One of our all time favourite boybands – mainly because we’ve got a naked pic of them – are to appear in The Big Reunion Tonight.
In Episode 2, which airs tonight, two major bands of pop history feature – Eternal and A1. Spats and arguments are put aside as these pop stars get their groups back together.
A1 Are Ben Adams, Christian Ingebrigtsen and Mark Read.
Some of the band began to compete for their fans’ attention as an intense battle of egos began. Ben explains: “Me and Christian always had a… it wasn’t rocky, it was competitive.”
Christian recalls: “Ben always loved being in the centre and the centre of attention. And sometimes I wanted to be there too.”
Ben remembers one particular confrontation: “He (Christian) turned around and he went to punch me, but instead opened his hand and slapped me.”
Although Ben admits: “Thinking back now, I would have hated myself. But at the time, I thought I was brilliant.”
The bands popularity reached new heights with their number one cover of Take On Me. Mark says: “Everything was going our way, to top it off we won a BRIT award for best new band. That year was the year Craig David was nominated, Coldplay was nominated – we were in good company there.”
A1’s success came at an unexpected cost when tragedy struck on the band’s tour of Asia. Ben recalls what happened when an extreme case of overcrowding at a shopping mall signing ended in four fatalities: “We could see girls at the front actually being squashed against the glass. I remember looking up and going to everybody ‘can you see this?’. I just think the sheer enormity of people that were there was just uncontrollable. Unfortunately, four young girls got squashed to death at the signing.”
Christian says: “We know we didn’t cause it. But we also know if we hadn’t been there, those people would still be alive maybe. I guess it’s something we can never fully come to terms with and accept”
Following the tragedy, A1 withdrew from the public eye. Ben says: “It was a time for us to re-evaluate what we were doing and why we were doing it.”
The band returned to the spotlight with a new look and feel, writing their own hit number one single Caught in the Middle.
As their music changed, so did their bond. Mark says: “There was a weird dynamic now in the band, because you had two musicians and two vocalists in the middle, but one (Paul) not really doing much.”
Christian says: “Looking back now, I think Paul stopped caring as much and withdrew a little bit more.” Ben recalls: “I think for an entire month on tour he refused to speak to me.”
Ben says: “Everything is going great and here’s this, whatever you want to call him, ruining it for everybody. Paul leaving was definitely the catalyst in the split up of the group.”
The band received a text from Paul asking them to read his letter of resignation. Shortly after, A1 were ditched from their record label with debts of £2m.
The Big Reunion Continues Tonight at 9:00PM on ITV2
