Lee Ryan walked away from Blue last year with way more plans than your average boyband veteran. Like George Michael’s departure from Wham, or Robbie’s rise from the ashes of Take That, Lee’s move into solo territory is the next natural step for a young man with the sort of innate talent and desire to perform that cannot be taught or whipped up in the marketing department.

In Blue he was Tabloid Boy, or as he says, “the wild one who was always getting into trouble. I had about 10 girls selling their stories on me. I didn’t care, as long as they get a new pair of shoes out of it then why should I be upset.” The control involved in keeping boybands organised and shipshape meant that his questioning, native intelligence was kept firmly muzzled.

The boyband unit did much to hide Ryan’s light under a bushel – albeit a very tuneful one. So, as much as his phenomenal talent, we will also be getting to know the man himself. Lee’s new solo material is soulful contemporary adult pop. It will give Blue’s army of fans a new level of intimacy with their hero and allow a new audience to discover an incredible vocal talent.

The debut single Army of Lovers is a good signpost towards the stripped-back sound of his first album. Eschewing easy US RnB references for more classic soul influences from Marvin Gaye, Maxwell and Luther Vandross, and mingling this with acoustic instrumentation has produced a strong, unique sound that you can instantly imagine yourself humming along to on MTV or the radio. Accessible pop values are used to great effect, his elegant but candid delivery takes the material straight to the heart.

Having written some of Blue’s key material – one of Blue’s biggest International hits, “Breathe Easy”, was one of Lee’s contributions – songwriting is still a big a part of Lee’s focus. It might surprise some people to learn that Lee would often return from the sort of night out when the tabloids had been all over his boyband ass to sit down and write songs through to dawn. ”I would literally go from being at work to going into the studio. I wouldn't really give myself much of a life apart from that”.

That Lee continues to develop his writing is not a desperate plea for credibility from someone trying to hide their pop past. He actively seeks out other people to help him learn his craft. “I’ve worked with a huge range of ranging from Mario’s producer Neo to up and coming British songwriters like Nigel Hoyle, who wrote Army Of Lovers,” says Lee. “As soon as I heard that song I knew it sounded like one of those timeless pop songs that only comes along once in a while”.

The new chapter of Lee’s career also has allowed him to reunite with some of the key people that helped his rise to fame as part of Blue. Lee is now a labelmate to Natalie Imbruglia at Brightside Recordings, the label run by the A&R man that discovered and signed Blue, Hugh Goldsmith. Lee also chose the renowned directors Max and Danya to produce the stunning video for Army Of Lovers (shot in Soller, Mallorca) having previously worked with them on Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, Blue’s hit duet with Elton John.

Elton John has remained a close mentor to Ryan during his move to solo artist. Surprising ranges of people who have worked with him always speak fondly of their time with him, and all mention his drive, talent and great vocal range. Having learned of his solo ambitions, designers D&G have also signed Lee up as the one of their next generation of ambassadors for their brand.

Although Lee has worked incredibly hard for his achievements, he comes from a background that could easily have confounded a young man’s ambitions. His mother brought him up alone in a tough London neighbourhood. “We had nothing. But because I was dyslexic and a wild kid she thought "I'll take him to drama school". She thought it would help me concentrate, and it actually helped me a lot. I got a lot of energy out of it. My mum worked her bollocks off.” Towards the end of his sojourns at various drama schools, including Italia Conti, the Bright Lights Academy and Sylvia Young, and with a diagnosis of dyslexia and ADD, one of the schools insisted he take the hyperactivity drug, Ritalin, to help him concentrate through his GCSEs. His mother looked into the drug, realised it was an amphetamine, and refused to let them put him on it...so Lee Ryan moved onto another drama school. Ostensibly, he was messing up; but he was, however, always artistically engaged. "I went to so many singing teachers - more than10 before I was 16 - I'd learnt so many different techniques. Most people have one singing teacher, one regimented way. But I'd taken every last bit from each. I put my own rules together."

While breaking all the rules at drama school he saw The Basketball Diaries, a film about the NY teenage junkie underground based on the book by Jim Carroll, he started to write a screenplay, "'Changes' is about my life as a kid. It's not just about me; it's about kids growing up. It's about, 'What if I'd smoked that crack pipe when someone put it to my lips? I'm directing Changes at the end of the year. I'm working with kids put forward by the Metropolitan Police from foster homes. But I'm not doing it with them for 'do-gooder' reasons, I'm doing it because I want actors who actually relate to what I'm talking about”.

His experiences growing up were so tough that he feels strong enough to avoid some of the pitfalls that are common to young artists. Growing up in a neighbourhood struggling against drug and crime problems mean that his good friend Elton John’s concerns about Doherty style drug problems are unlikely to beset the street savvy and emotionally mature Ryan. ‘I think Elton was a bit worried that I’d get fucked up by the industry. But I was like, “I’ve seen it all before mate”.’

For all the tabloid tales that have been, and that will inevitably follow in the years ahead, Lee is a refreshingly uncynical and honest British star.