a1 is a British boy band whose first single, "Be the First to Believe", was released in 1999. Its members were Britons Mark Read, Paul Marazzi, Ben Adams and Norwegian Christian Ingebrigtsen. A1 also won a BRIT Award for "British Breakthrough Act" in 2001. They were formed by band manager Tim Byrne, who also formed Steps.
In 2001 the band toured Asia, where they were well-received. The music video for their single "No More" was filmed in Singapore[citation needed]. During the Indonesian leg of their tour in the Taman Anggrek Mall, four teenage girls were killed in a stampede.
Their third album, Make It Good, featured a sound closer to traditional rock music, but was to be their last studio project.