A1 are a British-Norwegian pop group. They were originally made up of Christian Ingebrigtsen, Mark Read, Ben Adams and Paul Marazzi. Their first single, "Be the First to Believe", entered the UK singles chart at #6 in early 1999. They had a huge amount of success worldwide and charts with two number #1s and eight top 10 hits. Adding to this they also won a BRIT Award for "British Breakthrough Act" in 2001. They were formed by band manager Tim Byrne, who also formed Steps. A1 came to an end in 2002 when original member Paul Marazzi left in 2002 and the band subsequently decided to split.


In 2005, Ben Adams went on to release his first solo single, "Sorry", which peaked at #18 on the UK Singles Chart. Adams was also due to record an album but due to an argument with his record label, he was later dropped. In 2009, he appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Big Brother, becoming one of the remaining five housemates,He attracted much attention later that same year when he posed naked for the cover of Attitude Magazine. In 2003, Christian Ingebrigtsen also began a solo career, with his first solo single, "In Love With An Angel", being released in 2004. The single stayed in the Top 10 of the Norway Singles Chart for nearly three months. The song was switfly followed by "Things Are Gonna Change", which became Ingebrigsten's final solo single before he moved into other areas of showbusiness. In 2002, Mark Read focused on becoming a songwriter for other artists, after signing a deal with Metrophonic. Read has written for artists such as Charlotte Church, Joe Brown, Sam Brown, Mark Owen, Jarvis Cocker and Roger Cook. Read released his debut solo single, "Greatest Lady In My Life", on the 2 March 2009. The single featured a karaoke version of the track, exclusive to retailers iTunes and Amazon.His debut solo album, Peace At Last, was released in June 2009. Months after he left the band, Paul hosted the Andy Cole Children's Foundation (now All Star Kids) on April 26, 2003 together with Jo Good. He turned down the offer to appear in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! in 2004 Later in late 2005, he started forming a soul/rock band in Sunderland, Northeast England. The band was named Snagsby in 2006. Later in 2008, the band announced in their official MySpace that Marazzi is leaving Snagsby on January 2009. Paul then went to work in The George Hotel in Whitby as a club D.


In November 2008, the remaining members of the band formed a MySpace account to keep fans updated of their current situation. In Summer 2009, the band made an official announcement, stating that not only were they to reform, but they were to play a series of concerts in Oslo in December of that year. The announcement also stated that the band's first new single in seven years, "Take You Home", would be released via iTunes in Norway on 2 November. The single entered the Norway Singles Chart at #9, based on download sales only. It was announced in late 2009 that the band would compete to represent Norway in the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, with the band's second single since their reformation, "Don't Wanna Lose You Again". The song peaked at #4 on the Norwegian Singles Chart, based entirely on download sales. The band reached the final of the contest and finished in second place. The band made their official UK comeback on New Year's Eve by performing at the Heaven New Year's Eve Party in South London. In March 2010, the band embarked on a worldwide tour that began in Norway, with performances in Oslo, Stavanger, Kristiansand, Bergen, Trondheim and Haugesund. The tour extended to Europe and ROTW in Autumn 2010. The band's first new studio album since 2002 was released on 11 October 2010, and includes the singles "Take You Home", "Don't Wanna Lose You Again", "In Love and I Hate It" and "Waiting for Daylight".


(Thanks Google for helping to summarize some of there story)