Ryder was born on 25 June 1989 and was raised in Chelmsford, Essex. His mother worked as a dental assistant and his father Keith worked as a carpenter.[2] He attended the St John Payne Catholic School in Chelmsford between 2000 and 2007.[6] Ryder began singing when he was a child. He was inspired to pursue a career in music after seeing the Canadian rock band Sum 41 live in concert aged 11.[7]
Ryder is a big fan of Eurovision and has memories of watching the contest with his family while growing up in the Essex countryside.[8] His musical awakening occurred in his early teens when after a trip to a nunnery he discovered an album of English heavy metal band Iron Maiden.[9] His first job was delivering papers for The Essex Chronicle as a child.[10]
Ryder made his debut as a singer and guitarist in the music industry in 2009. When he was 19 he co-founded the band the Morning After, with whom he released two studio albums with.[13] Following his time with the band in 2010, he toured as a guitarist for the Canadian band Blessed by a Broken Heart. In 2012, he was announced as their new lead vocalist and contributed to their album Feel the Power which appeared on Billboard's Heatseekers chart. They split in 2013, and he began working as a frontman for the American rock band Close Your Eyes. Ryder released one album with them called Line in the Sand, and left in 2014.[14][15]
Following his time working for other bands he spent some time working in construction for his father. He started to pursue a career as a solo artist and in 2016 recorded an album with producer Bryan Wilson in Nashville, Tennessee, although it was never released.[16] In 2017, he opened a vegan juice bar in Essex with his long term partner Lois before shutting it down in 2019. He spent some time busking, and performing at weddings and clubs all over the south-east of England before joining TikTok.[17]
2020–present: TikTok and Eurovision Song Contest
Ryder rose to prominence through TikTok where, starting with the first lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, he began posting his music covers. He caught the attention of musicians such as Sia, Justin Bieber, Alicia Keys and Elton John. By the end of the same year, he became the most-followed UK artist on the platform.[18] He later signed a record contract with Parlophone. In 2021, he released his debut EP, The Sun's Gonna Rise, which has received over 100 million global streams. It was followed up with a sold-out tour.[19]
Ryder wrote "Space Man" during the pandemic, and in January 2022, the song was sent to TaP Music and the BBC. In the same month, he accepted their offer to represent the country in the contest.[20] On 10 March 2022, the BBC announced Ryder as the UK representative at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 with "Space Man".[21] He toured Europe between March and May 2022 to promote his entry.[22] In an interview for Sky News, Ryder spoke about the injury he had sustained in Madrid during his tour after crashing into a metal bar.[23]
On 12 May 2022, the BBC aired a documentary titled Sam Ryder: Journey To Eurovision on BBC iPlayer and YouTube which detailed Ryder's journey to Eurovision.[24] He also won the Marcel Bezençon Press Award, becoming the first UK act to win a Bezençon Award.[25] Ryder finished in second place at the Eurovision final with 466 points, becoming the highest-scoring UK Eurovision entrant. He won the jury vote and also scored the UK its best result since 1998 and its first top three since 2002.[26][27]
Ryder has spent most of his adult life touring, writing, and performing for other bands and once resided in Hawaii. He is a vegan and once owned a vegan café in Coggeshall, England.[32] He likes to surf the English coast in his free time, travel, snowboard, drive around race tracks and skate.[33][34] He also once worked as a construction worker.[35]
Ryder is in a long-term relationship with his partner Lois Gaskin-Barber.[36] He cites David Bowie, Elton John, and Queen as his music influences.[37] Ryder believes in aliens, and once wanted to pursue a career as an astronaut. He claims that he once saw a UFO while in Hawaii as a child.[38]