A1 were formed by Steps Manager, Tim Byrne (also manages Simon Cowell’s contestants in the X Factor). Tim wanted to create the ultimate boy band. One that could sing, dance, write music and play their own instruments.
The first member of the band was Paul Marazzi who was picked from ... Read review
Advantages: Write their own music, play their own instruments and have a variety of sounds Disadvantages: They are 'on a break'
A1 were formed by Steps Manager, Tim Byrne (also manages Simon Cowell’s contestants in the X Factor). Tim wanted to create the ultimate boy band. One that could sing, dance, write music and play their own instruments.
The first member of the band was Paul Marazzi who was picked from auditions Tim held. Paul was the only auditionee good enough. Tim nex spotted Mark Read in the audience at a gig and asked him to go for a meeting, Mark ... ...fan base. In 1999 A1 released their first single, 'Be The First To Believe' which secured them their first top 10 hit. This was followed by 'Summertime of Our Lives' 'Like a Rose' and then a Double A Side of 'Ready or Not' and 'Everytime'. Until Ready or Not and Everytime were released A1 just seemed to be a normal run of the mill boyband but Everytime in particular set them apart from the rest as it was an amazing ballad and penned by the band themselves. more
A1 were formed by Steps Manager, Tim Byrne (also manages Simon Cowell’s contestants in the X Factor). Tim wanted to create the ultimate boy band. One that could sing, dance, write music and play their own instruments.
The first member of the band was Paul Marazzi who was picked from auditions Tim held. Paul was the only auditionee good enough. Tim nex spotted Mark Read in the audience at a gig and asked him to go for a meeting, Mark went along and sang and became the second member of the band. Tim asked Mark if he knew of any friends who are talented and would be interested and Mark recommended the youngest member of the band Ben Adams. Last but not least Christian Inbebrigtsen was recommended by one of his teachers at the Paul McCartney Fame School (also known and LIPA).
The band secured a contract with Sony which at the time was the largest contract to ever be given to a new artist/s. The band set about writing music and building a fan base. In 1999 A1 released their first single, 'Be The First To Believe' which secured them their first top 10 hit. This was followed by 'Summertime of Our Lives' 'Like a Rose' and then a Double A Side of 'Ready or Not' and 'Everytime'. Until Ready or Not and Everytime were released A1 just seemed to be a normal run of the mill boyband but Everytime in particular set them apart from the rest as it was an amazing ballad and penned by the band themselves.
The band released their first album which showed a diversity in sound. Although a1 weren't a household name until 'Take on Me' a cover of the 80's classic by A-Ha was released.
The video for the single used the same effects as used on the film The Matrix and was the most expensive pop video until that time. Love or hate their version the song got them a lot of attention and launched them to the next level when it reached number 1.
A1 obtained their second number one with the self penned track 'Same Old Brand New You'. To celebrate their success A1 had their first and only UK tour. On tour they proved themselves to not only be talented singers but performers too. The show wasn't as big a setting as shows by previous boy bands, e.g. Take That but it enthralled audiences all over the country and gained them a variety of fans of all ages and sexes.
A1 released their second album the A List and their future seemed bright, the majority of the album was written by themselves and they also played the majority of the instruments. They had grown a lot since their first album and their sound showed this. They released their third single off the album ‘No More’ and promoted it world wide then disaster struck. At an A1 signing in Indonesia four fans were killed in the rush to meet the band. This shocked A1 and their fans alike and made the band seriously consider their future. They decided to continue but to do things they wanted not what the record company wanted. They practically took a year out from the public eye apart from the odd TV appearance and concert to ensure people remembered them.
They spent much of the time in the studio writing and recording and the result was the amazing album ‘Make it Good’. The first single from the album was the classic ‘Caught in the Middle’ no matter how little you thought of a1 everyone loved this song, which was wrote by 2 members of the band. But even better than ‘Caught in the Middle’ was its B Side ‘2.59’ which showed a rocker edge to the band and it seemed insane it wasn’t an album track or used as a single itself.
The album was a huge change both music wise, style wise and personally for the band. Eventually they seemed to be receiving the recognition they deserved and were loosing their boy band tag. The band ditched their dance routines and instead played their instruments and being able to do that meant a lot to them. I confess on a1’s first two albums the majority of it was cheese and not my kind of music. But I was luck enough (or unlucky some might say!) to know the band personally so I always supported them but with the ‘Make it Good’ album I couldn’t stop listening to it.
The album showed the true A1 which was actually quite rocky. I truly believe if A1 had released the ‘Make it Good’ album first their career would have ended up very differently but once you’re a boy band its hard to shake that tag. The album contained amazing songs such as ‘Isn’t it Cheap’ ‘One Last Song’ and the Beatleesque ‘Make it Through the Night’ so it seemed insane when the record company released the title track from the album. ‘Make it Good’ was a great album track but lacked spark for the singles charts, ‘Isn’t it Cheap’ would have opened a lot of doors for the band but Sony wanted them to stick to being a cheesy Boy Band. Sony failed to market the album correctly and despite A1 promoting by doing signings nationwide the album only reached number 11 in the UK charts.
Disappointed in the record company and the music business as a whole Paul Marazzi decided to leave the band. Mark, Ben and Christian vowed to carry on but due to lack of support from Sony gave up and ‘took a break’ two weeks later. Mark Ben and Chris were and still are the best of friends but no longer hear from Paul, as a result when the band did a one off Reunion Concert at Hallingmarken in Norway only three members performed. The boys still had the spark that made them the success they had been and did the best performance of their lives, its just a shame the record company hadn’t promoted them better because they had the ability to be huge.
Since the break things have been going well for the boys, Paul is a producer at a studio in Surrey along with 90’s pop star Chesney Hawkes, Mark is writing songs for other artists including Charlotte Church and the Backstreet Boys, Christian is a successful solo star in his native Norway and is currently writing, recording and producing his second album as a solo artist and Ben signed to the same record label as Natasha Bedingfield has his first single coming out in May (check out www.benadams.uk.com) and is tipped by all to be a huge star.
If someone wanted to know what A1 album to buy I would definitely recommend Make it Good and if you ever get the chance to see any of them live I would highly recommend it, no matter what anyone thinks they are talented and I am very happy to say I know these four amazing men.
Advantages: Play instruments, write their own songs, sing live, can dance...(let me know when to stop) Disadvantages: Are still seen as being 'just another cheesy boyband'
...you...
To start off, a1 is made up of four members: Benjamin Adams, 20, Mark Read, 23, Christian Ingebrigtsen, 25 (I doubt you're interested, but today is actually his birthday) and Paul Marazzi, 27 (I should imagine you're even less interested, but his birthday was yesterday...) They're signed to the Sony label Columbia, and are managed by Tim Byrne and Vicky Blood, who also manage Steps, and all:STARS.
That's enough to put most people off. They ... ...to your own opinion of a1, then so be it. While they still have as many fans as they do, they're going to be round for a long time to come!
This is Melissa, signing off, to go and choose an outift to wear to an a1 signing tomorrow... ...
MelW 25.01.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of A1 - A1
Advantages: sing live, great music, talented Disadvantages: always seen as a boy band
...this section are writing off A1 as "just another boy band" but I wonder just how many of you have actually heard them sing? Now, let me clarify, I am not a teenybopper or a fan madly in love with them, I am 31. I bought their album, The A-List, for one of my daughters for Christmas and expected it to be pretty awful. It isn't, it's great.
When they released their cover version of A-Ha's Take On Me, I was sceptical. I remember the original version ... ...at the moment. A1 were on there one week, singing live, with Mark (the one who needs to get his sideburns shaved off, as he was quite nice looking before!) playing the piano. It was absolutely beautiful. My opinion was beginning to change.
Their album is outstanding. There are a couple of weaker tracks, but overall, it contains some wonderful songs and almost all of them are written by the band members. Christian (that's the Norwegian one) has an ...
KarenUK 23.02.2001
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Advantages: One half decent song...well nearly a half decent song Disadvantages: They are not much good
...was reading an interview with A1 on the internet the other day, and honestly they had me in stitches, what a gang of self-obssessed idiots they sound like.
The headline to the interview was "We are the new Beatles" Honestly, They went on to say that if the Beatles where around nowadays, they would be similar to them, I mean this is a group that has had 1 number one record, and basicly about 4 or 5 top ten entries. So this really entitles them to ... ...their version of "Take on Me" was ok, not brilliant, but OK (The original by A-HA was much better), but apart from this, they are nothing but a little girls heart throb group.
In the inerview, they where having a go at every-one, they slated Oasis, saying they where crap, they also had a go at "The Spice girls and Britney Spears" Now dont get me wrong, I dont like either of "Spice girls or Britney", but respect to them, they have done a lot, and ...
brianlfc 30.12.2000
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Advantages: To open up your eyes Disadvantages: You don't get it do you?
A1 - Love them or loathe them, they were once the most talented boyband to ever roam on Planet Pop. These tenor boys all had different distinct voices and this is one fact that removes the label - manufactured pop off the band because a1 were less manufactured than it meets the eye. These days, no one really bothers to look inside the music. especially if you are four guys who are all singer-songwriters, put into a band, or boyband. This unlucky ... ...melodies. In 2000, "Everytime" by a1 was an overly played song in my local radio station. I fell in love with it, and also got the chance to find out more about the four people who wrote and sang the song. This was how i got into a1. I agree that a1 fans may have overrated their talents and i agree that even though they all can sing, only one or two of them had more than average vocal quality. No doubtedly, they all write songs, but at the same time, ...
dessertgirl09 22.03.2005
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Advantages: NONE Disadvantages: Untalented pop group who cannot sing
A1 are another example of the growing trend of manufactured pop group. They have no talent at singing and are chosen as "pop stars" just because of their looks. Their first few singles never reached a high place and they only managed to get a number 1 hit by singing Pet Shop Boys "Take On Me". This prooves that they are uncapable of getting a number 1 by themselves. They had another number 1 hit as well but this single was rubbish and didnt deserve ...
kenwan2k 15.12.2000
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A1- HERE WE COME
This is the good debut album from Paul,Ben,Mark and Christian, who make up A1. This album is a good blend of pop and ballards from the boys who play there own instruments and write there own songs. On this album include:- 5 top 20 hits.
The songs on this album include:-
Forever In Love
Be The First To Believe
Summertime Of Our Lives
Ready Or Not
Everytime
If Only
Hey You
Like A Rose
Walking In The Rain
Still Around
I Still Believe
Heaven By Your Side
This album make you feel like summer, as most of the songs are very uplifting.This is a brilliant album for pop and A1 lovers. This makes a great buy for any A1 fan. I would give this album eight out of ten. Well done A1. ...
Advantages: A ROCKY BOYBAND AND IT PAID OFF! Disadvantages: EXCEPT IT DIDNT REALLY THE ALBUM FLOPPED COMPARED TO OTHERS
Another A1 Review by Lorraine I hear you all cry - Dont worry this will definately be the last one.....A1 didnt make anymore albums for me to review haha!!
WHO ARE A1?
Again I will give you just a brief description - A1 are from L-R on their album cover were Ben, Mark, Christian and Paul. They were all very musical and from very music backgrounds except Paul but he had such a great voice that you really couldnt fault him. A1 rose to fame in 1999 after just being beaten to best newcomer at Smash hits 1998 but that stop them they went on to release 2 albums and this one that I am reviewing was their 3rd. Now they hadnt released a song from their previous album since February 2001 and were really quite until they started to promote this album "Make it Good".
WHY IS WAS DIFFERENT?
As most pop bands say when they are releasing ...
Advantages: catchy, upbeat, great!!! Disadvantages: none i can think of!
This song is absolutely great! One of my favourites from the influential boyband. While Ben Adams goes his own way, its nice to reflect back on his success with a1. In my opinion, he will not match his success that he had with a1, as songs like this appeal to all natures and genres of musical taste.
'Take On Me' is an upbeat, FX loaded version of the classic A-HA hit, and boy does it deliver!!! With a hi-tech music promo video to accompany the song, it is no wonder it topped the charts almost 4 years ago.
Included on the CD single there is also a Beatles medley - with the boys covering the songs 'She Loves You' and 'I Feel Fine'. They do an average job of this, but then again, I am not a Beatles fan, so I can't judge.
Also the singles has an enhanced section on it, with multimedia trailers and a few extra things on.
It ...
tintin4889 11.06.2005 (15.06.2005)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Take On Me - A1
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