Barry Ryan

Best remembered for his 1968 hit song "Eloise," Barry Ryan was a British pop singer who released a string of popular songs during the 1960s and early '70s, performing both as a solo artist and as part of the duo Paul & Barry Ryan. He was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, on October 24, 1968, to pop singer Marion Ryan and record producer Lloyd Sapherson. Music ran in the family, prompting Barry and his twin brother, Paul, to form a singing duo when the siblings were only 16 years old. The two co-wrote many of their own songs and scored eight Top 50 singles in the UK in just two years, including the Top 20 hits "Don't Bring Me Your Heartaches" (1965), "I Love Her" (1966), and "Have Pity on the Boy" (1966). When Paul decided to retire from live performances, Barry Ryan moved ahead as a solo artist, scoring his first big hit with his brother's composition, "Eloise," in 1968. A Number 2 hit on the UK charts, "Eloise" went to Number 1 in Italy, Australia, and 15 other countries. "Love is Love" followed that same year and was a similarly-successful hit, selling over one million copies. Although Barry Ryan's popularity quickly waned in English-speaking countries, he scored a Number 2 hit in France with 1971's "Red Man" and charted a Top 10 hit in Germany that same year with "Die Zeit macht nur vor dem Teufel halt." Although he focused on his photography career during the decades that followed, Barry Ryan remained a staple of nostalgia tours during the 2000s and 2010s. He passed away at 72 years old on September 28, 2021.