A1 is a British/Norwegian boy band who were originally made up of Mark Read, Paul Marazzi, Ben Adams and Christian Ingebrigtsen (from Norway). Their first single, "Be the First to Believe", entered the UK singles chart at number six in early 1999. They had relative success in the charts with 2 number 1's and numerous 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's journey came to an end when original member Paul Marazzi left in 2002 and the band subsequently decided to split.

On 8 October 2002, Paul Marazzi left the group citing personal reasons, and A1 subsequently split.

They released The Best of a1, a compilation album throughout South East Asia in January 2004, featuring all their singles (excluding "Be the First to Believe"), two unreleased studio recordings and previously unreleased concert recordings.