“One Last Song” by A1 (2002)

A1 brings lasting memories

My appreciation for the British music act A1 came late in the second half of 2002, when they had already shifted to pop rock. I was earlier exposed to their dance pop and teen pop material in 2001. Their change in musical direction, however, did not come as a shock for me. What caught my surprise was the departure of Paul Marazzi, one of the two most popular members of the four-piece band.

A1: Paul Marazzi, Christian Ingebrigtsen, Ben Adams, and Mark Read (image from www.fanpop.com)

A1 really brings back the memories, some painful for me to narrate. I saw them perform thrice on national TV, borrowed a cassette tape of their 2nd album "The A List " from a cousin, tried to borrow a cassette tape of their 1st album "Here We Come" from a schoolmate, bought a bootlegged cassette tape of their 3rd album "Make It Good", and borrowed materials from classmates.

How could I even forget the songs! At the modern dance competition of the 2001 intramurals back in high school, two rival factions danced to A1 tunes, namely “Same Old Brand New You” and “Take On Me”. The faction I belonged to played “We've Got It Goin' On” by the Backstreet Boys.

I also remember singing “Like A Rose" in my room one afternoon of March 2002. It was my most favorite A1 song until “One Last Song” was released.

A1's third album Make It Good, released in 2002 (image from Amazon)

Is it true that the late music icon Michael Jackson asked the British quartet to write him a few songs to use in his album? I read about it in a music magazine way back in 2002. If it's true, then the group was indeed worthy of attention from one of music's greatest artists. A1 wrote and co-wrote most of their songs, a reason why I considered them to be more talented than their Irish rival Westlife.

Good-bye song to pop?

"One Last Song" for me was somewhat a farewell song to the era of boy-band music and teen pop, with 2002 being their final year. For pop listeners who were always open to other genres, 2002 gave way to a lot of exciting acts and powerful genres - music that pop devotees could listen to and appreciate. The demise of pop was not for naught, for new sounds followed and new acts emerged.

Too bad the demise of pop also signaled the rise of thugs and whores and the popularity of their trashy music.

A1 as of 2014 (image from www.thesun.co.uk)