All four members of Blue are bankrupt
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Simon Webbe, Anthony Costa, Duncan James and Lee Ryan from Blue in 2004.
Source: Getty Images
BRITISH singer Lee Ryan has become the fourth and final member of R&B boy band Blue to file for bankruptcy.
The 31-year-old followed in the footsteps of his UK band mates Simon Webbe, Antony Costa and Duncan James after Ryan’s creditors petitioned for bankruptcy.
Ryan, who reportedly once had a £10 million fortune ($ 19.6m), was unable to pay the creditors and declared himself insolvent.
His spokesman said: “Lee has tried to manage his financial commitments from over the years to the best of his abilities but ultimately concedes that bankruptcy is the best way forward in order for him to provide the best future for his children.”
The boy band split in 2005 after five years together. They mounted a comeback in 2011.
Blue released three studio albums, All Rise (2001), One Love (2002) and Guilty (2003) that all peaked at number one in the UK. Their 2001 singles All Rise and Too Close made the top 10 in Australia.
It is a spectacular fall for the group, who had more than 40 number one hits globally and sold 15 million records.
Simon Webbe, Antony Costa, Duncan James and Lee Ryan in 2011.
Source: Getty Images
Bandmate Duncan James filed for bankruptcy in September 2013, blaming his difficulties on bad property investments with his family and was forced to sell the home he bought for his mum.
“I’ve always wanted to give my loved ones roofs over their heads and make sure they were taken care of, so that’s what I did,” he said at the time. “Now I’ve had to sell the home I bought for my mum. And that’s been the most heartbreaking part for me. I so wanted to care of her.”
Antony Costa, who claimed his earnings dropped from £250,000 to £400 a month declared bankruptcy a few weeks later.
“I wasn’t saving any of my money along the way and I had champagne taste with lemonade money in the end,” Costa said. “I thought Blue was going to last forever and any money I did have left at the end of Blue. I wasn’t advised on how to save it but I don’t blame anyone for that.”
Simon Webbe also declared bankruptcy around the same time.
Simon Webbe, Duncan James, Antony Costa, Simon Webbe and Lee Ryan of Blue in 2009.
Source: Getty Images
