a1
Background information
Origin	United Kingdom
Genre(s)	Pop
Instrument(s)	Singing
Years active	1998-2002
Label(s)	Sony BMG/Epic (1999-2002)
Former members
Ben Adams Mark Read Christian Ingebrigtsen Paul Marazzi

a1 were a British boy band whose first single, "Be The First To Believe", was released in 1999. Its members were Mark Read, Paul Marazzi, Ben Adams and Christian Ingebrigtsen (from Norway). a1 also won a BRIT Award for 'British breakthrough act' in 2001. They were formed by band manager Tim Byrne, who also formed STEPS.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Breakup 3 Discography 3.1 Studio albums 3.2 Compilations 3.3 Singles 4 External links

Biography

The group's publicity focused on the fact that a1 wrote many of their own songs, and that three of the four play musical instruments. Read plays the piano and drum, Adams plays the piano, oboe and violin and Ingebrigtsen plays the piano and guitar. After an initial period during which they achieved success in the UK singles chart, in autumn 2000 two of their singles went to number one in the chart within nine weeks: "Take On Me" and "Same Old Brand New You". The former was a cover of A-ha's 1985 single, which itself only reached a number two position in the UK charts in 1986. a1 also won the smash hits award for best video for "Take on Me". Ben Adams also won "most fanciable male" the year after. In 2001 they toured Asia, where they were well-received. The music video for their single "No More" was filmed in Singapore.

Breakup

During the Indonesian leg of their tour in Taman Anggrek Mall, four teenage girls were killed in a stampede. The band members were upset by the incident, and all four considered leaving the band. It seems that this sentence lacked references. Please include. Thanks.

Their third album, Make It Good, featured a sound closer to traditional rock music, but was to be their last studio project.

On October 8, 2002 Paul Marazzi left the band citing personal reasons, and the group subsequently split.

They released a Best Of album in January 2004 which featured previously unreleased concert recordings, their singles, and two unreleased studio recordings.

Ben Adams released the solo single, "Sorry", which reached #18 in the UK Singles Chart in April 2005.

Christian has since become popular back in his home country of Norway and Mark is still writing songs for many artists.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Title	Chart Position
		UK Album Chart
1999	Here we come	#20
2000	The A list	#14
2002	Make it good	#15

Compilations

Year	Title	Chart Position
		UK Album Chart
2004	The Best of a1	#?

Singles

Year	Title	Chart Position	Album
		UK Singles Chart
1999	"Be The First To Believe"	#6	Here we come
1999	"Summertime Of Our Lives"	#5	Here we come
1999	"Ready Or Not/Everytime"	#3	Here we come
2000	"Like A Rose"	#6	Here we come
2000	"Take On Me"	#1	The A-List
2000	"Same Old Brand New You"	#1	The A-List
2001	"No More"	#6	The A-List
2002	"Caught In The Middle"	#2	Make It Good
2002	"Make It Good"	#11	Make It Good

External links

• LyricsQuest.com: 'a1' Lyrics
• a1 on Yahoo! Music