Sunday, August 30, 2015

Barry Ryan: Eloise



Paul and Barry Ryan were the twin sons of Marion Ryan, a popular British singer of the 1950s.

They had success as a duo in the 1960s, but Paul found performing too stressful and turned to songwriting instead.

He wrote this for Barry, which was a number 1 in many countries but was kept at number 2 in Britain by the juggernaut that was Mary Hopkin's Those Were the Days.

In 1968 a five-minute single was practically unheard of. With its changes of mood and tempo, you can see Eloise as a forerunner of Bohemian Rhapsody.

The teenagers may recall that the Damned had a hit with it in 1986.

Paul Ryan died in 1992, aged only 44. Barry was performing on Sixties nostalgia tours only a few years ago.

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