Declan John Galbraith (born 19 December 1991) is a British

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wr ...

. He is best known for his 2002

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

, " Tell Me Why", which peaked at #29 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

Early life

Galbraith was born on 19 December 1991, in

Hoo St Werburgh Hoo St Werburgh, commonly known as Hoo, is a large village and civil parish in the Medway district of Kent, England. It is one of several villages on the Hoo Peninsula to bear the name ''Hoo'', a Saxon word believed to mean "spur of land" or ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, England to Siobhán and Alec Galbraith. His father is English and his mother is Irish. He has a younger sister Bernadette. When Galbraith was a young boy, his grandfather, who played several

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

s in a

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary *Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania *Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, I ...

, took Galbraith to fleadhs (

concerts A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide vari ...

). The mix of Scottish and Irish musical traditions.Official Declan Galbraith website
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Musical career

Galbraith insisted on performing spontaneously at the annual Rochester Dickens Festival, a two-day extravaganza with his sister Ayannah where people were invited to dress up in Victorian costumes to celebrate the life and times of the famous author

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian er ...

and his links with their town. Galbraith, dressed up as a

chimney sweep A chimney sweep is a person who clears soot and creosote from chimneys. The chimney uses the pressure difference caused by a hot column of gas to create a draught and draw air over the hot coals or wood enabling continued combustion. Chimneys ...

, started singing. Soon after this, he started to enter local talent contests and within a year he had won 15 titles and more than £1,000. As a result of his success in the talent shows, the major recording companies soon heard about Galbraith and he was signed to his first recording contract in England. His first recording was "

Walking in the Air "Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film '' The Snowman'' based on Raymond Briggs's 1978 children's book of the same name. The song forms the centrepiece of ''The Snowman'', which has become a seasonal fa ...

", which was released on a special Christmas Hits album, also featuring songs by

Westlife Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporar ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

. Among some of his most memorable performances have been the Queen's Jubilee at

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...

, when he sang "

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" accompanied by the St. Paul's Choir and a performance in front of more than 22,000 people at an

concert. His first self-titled album, '' Declan'', with Irish traditional songs as well as specially written material became a big success and charted in the UK and Ireland. Within the year of release, it had soon sold 200,000 copies in Germany. Another big success came during a nationwide tour of Young Voices concerts when breaking the Guinness World Record. It was at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast in December 2002 when he sang live with some 10,000 children and was also simultaneously linked, by radio and satellite, with more than 80,000 children in their schools all over the UK, who accompanied him in achieving the world's largest choral sing. His talent and reputation came to the attention of media mogul Haim Saban who signed Galbraith to his music group's new record label, Starwatch, and selected Germany as the first site to launch their first album. Galbraith parted company with Starwatch in February 2010 and is reportedly battling major contractual issues that prevent any releases for the time being. For some considerable time, Declan has been working on redeveloping his musical career. In 2014, he announced he was planning a comeback. He has started to present his new, self-composed songs in small clubs. Currently, he is working in the studio.

Fame

Galbraith has garnered fame outside the British Isles, especially in China, where his songs were chosen as part of the Chinese education curriculum for learning English. His songs are used to help Chinese children learn English as his songs are easy to remember and suitable for children. In May 2008, Galbraith undertook a successful two cities tour in China, of Beijing and

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern provi ...

Discography

Albums

* '' Declan'' (2003) UK #44 * ''

Thank You "''Thank you''" (often expanded to ''thank you very much'' or ''thanks a lot'', or informally abbreviated to ''thanks'' or alternately as ''many thanks''Geoffrey Leech, ''The Pragmatics of Politeness'' (2014), p. 200.) is a common expression of ...

'' (2006) GER # 5 * ''You and Me'' (2007) GER # 33 * ''Greatest Hits'' (2018)

Singles

* " Tell Me Why" (2002) UK #29 * " Love of My Life" (2007) GER # 55 * " Ego You" (2007)

Covers

* "

An Angel "An Angel" is a song by European-American pop group The Kelly Family. It was produced by Kathy Kelly and Hartmut Pfannmüller for their eighth regular studio album '' Over the Hump'' (1994) and features lead vocals by Angelo and Paddy Kelly. P ...

" * " Tears in Heaven" (2001) * " Love of My Life" (2007) * " My Girl" (2007) * "

How Could an Angel Break My Heart "How Could an Angel Break My Heart" is a song by American singer and songwriter Toni Braxton, released as the fourth and final single from her second studio album, '' Secrets'' (1996). The song, co-written by Braxton and Babyface and produced by B ...

" * "

Sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

" * “ Sister Golden Hair” * " Bright Eyes" * " Nothing Else Matters" * "

Nights In White Satin "Nights in White Satin" is a song by the Moody Blues, written and composed by Justin Hayward. It was first featured as the segment "The Night" on the album '' Days of Future Passed''. When first released as a single in 1967, it reached number ...

" * " The Last Unicorn"

References

External links

Official Facebook PageOfficial TwitterOfficial YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galbraith, Declan 1991 births Living people 21st-century English singers English child singers English male singers English male television actors Musicians from Kent Male actors from Kent People from Hoo St Werburgh English people of Irish descent English people of Scottish descent 21st-century British male singers