York during the September 11 attacks after which Ryan commented that "This New York thing is being blown out of proportion" and asked "What about whales? They are ignoring animals that are more important. Animals need saving and that's more important." The other members of the band tried to silence Ryan, but he went on. This caused a huge media backlash that resulted in Blue losing a record deal in the United States and campaigns to sack Ryan from the group.

Ryan released his first single "Army of Lovers" on 18 July 2005. It debuted at No. 3 in the UK Singles Chart and hit No. 1 in Italy. On 1 August 2005, Ryan released his debut album, Lee Ryan, to mixed reviews. The album reached No. 6 in the UK Album Chart and No. 3 in Italy. In January 2006, Ryan released his third and final single in the UK "When I Think of You". The song reached No. 15 in the UK. "Real Love" was used for the end credits of the film Ice Age: The Meltdown which later led to Ryan voicing the part of an elk in the UK version of the film and Eddie in the Italian version. In late 2005, Dolce & Gabbana signed Ryan up to be the UK face of their new line of clothing.