Early life Born in
Leeds,
West Riding of Yorkshire, England, Paul and his twin brother
Barry were the sons of singer
Marion Ryan.
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.
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. 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 band
the Damned reached number 3 in the
UK Singles Chart in 1986 with their
cover version of "Eloise".
Death Ryan died of
lung cancer in 1992 in London at the age of 44. ==Songwriting credits==