Ryan’s about to get the full Picture of fame

Music with Eddie Rowley

FOUR years ago, young Kildare man Ryan Hennessy was on the dole and penning songs in the bedroom of his Athy family home.

Fast forward and we find 23-year-old Hennessy on the brink of world superstardom with his band, Picture This.

Along with fellow group members Jimmy Rainsford, Cliff Deane and Owen Cardiff, Ryan will tomorrow launch their new album, ‘MDRN LV’, with a live performance on top of New York’s Empire State Building. Picture This have been snapped up by Republic Records, one of the world’s biggest labels with a red-hot stable that includes Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande and Drake.

Last autumn, Republic’s co-founder, Avery Lipman, flew into Dublin on his private jet for a day to attend a Picture This press conference at The Westbury Hotel. He revealed why he thinks they have what it takes to become superstars.

From afar, Lipman had seen Picture This build up a massive, fanatical following here in Ireland, starting off posting their songs on Facebook. “Something didn’t make sense about the band, in a good way,” Avery said. “They generated this passion among fans and that was something that was just too hard to ignore.”

Reflecting on their rise to stardom and the thrills that lie ahead for them, Ryan tells me: “It’s tough to comprehend when you think about it because it’s crazy.”

In person, Hennessy is reserved and quietly spoken, a stark contrast to the largerthan-life character we see on stage. “I don’t really like being in the limelight in general,” he insists. “For my 21st birthday I flew out of the country so they wouldn’t throw me a party. I didn’t want to be the centre of attention.” Time for Ryan to get used to it!