| Bryan |
| Bryan was born in Dublin, Ireland. He has on sister Susan who is 3 years younger than him. He went to a pre-school in Ardlea Road, Artane. He remembers his first day there as his mum had to carry him in because he had something wrong with his leg. After that he went to St David's Primary, which is also in Artane. He was OK at school but really quite lazy. His mum was the secretary at that school so Bryan had to keep his head down beacause she was always keeping an eye on him and if he got into trouble then the teachers would say 'Right, Bryan, I'm sending you to your mam' That was a much bigger threat and he would think 'oh no, not my mam'. His mam was tough on him because she wouldn't tolerate messing in class and wanted him to get on with his studying. One time when he was 10 him and some other guys were giving a student teacher hell and she couldn't take any more so she ran out of the class. There were five of them that had caused the most trouble. The four other guys were sent to the principal but Bryan was sent to his mum in the office. Because Bryan use to collect stickers for the world cup in 1990 his mam said 'Right that's it, your never getting anymore' and she stopped him collecting them. That was a much worse punishment then what the other guys got. Cause his mum knew how to punish him, whereas the teachers didn't. After that school he went to St David's Secondary. He got on grand and didn't get into trouble or anything but his mum wasn't happy with that school and took him out after the first year and that's when he went to Rosmini Secondary. Bryan wasn't the best student, but he never got suspended in his life all he had were a few detentions which were mainly for lateness. He was good academically, but was really lazy. He would never bother studying for exams and would just get like a C pass. In his junior Certificate he failed his mocks because he didn't do any work but when it came to the real exams he got his head down and got 5 honours and 3 passes. He could have been a really good student if he wanted to but music was always his life. All he wanted to do was sing and dance. When he was growing up he got a lot of Flak because he was really fat, which was really hard on Bryan. He got called names like Fatso or Fatboy all the time, and it had a big effect on him. It hurt at first but as he got older it just passed him by because he was so used to it. He also got a lot of hassle from people cause he went to Billie Barry's Dancing school. He felt a lot happier in himself when he was at Billie Barry's. Every Saturday night about twenty people would go out and have a great time dancing. The two main teachers Billie Barry and her daughter Lorraine Barry were very special to him. They are who helped him get were he is now. Bryan really loved it at Billie Barry's he felt like he was at home when he was there. As Bry got older he was more and more conscious of his weight, so that made him more dedicated to dancing and keeping fit. He did a few jobs when he was younger he drove a forklift truck when he was 15 and when he was 17 he was a bingo caller. He was also a security guard he says it was the most stupid and dangerous job he had ever done. Ever since Bryan was a kid he use to love performing and was a bit of a show off and someone who loves attention. He went to Billie Barry's when he was 4 but only stayed for a couple of weeks because he was too young to get into it properly. He re-joined with his sister when he was 8 and that's when he started doing shows and really got involved in dancing. The first thing he won at Billie Barry's was the singing competition- the prize was a Cadburys Easter egg. He did his first show when he was 9. It was the Wizard of Oz, And Bryan was a flying monkey, he was in it for about 3 months. Bryan stayed at Billie Barry's for about 8 years because he loved it so much, He went twice a week and did loads of plays, musicals, pantomimes and auditions for TV adverts. Bryan also got a part in Finbarr's Class for about 3 months which is like an Irish version of Grange Hill. Because of his appearance Bryan never thought he could be a pop star. But when the weight started coming off, He realized he had a chance. He use to sing and play guitar in a band when he was 14. He played a few gigs and did mainly covers of Guns N'Roses and Cranberries songs. When Bryan left Billie Barry's he met two guys called Tim and Darragh and they started a band together. It was called Cartel. They just clicked straight away and they got a manager and started doing shows. People loved them and they were becoming one of the most popular bands in Dublin. He would get recognized in the street. They didn't have the money behind them, so there was a limit to how far they could go. The Westlife came along and Bryan's life changed forever |
 |