A1 VIP WEBCHAT (13.09.02) If you're a member of a1 VIP, remember that there's an a1 webchat for VIP members only over @ a1-online.com on Monday 16th September at 6pm (British time)!

NEW SINGLE (22.6.02)

I've heard that Learn To Fly will be the next single and that they will be singing it at this year's Party In The Park. I'm not 100% sure though!

US PROMO TOUR DATES (21.6.02)

If you live in America, check the dates below to see if a1 are performing near you!

A1 VIP (11.6.02)

a1 VIP is now set up. Click here to find out more and to join.

A1 ENTER THE WORLD CUP (11.6.02)

Vote for a1 in the pop world cup by clicking here.

"MAKE IT GOOD" NEW ALBUM OUT NOW (27.5.02)

The third album, Make It Good, is in shops in the UK now. They're doing signings all this week:
28th May WH Smith, 34 Peel Avenue, The Trafford Centre, Manchester
29th May WH Smith, Listergate, Nottingham
30th May WH Smith, Unit 10, Fosse Park, Leicester
All signings start at 4:30pm

YTV'S HITLIST (13.5.02)

Vote for Caught In The Middle as best video in the Canadian music site by clicking here. a1 are currently at number 5.

MAKE IT GOOD, OUT TODAY! (13.5.02)

VOTE FOR A1! (13.5.02)

a1 are up against the likes of Blue, O-Town, Will Young and Gareth Gates for Smash Hits video of the year. Vote for them by clicking here. a1 are currently in 1st place.

TRACKLISTING FOR NEW ALBUM (26.4.02)

Here is the tracklisting and a little description from Ben for a1's new album, Make It Good, which is due for release on 27th May:

Let's Fly - "If you've lost strength to carry on, this ballad says 'give it time and you will get through'."
Here Comes The Rain - "This one's more of a rocky, Bon Jovi kind of ballad."
Make It Good - "This is the next single and it sounds kind of hippy."
Caught In The Middle - "You know this one of course!"
Cherrish This Love - "I wrote this as a Boyz ll Men-style r 'n' b ballad, and we think it's an amazing love song."
This Aint What Love Is About - "This is about the relentless arguments in a relationship. It's like that in a1 sometimes - we argue like a bunch of old women."
Crazy - "This one's by Christian and it's got an Aerosmith kind of vibe."
Do You Remember - "This reminds me of One Week by the Barenaked Ladies. It's about snogging someone's girlfriend!"
Let It Out - "Paul wrote this uplifting track."
Isn't It Cheap - "A really cool song - really funky."
Make It Through The Night - "This one was written by all of us, in the same vibe as Make It Good."
Missing You - "We wrote this track for our fans, cos we'd been away so long."
If I Can't Have You - "This is simply saying 'If I can't have you, I don't want nobody else"

A1 IN SPAIN (26.4.02)

Following the January release of the Europe-wide smash hit single 'Caught In The Middle', a1 are set for global success with the release of 'Make It Good'. Released on Monday May 13th 2002, ‘Make It Good’ signals another great leap for the band who started life as one of the most promising new pop acts of 1999. Since then they have gone on to prove that they are more than just another pop act. A big shout out to everyone who turned out to see a1 in Spain recently – the guys were overwhelmed by the response they got there. Says Mark: "We haven’t been to Spain for – it must be – two years, but it was great to see that people hadn’t forgotten us and that they were getting so excited about 'Caught In The Middle'. "Another highlight of the trip was – who'd've guessed!? – running into A-ha one night at a fantastic restaurant! It was funny – we kinda instantly formed a mutual appreciation society: we thanked them for letting us record 'Take On Me' while they were really happy we’d got their song out there again!"

THE F.A CUP CLASSIC CONCERT (20.4.02)

Taking place on the eve of The FA Cup Final, The F.A.Cup Classic, hosted by BBC Grandstand's Steve Rider and Radio 3's Stephanie Hughes, features a stunning line up from the worlds of classical and pop music. a1 will be on stage, performing, amongst others, their latest single. Other stars taking part in the concert include Lesley Garrett, Royal Opera House favourite, Willard White, bond plus Faye Tozer (formerly of Steps) performing a special duet with Russell Watson. They will be joined on stage by the BBC Concert Orchestra and a 300 strong choir, featuring the Cardiff Polyphonic Choir, Adwyn Singers, Cor Caerdydd, Cor Sioned James, Cantorion Creigian, Vivace and the male voice choirs Risca Male Choir and Only Men Aloud. The concert will feature many popular favourites, such as Jerusalem, Abide with Me and You’ll Never Walk Alone, Nessum Dorma, Faure’s Pavane (1998 World Cup theme), Carmina Burana, extracts from Madam Butterfly and Carmen, plus artists own material, a few surprises and a spectacular fireworks finale. The concert starts at 7.30pm and will finish approx 9.30pm. Tickets can be booked by phone or online. They are priced at: £12, £15, £20 and £25. There is a £5 reduction for children aged 12 and under on £15, £20 tickets and a limited number at £25. There is no reduction for £12 tickets. For more information visit www.bbc.co.uk/facupclassic or call 0870 9063757.

A1 CONFIRMED FOR MARDI GRAS 2002 (23.4.02)

a1 have confirmed that they will be performing at this year’s gay and lesbian Mardi Gras festival, which takes place at Hackney Marshes on 6th July. Ben, Mark, Christian and Paul are scheduled to join the likes of H and Claire, 3SL, allSTARS and Atomic Kitten for the summer event.

LOOK OUT FOR PAUL'S LUGGAGE! (23.4.02)

Keep an eye out - Paul’s developed a crazy habit of forgetting his luggage!The latest scenario happened when the guys were in Sweden recently, performing at their version of the Children’s Eurovision Song Contest. After getting off the plane in Stockholm, Paul spotted his suitcase and took it off the conveyor belt only to walk away without it. “Like d’oh!” says Paul, “I eventually remember and we always manage to get it back though one day I might not be so lucky, so if you see me, do remind me!”

THE RAINBOW BALL - PAUL REVIEWS (23.4.02)

"We've spent loads of time at charity events recently. On Wednesday, we went to the celebrity auction set up by Heat magazine. We caught up with a lot of people we knew but we did walk away empty handed from the auction – we started bidding for Paul Weller’s guitar, but it just got too expensive!!" "On Saturday, we also performed at the Rainbow Ball at the Marriott Gosforth Park Hotel in Newcastle. We’ve done stuff for the Rainbow Trust before, it’s a great charity which cares for children with a life threatening or terminal illness. Anyway the show was great, we performed a few of our favourite tracks and the event raised £70,000 in total - £1,000 of that came from a gold disc that I gave to be auctioned. I was real happy."

SOAP STARS (20.4.02)

a1 have just let slip that they’ll be up to their ears in soap later this month! The band have confirmed that they’ll be appearing in a forthcoming episode of America’s top daytime soap. Ben talked to worldpop earlier this week about the band’s soap debut. ‘We’re going to LA to shoot for The Young & The Restless. It’s the American equivalent to EastEnders. They want us to go and perform on the show, which should be interesting. It’ll feature a1 at a club doing two songs, Caught In The Middle and Make It Good.’ The Young & The Restless is a US institution. It first aired on CBS way back in 1973 and has been America’s No 1 daytime soap for over 10 years. Mary J Blige has included samples from the show’s theme tune on No More Drama, the title track to her latest album. The song is scheduled to be released as a single in the UK on 29 April 2002. No date has yet been confirmed for the episode of The Young & The Restless, which will feature a1, but we can shed light on their action-packed promotional schedule for April. Ben explained, ‘We are doing massive amounts of TV and interviews. Pretty much anything and everything we possibly can. No sleep, no rest, no days off! a1’s new single, Make It Good will be released on 13 May 2002. Their latest album, also titled Make It Good, is out on 27 May 2002.

BACK FROM GERMANY (13.4.02)

Wondering how a1’s recent trip to Germany went? It was a flying visit in every sense of the word as the guys spent most of their time racing up and down motorways to visit the country’s biggest radio stations. Says Mark: "We spent loads of time in the car just travelling, but we always manage to amuse ourselves. We’ve just received the final copy of our album, so we’re giving that a listen – we’re so proud of it, we can’t wait for you to hear it. "We also spend a lot of time watching DVDs, everyone’s current favourites are Zoolander and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back – hilarious, both of them."