High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! A1 are a British-Norwegian boyband. They were originally made up of Mark Read, Ben Adams, Christian Ingebrigtsen and Paul Marazzi.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.