Mark Ryan

Who was Mark Ryan?

Mark Ryan was an English guitarist who played in different punk bands during the late 1970s.

He was born in Tottenham, London, to an Irish Catholic family. His father was a university lecturer and his mother was a nurse and midwife. Ryan left school at sixteen, working in factories and dedicating to music.

In 1977, after being in a number of experimental punk bands, he joined Adam and the Ants, replacing Lester Square, to complete the line-up who debuted live at the ICA restaurant in May, recorded Plastic Surgery and a number of demos with the band. After appearing with the band in the Derek Jarman movie Jubilee Ryan was fired in October 1977. Subsequently, he joined The Photons, and was involved with The Moors Murderers. The vocalist in both bands was Steve Strange, who later became the singer for Visage. He also was in King, alongside The Damned's Captain Sensible.

From 1985 to 1989, Ryan attended the Dartington College of Arts, earning a Bachelors degree in music in 1989. He turned his interest in performance to the theatre and began a successful career as a writer for the stage based in Cardiff, Wales.