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

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

. He is best known for his 2002

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply 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.

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, 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 l ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, 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 Music, 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 ...

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, ...

, took Galbraith to fleadhs (

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

s). The mix of Scottish and Irish musical traditions.Official Declan Galbraith website
/ref>

Musical career

Galbraith performed at the annual Rochester Dickens Festival, a two-day event celebrating

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

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

chimney sweep A chimney sweep is a person who inspects then 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 combust ...

, started singing. Soon after this, he started to enter local talent contests. He then engaged publicist Max Clifford and 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 are an Irish pop group formed in Dublin in 1998. The group consists of members Nicky Byrne, Shane Filan, Kian Egan and Mark Feehily. Brian McFadden was a member before leaving in March 2004. The group disbanded in 2012 and later reun ...

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...

and

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

. His first self-titled album, '' Declan'', with Irish traditional songs as well as specially written material. At the Odyssey Arena, Belfast in December 2002, 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. He came to the attention of

Haim Saban Haim Saban (; ; born October 15, 1944) is an Israeli and American media proprietor, investor, musical composer and producer of records, film, and television. A businessman with interests in financial services, entertainment, and media, and an ...

who signed Galbraith to his music group's new record label, Starwatchum. Galbraith parted company with Starwatch in February 2010. In 2014, Galbraith announced he was planning a comeback.

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 is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...

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 gr ...

'' (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" * " 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 in October 1997 as the fourth and final single from her second studio album, '' Secrets'' (1996). The song, co-written by Braxton and Babyface ...

" * "

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, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

" * “

Sister Golden Hair "Sister Golden Hair" is a song by the band America from their fifth album '' Hearts'' (1975), written by Gerry Beckley. It was their second single to reach number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100, remaining in the top position for one week. ...

” * " Bright Eyes" * "

Nothing Else Matters "Nothing Else Matters" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in 1992 as the third single from their self-titled fifth studio album, ''Metallica''. The song peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Album Ro ...

" * "

Nights in White Satin "Nights in White Satin" is a song by English rock band the Moody Blues, written 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 nu ...

" * "

The Last Unicorn ''The Last Unicorn'' is a fantasy novel by American author Peter S. Beagle and published in 1968, by Viking Press in the U.S. and The Bodley Head in the U.K. It follows the tale of a unicorn, who believes she is the last of her kind in the ...

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 English male singers Actors from Medway