Born in Leeds, West Yorkshire, Paul and his twin brother Barry were the sons of singer Marion Ryan, and had some success as a singingduo 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. 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 UKhit single for Frank Sinatra.