There’s no denying that as a teenager I was more than just a little bit of an A1 fan… they were all over my bedroom walls and my pencil case… and for a second I thought I might be marrying one… but now, as Mark Read prepares to release his first solo record, I think I’ll just make do with interviewing him… you never know, I might win him over with my charms!
Hey Mark! Now I believe you’re getting ready to embark on a solo career, why oh why have we had to wait so long?!
I always intended to make my own solo album, but wanted to wait until I had something to say musically & lyrically, didn't just want to put something out for the sake of it, so spent a lot of time developing my writing, working with other artists.
A few years down the line I was missing performing so much and a lot of the songs I was writing we quite biographical and personal to me, I thought it would make sense to release them myself and as soon as the opportunity came along I was back in the studio, recording Peace at Last
You used to be on my pencil case when I was in school… so do you think people like me will like your new stuff, seen as though many of us wanted to marry you when you were a cheeky little popstar?
Ha, I never knew I was on a pencil case, I was an Easter Egg once, don't know if it tasted nice, I've still got it somewhere, so 8 yrs later, probably not. Anyway, back to the question, I've definitely moved on a lot musically since a1 but it's still quite upbeat and poppy, just more mature, call it man-pop if you like. Some people have compared it to The Feeling, and what Take That are releasing now, I like to think that a good song can cross all borders and appeal to all ages.
I wrote a feature on ‘Whatever Happened To A1? A while ago, and I know you were writing for other artists, would you tell us a little more about what you did and with whom?
I've pretty much spent the last 3-4 years writing with other artists from around the world, a lot of UK X-Factor finalists, and other Idol artists from around the world, and other artists like Charlotte Church, it's always great fun, because you never know who you're going to be writing with from one day to the next, so it keeps you on your toes. I've also sung a lot of vocals on film soundtracks, including one of the Harry Potter movies, so I’ve kept myself very busy
So, now we need to know a little bit about the forthcoming album that we’ve all been waiting for… Peace At Last
Well, there's 14 new songs, all co-written and co-produced by myself, it's very upbeat and optimistic, I'm never a fan of albums where all the songs sound the same, so I've tried to make it as diverse as possible with a lot of different styles, which comes from the many influences I had growing up listening to music.
It definitely takes you on a journey, and lyrically it's very personal to me as it pretty much sums up where my head's been at the last few years, all over the place. So it's about clearing out all the clutter and confusion in life and finding that inner peace… I’m still looking.
The lead single is also the title track, what made you decide to release that one first then?
I think Peace at Last jumps out at you right away, and there's really nothing else quite like it on the album so I had to go with that first, it's also not what people were expecting so I like to keep people guessing.
I used to read a book called Peace At Last by Jill Murphy when I was a kid, is there any influence in there? (it was a great book by the way!)
I've not read that, I shall check it out, wish I’d known that before, might have been able to get some good inspiration from it
Now, you’ve been here before (releasing a debut single) do you think you have what it takes to give the big names a run for their money?
I think once people hear what I’m doing, and see me perform, I’d like to think with 10 years of experience in the business already, I’ll give anyone a run for their money, bring it on! But I know it's relatively like starting from the bottom up again, as a solo artist, but I’ve always been up for a challenge and the reaction to the new material has been amazing so far.
And if you could tell me to download one song from the new album to make me want to buy all your music, which song would it be?
Probably Peace at Last, Cat out the Bag or Wide Open Spaces, ok, that's 3, too difficult to pick just one.
But if I heard that song and I was still contemplating coming to your show or sitting at home and watching Big Brother, how would you get me out of the house?
How could you possibly compare watching the most boring ever series of that tired old show Big Brother, to coming to see me live, no comparison, get out the house and come and see a great gig
We’ve got to admit you’re a little bit cool, so what advice would you give to someone just starting out, knowing what you know now?
I'd say if you want to get in the music business to get rich quick, forget it, there's not a lot of money in the music business these days, which is why you need to be passionate about what you do, I've never been in it for the money, making a living out of it is secondary to absolutely loving it.
I'd say focus on being really good at what you do, don't worry about what anyone else thinks, if you believe in yourself and have the confidence that will shine through and others will believe in you, confidence and talent and a lot of luck, and good timing is what makes it happen, and you need to be a little bit crazy as well.
If you could only listen to one CD for the rest of your life, what would it be?
That's an impossible question, but right now I have to say Peace at Last by Mark Read, so I can be proud of what I achieved , and hopefully I won't get sick of my songs, but can't guarantee
Aww, that’s a great answer, and on that note, I’ll let you get back to keeping an eye on Big Brother’s rolling news… haha!
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison
There’s no denying that as a teenager I was more than just a little bit of an A1 fan… they were all over my bedroom walls and my pencil case… and for a second I thought I might be marrying one… but now, as Mark Read prepares to release his first solo record, I think I’ll just make do with interviewing him… you never know, I might win him over with my charms!
Hey Mark! Now I believe you’re getting ready to embark on a solo career, why oh why have we had to wait so long?!
I always intended to make my own solo album, but wanted to wait until I had something to say musically & lyrically, didn't just want to put something out for the sake of it, so spent a lot of time developing my writing, working with other artists.
A few years down the line I was missing performing so much and a lot of the songs I was writing we quite biographical and personal to me, I thought it would make sense to release them myself and as soon as the opportunity came along I was back in the studio, recording Peace at Last
You used to be on my pencil case when I was in school… so do you think people like me will like your new stuff, seen as though many of us wanted to marry you when you were a cheeky little popstar?
Ha, I never knew I was on a pencil case, I was an Easter Egg once, don't know if it tasted nice, I've still got it somewhere, so 8 yrs later, probably not. Anyway, back to the question, I've definitely moved on a lot musically since a1 but it's still quite upbeat and poppy, just more mature, call it man-pop if you like. Some people have compared it to The Feeling, and what Take That are releasing now, I like to think that a good song can cross all borders and appeal to all ages.
I wrote a feature on ‘Whatever Happened To A1? A while ago, and I know you were writing for other artists, would you tell us a little more about what you did and with whom?
I've pretty much spent the last 3-4 years writing with other artists from around the world, a lot of UK X-Factor finalists, and other Idol artists from around the world, and other artists like Charlotte Church, it's always great fun, because you never know who you're going to be writing with from one day to the next, so it keeps you on your toes. I've also sung a lot of vocals on film soundtracks, including one of the Harry Potter movies, so I’ve kept myself very busy
So, now we need to know a little bit about the forthcoming album that we’ve all been waiting for… Peace At Last
Well, there's 14 new songs, all co-written and co-produced by myself, it's very upbeat and optimistic, I'm never a fan of albums where all the songs sound the same, so I've tried to make it as diverse as possible with a lot of different styles, which comes from the many influences I had growing up listening to music.
It definitely takes you on a journey, and lyrically it's very personal to me as it pretty much sums up where my head's been at the last few years, all over the place. So it's about clearing out all the clutter and confusion in life and finding that inner peace… I’m still looking.
The lead single is also the title track, what made you decide to release that one first then?
I think Peace at Last jumps out at you right away, and there's really nothing else quite like it on the album so I had to go with that first, it's also not what people were expecting so I like to keep people guessing.
I used to read a book called Peace At Last by Jill Murphy when I was a kid, is there any influence in there? (it was a great book by the way!)
I've not read that, I shall check it out, wish I’d known that before, might have been able to get some good inspiration from it
Now, you’ve been here before (releasing a debut single) do you think you have what it takes to give the big names a run for their money?
I think once people hear what I’m doing, and see me perform, I’d like to think with 10 years of experience in the business already, I’ll give anyone a run for their money, bring it on! But I know it's relatively like starting from the bottom up again, as a solo artist, but I’ve always been up for a challenge and the reaction to the new material has been amazing so far.
And if you could tell me to download one song from the new album to make me want to buy all your music, which song would it be?
Probably Peace at Last, Cat out the Bag or Wide Open Spaces, ok, that's 3, too difficult to pick just one.
But if I heard that song and I was still contemplating coming to your show or sitting at home and watching Big Brother, how would you get me out of the house?
How could you possibly compare watching the most boring ever series of that tired old show Big Brother, to coming to see me live, no comparison, get out the house and come and see a great gig
We’ve got to admit you’re a little bit cool, so what advice would you give to someone just starting out, knowing what you know now?
I'd say if you want to get in the music business to get rich quick, forget it, there's not a lot of money in the music business these days, which is why you need to be passionate about what you do, I've never been in it for the money, making a living out of it is secondary to absolutely loving it.