Alistair Richard Griffin (born 1 November 1977) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Already an established songwriter, he first became famous as a solo artist through his appearances on the BBC television show Fame Academy 2 in 2003, where he was mentored by Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees. He subsequently had two top twenty hit singles and a top twenty album in the UK.
Alistair Griffin was born in Middlesbrough, England. He started singing and writing songs whilst still a student at York St. John College (now York St. John University), playing guitar and busking on the streets of York with a small band. His wide musical influences range from classic rock and Britpop, to English and American folk music. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English literature and following a brief stint working as a milkman around his home town, he moved to London to pursue a career as a singer-songwriter.
In 2001, as vocalist with the pop/rock band Sugartown, he performed in front of 70,000 people at the Leeds Party in the Park. The following year, he and his occasional songwriting partner, Stuart Hanna (now part of folk duo Megson) formed the band Pulse, and co-wrote the song “Fade Away” (having recorded the song on an 8-track in Hanna’s bedroom) and entered it for the 2002 Song for Europe competition on BBC Radio 2. The song was shortlisted, and a performance by Pulse was broadcast, but it failed to reach the finals.
Griffin was briefly a member of the boyband Ultra and spent some time working in Germany with DJ Sammy. It was widely reported that he auditioned for the boyband Blue, only narrowly failing to make it to the final line-up, but Griffin later dismissed this as a fabrication by the press. Although signed by music publisher Trevor Horn’s company, Perfect Songs, he was unable to get a solo recording contract and in 2002, he applied to become a contestant on the first series of Fame Academy.
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