One of the biggest boy bands of the late 1990s and early 2000s, A1 first burst onto the scene with 1999’s incredibly catchy Be The First To Believe. More huge hits followed for Ben Adams, Paul Marazzi, Christian Ingebrigtsen and Mark Read in the ensuing three years, including the number ones Take On Me and Same Old Brand New You before they split to pursue solo careers in 2002.
There have since been reunions and reformations. They released two albums as a trio ahead of Paul’s return to the fold in 2017 and there were a couple of new singles as a foursome.
Now Ben Adams promises new music is on the way. “We actually have a lot of songs sitting on the shelf ready to go,” the singer explains. “We all live in different places now so it’s just a matter of us putting our heads together and coming up with a plan to start releasing them.”
But for now Ben is busy with the London return of ‘Police Cops: The Musical’, which played to sold-out houses last year and for which he wrote the score. “I think it’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever seen,” he laughs about the show, which charts the hilarious antics of the Police Cops comedy troupe in 1980s America. “There are laugh-a-minute shows but I would say this is probably a laugh every ten seconds. You couldn’t pack more jokes into a show if you tried. Everybody comes out thinking that it’s the craziest thing they’ve seen and probably the most stupid as well.”
Adams is no stranger to musical theatre. He and writer-director Chris Wilkins co-wrote the equally hilarious ‘Eugenius!’, which has attained cult classic status since premiering in 2016. He’s also working on some other shows “that are in their baby stages with other producers and are more musical theatre” so the process is very different for the man who co-wrote the likes of Summertime Of Our Lives and Caught In The Middle.
“But because ‘Police Cops’ has that ‘80s sound, it wasn’t actually that different to writing pop music,” adds Ben, who is now based in Norway. “I wrote the music at home and sent it over to them to do whatever they wanted with it. The next time I heard it, it had sort of taken on its own life and its own path, with them adding their brilliant comedy. It was like making a cake, putting layers upon layers upon layers, with them sending it back to me and me sending back another version.”
He’s been in musicals himself, including ‘The Rocky Horror Show’, ‘Flashdance’ and ‘We Will Rock You’, but the multi-hyphenate is happy to be behind the scenes. “I love being on the creative side and it’s a very different kind of joy for me because normally I’m on stage, looking out at people in the audience. With theatre I get to sit out there myself, soaking up the atmosphere and letting everybody else do the hard work.”
Doesn’t the performer in him miss being on stage? “No – because I’m performing all the time, whether it’s with A1 or musicals or whatever. So when I’m sitting there watching a show I’m enjoying every second of not having to do the hard graft of being on stage night after night for eight shows a week.”
Adams //was// on stage at the Eurovision Song Contest in 2022 representing Norway but fans might not have known it was him at first. Singing novelty song Give That Wolf A Banana as part of the group Subwoolfer, his face was hidden under a mask.
The song made it to 10th place in the contest, which surprised Ben. “We wrote the most ridiculous song we could possibly think of,” he laughs, “and we made up this crazy story about two wolves from the moon, not thinking for a second that we’d get through. Plus we were in masks so no-one knew who we were. It was mad.”
He’ll be back on stage with Paul, Christian and Mark for the ‘90s Baby Festival in Manchester this July and says of the band: “A1 is like the gift that keeps on giving. We started 25 years ago and we still tour constantly. It’s amazing to have started something that long ago – I mean, I was 16 when we began – and to still have a career doing it.”
Police Cops: The Musical is at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, London, until April 20. Tickets are available here.
