NZ Magazine
"A1: Boy group"
A1 have been on Top of the pops nine times. They’ve won a brit award, had top ten hits around the world and have caused mass teen hysteria. But like similar ‘boy bands’, the foursome were labeled manufactured and talentless by music critics. Determined to prove their abilities, a1 have written a third album, Make it good, a collection of pop/rock tracks, that prove these guys can do more than just wiggle their pretty tooshes. Ben Adams sets the record straight…
Why did you decide to change to a more guitar-based sound?
Our music before has been marketed and focused on the teen market. We knew that we were capable of writing music that can be liked by everyone. Plus the songs that we were writing really demanded more guitar-based feel. Mike Hedges came on boards (U2, Travis) and he said he wanted to do the whole album for us after hearing all our songs.
How do you feel about being categorized in that boy-band genre?
I think it frustrated us slightly because we’d been doing music since a very young age and to have people come along and say ‘Oh your talentless’ was hard. Actually, dance routines we find more difficult than anything. We’d spend days and days in the dance studio trying to get it right. We’ve been sitting behind musical instruments our whole life so to have people come along and say we are cheesy and crap was frustrating.
How important is it that people know you do play instruments?
It’s a very important part of what we do. We do all the interviews and photo shoots just so we can get on stage for that hour and perform. The dance routine stuff was fun for a while but it was frustrating having to mime. Because of such strenuous dance routines, we couldn’t possibly sing it live. We’d sound like rubbish. It’s nice to be able to sing it live now
Do you think the pop stars series made it harder for groups like you to be taken seriously?
I think the pop idols show is a good thing because
it’s given a few more people opportunities. But it also gives people a
false impression of how the music industry works. You normally have to
start from the bottom and work your way up to build a strong fan base.
I think it’s turned the charts into a bit of a game because the amount
of records that they sell off the back of the TV show.
Thanks to Crimson who took the time to type this interview and forward
the scans.