Born in Garryhill, County Carlow, Ireland on August 24, 1983, Derek Ryan is a singer-songwriter who first came to prominence as a member of boyband D-Side. Born into a musical family, he became interested in music at the age of 12 and was raised on traditional Irish music and learned to play various folk instruments. After performing local shows with his brother – as The Ryan Brothers – he joined boy band D-Side in 2001 when he was 17 years old. The group released their debut single, “Stronger Together,” in July 2022 but didn’t hit the charts until April 2003 with their second single “Speechless,” which reached the Top 10 in Ireland and the UK. They achieved two more Top 10 hits – “Invisible” (2003) and “Real World” (2004) – before splitting in 2006. After the break-up, Derek Ryan stepped away from pop music and embraced his folk influences and began playing London clubs before moving back to Ireland. He issued two singles – “The Red, Yellow, and Green” (2006) and “God’s Plan” (2010) – before issuing his debut album, The Mother’s Son, in 2010. A prolific artist, he released Made of Gold (2011) and Dreamers & Believers (2012) before hitting number 10 on the Irish Albums chart with Country Soul (2013). Derek Ryan reached number 1 on the chart with his albums The Simple Things (2014) and One Good Night (2015). He then released two Top 10 albums in 2016: This is Me (The Nashville Songbook) and Happy Man. While still a successful artist, his albums – including The Fire (2017), Ten (2018), and The Road to Christmas (2020) – failed to reach the Top 10 until 2021’s Soft Ground, which hit number 10. Further albums include Pure & Simple (2022) and Long Shot Love (2024).
