Mark Read (singer)
| Mark Read | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Mark Daniel Read |
| Also known as | Pop a1 |
| Born | 7 November 1978 |
| Origin | Worcester Park, London, UK |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, Songwriter, Musician |
| Instruments | Vocals, Piano, Guitar |
| Associated acts | A1 |
| Website | Official Site |
Mark Daniel Read (born in Worcester Park, London on 7 November 1978) is a British singer/songwriter, best known as member of the boy band A1 from 1998 to 2002, and 2009–present.
Read grew up in a very musical family; his father Keith was in The Wild Angels, a rock 'n' roll band. His mother, Pam, played piano and drums as well as being a singer/songwriter. Read began playing piano at the age of 2 and eventually joined the family band on keyboards at the age of 11, where he would regularly perform in pubs, clubs and hotels across the country.
He attended Auriol Junior School and then went on to Epsom and Ewell High School.
At the age of 15, Read joined the Songtime Theatre Arts group, where he received training and gained experience in acting. He subsequently took lead roles in several of their productions, including Guys and Dolls and Aladdin.
Between the ages of 15 and 18, Read – along with his parents' band – performed onboard several P&O and Princess cruise ships. These concerts led took him all around the world, including aboard the liner Canberra as part of the D-Day 50th Anniversary Fleet in 1994.
In 2009, he performed A1's hit version of the A-ha song "Take on Me" at Saint Edmund's Catholic School in Dover, Kent And Also The Astor of Hever Community School in Maidstone, Kent
By the age of 19, Read was spotted at a music venue in Covent Garden, London, by Tim Byrne (manager of UK pop act Steps). At the time, Byrne was looking for suitable members to form a new pop group. It was through this chance encounter that Read went on to receive his first big break, as he would become one of the four members of the chart-topping band a1.
Along with band mates Ben Adams, Christian Ingebrigtsen and Paul Marazzi, Read achieved great success across the globe with a1, including 2 UK numbers 1 singles, 8 top ten hits, 3 studio albums and a Brit Award for Best Newcomer in 2001. Their first number 1 came with their cover of the A-Ha song Take on Me and was soon followed by the self-penned Same Old Brand New You.
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