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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

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television show ''

Fame Academy 2 This second series of ''Fame Academy'' was broadcast in the UK over thirteen weeks from July to October 2003. It was won by Alex Parks. The judging panel of the show consisted of Richard Park, Carrie Grant, David Grant and Robin Gibb during th ...

'' 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.

Early career

Alistair Griffin was born in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

, 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 York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

with a small band. His wide musical influences range from

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

and

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. It produced brighter, catchier alternative rock, partly in reaction to the popularity of the darker lyrical themes of the US-led grunge music and to the ...

, to English and American

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. After graduating with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in English literature and following a brief stint working as a

milkman Milk delivery is a delivery service dedicated to supplying milk. This service typically delivers milk in bottles or cartons directly to customers' homes. This service is performed by a milkman, milkwoman, or milk deliverer. (In contrast, a cow ...

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 Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

Party in the Park Party in the Park is the generic name given to music concerts organised by various radio stations and local authorities and groups in the United Kingdom, typically in large parks during the summer, however it is also used to refer to a family ori ...

. 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 adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. ' ...

and spent some time working in Germany with

DJ Sammy Samuel Bouriah (born 19 October 1969), better known by his stage name DJ Sammy, is a Spanish DJ and record producer. He has released five albums and has had five top-10 hits, including a cover of Bryan Adams' "Heaven", which reached number one ...

. It was widely reported that he auditioned for the boyband

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

, 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 Trevor Charles Horn (born 15 July 1949) is an English music producer, label and recording studio owner, musician and composer. He is best known for his production work in the 1980s, and for being one half of the new wave band The Buggles (wit ...

's company,

Perfect Songs Perfect Songs is an independent music publishing company with a catalogue containing songs of the past 25 years. It is part of the SPZ Group of companies, which also includes Sarm Studios (recording studios), ZTT Records, Stiff Records (record ...

, 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 ''Fame Academy'' was a British television talent competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist and part of the international franchise ''Star Academy'' known under va ...

''.

''Fame Academy''

Griffin reached the final audition stage of '' Fame Academy 1'' on his first attempt in 2002, but was not chosen to appear on the show. He re-applied for a place on ''

'' the following year and was voted through by the public with the highest vote of the preliminary round. The vocal coaches criticized both his voice and image, calling them "unoriginal", "unidentifiable" and "boybandish"; however, guest judge Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees said Griffin had a "unique talent" as a vocalist and songwriter, an "ideal recording voice" with "an engaging vocal tone". His technically accomplished live performances and proven songwriting ability gradually gained him the support of the public. As the final approached, he was dubbed the " dark horse" of the show by

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...

presenter

Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...

, and eventually finished in second place. The final showdown between Griffin and eventual winner

Alex Parks Alexandra Rebecca Parks (born 26 July 1984) is an English singer-songwriter. Parks was entered into the BBC Television programme, ''Fame Academy'' by her father. It was a show that she went on to win. Soon after winning ''Fame Academy'', she r ...

was screened live and generated so many angry messages from viewers after

Daniel Bedingfield Daniel John Bedingfield (born 3 December 1979) is a New Zealand-British singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the eldest brother of fellow singers Natasha Bedingfield and Nikola Rachelle. He was a judge on '' The X Factor New Z ...

, who duetted with both finalists, made his feelings clear by urging viewers that they should "just vote for Alex". This outburst by Bedingfield led to claims of favouritism. The BBC was forced to close down the '' Points of View'' message boards as negative messages just flooded in the board. Bedingfield made a public apology to Griffin for his behaviour and outburst. The actual voting figures have never been publicly released. Griffin said about ''Fame Academy'':

After ''Fame Academy''

Padock Gig - Alistair Griffin - Party in the Paddock 30-06-2008

During 2004, Griffin performed live at over 50 gigs up and down the UK and appeared on numerous television programmes, including ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

'' and ''

Liquid News ''Liquid News'' was a daily round up of entertainment news for BBC Three (and before that BBC Choice) running from 30 May 2000 to 1 April 2004. The show was also broadcast weekly on BBC One and internationally on BBC Prime and BBC America. The p ...

''. In March of that year, he also competed in the European 'WorldBest' competition in Cannes, singing live with Phil Collins. The live performances of his own material that he gave throughout that year, singing acoustically and with the backing of a regular 5-piece band, Riccardi, showed a marked difference from the generic 'pop' approach of his record company. After parting from UMTV, he abandoned his record company's 'pop style' backing tracks and his former ' boyband' image. In the autumn, he supported Robin Gibb on his 'Magnet' tour of Germany, opening each concert with an acoustic set of his own songs, playing guitar and accompanied on keyboards by long-time friend and fellow musician, Simon Waggott (Waggo), as well as joining Gibb on stage to duet on " My Lover's Prayer". On his return, he released an independent recording of his live performances in Germany, which he showcased at a series of concerts in the North of England. During 2005, Griffin continued to perform live, both solo and with Riccardi, but split with them later that year. He moved back to York and although there were rumours of a new recording deal, nothing materialized. In November, he assembled a new backing band and performed his first London gig for over a year at

The Bedford The Bedford, originally named The Bedford Hotel, is a Grade II listed public house at 77 Bedford Hill, Balham, London SW12 9HD. History The original building (then named The Bedford Hotel) was built in the 1870s. In 1876, the pub building hou ...

, where he showcased several new compositions.

Albion

In April 2006, Griffin announced that he would shortly be forming a new band, and that he would no longer be pursuing a solo career, but rather be concentrating on working and writing with his new band, that he called Albion. For some time, he performed solo only at charity events and small local venues. The initial lineup proved unsuccessful, with James and Tom Martin leaving a few months later to form another

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band, The Station Club. At the end of 2006, Griffin (guitar and vocals) and Walter Laybourne (drums), were joined by Paul Banks (ex

Shed Seven Shed Seven are a alternative rock band, formed in York in 1990. One of the groups which contributed to the Britpop music scene of the 1990s, they continue to write, record and release music over thirty years later. They originally comprised sin ...

) (guitars and keyboard) and Paul 'Foda' Fothergill (bass). At the beginning of 2007, Griffin set up his own recording studio called Oakwood near York. Despite writing and recording many songs together and releasing several free download tracks, Albion split up abruptly in August 2007 for reasons which were not made public. When interviewed, Griffin commented "Things weren’t working out the way we anticipated and it seemed the right time to call it a day".

After Albion

When interviewed shortly after disbanding Albion in August 2007, he confirmed his intention to resume recording and performing as a solo artist, although he has since performed several times at society weddings and other functions as well as at charity concerts, fronting his covers band, Blue Nun. As well as pursuing various other projects, he wrote and recorded material for his next solo album. He performed several of these brand new songs live with his own (unnamed) backing band in May 2008, during a short tour of smaller venues in the UK supporting recently signed indie band

Ivyrise Ivyrise is a British rock band originating in Portsmouth, England formed by Ben Falinski in 2009. Career Ivyrise was formed in 2009 by singer and songwriter Ben Falinski. and toured the UK as main support for Kula Shaker before working with pr ...

. In August 2008, he headlined the Truck Stage at the H2008:Beached festival in

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

and was also booked to return there for Acoustic Gathering 111 in September. UK tour dates with Ivyrise were announced for September as well as an additional appearance at the Grand Opera House, York. In December 2008, he made an impromptu appearance with David Smith and The Mojos.

Recordings

Dalby Forest - Alistair Griffin 18-08-2006

In 1999–2000, Griffin recorded several demos of his own compositions which were made available online at Songmanagement.com. These have never been officially released. In 2002, he recorded the football anthem "Stand Up" which was included in the compilation album ''Boro Songs – The Sound of the Riverside''. Several covers he recorded for the ''Fame Academy'' programme were released as download-only tracks by the BBC during the course of the show in 2003. These were also included in the compilation albums ''Fame Academy "Bee Gees Special"'' and ''Fame Academy – The Finalists'', also released in 2003. In October 2003, Griffin signed a record deal with

UMTV Universal Music On Demand (UMOD) is a London-based record label owned by Universal Music Group, formed in 1998 as Universal Music TV (UMTV). UMOD specialises in producing compilation albums and occasional single releases. It was founded when ...

and at the end of December released his first single, "

Bring It On Bring It On may refer to: Books * ''Bring It On'' (book), by Pat Robertson * ''Bring It On!'' (manhwa), a romance manhwa by Baek Hye-Kyung Film and stage * ''Bring It On'' (film series), an American series of teen comedy cheerleading films capit ...

"; a double A-side also featuring "My Lover's Prayer", a duet with Robin Gibb. Although it received very little airplay, it was voted 1 for 6 consecutive weeks on the music TV channel The Box, and reached the top 5 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. On 9 January 2004, he was therefore able to fulfil one of his lifetime ambitions to appear live on ''

''. In January 2004, he released his debut album, also titled ''

'', featuring mainly self-penned songs. This charted at number 12 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

. His second single, "

You and Me (Tonight) "You and Me (Tonight)" is the second single release from English singer Alistair Griffin from his debut album ''Bring It On'' (2004). "You and Me" is a romantic ballad, originally written several years earlier by Griffin and Ultra bandmate Jon ...

", reached the top 20 but Griffin parted with both his record company and management soon afterwards. In late 2004, he released an independent solo CD, ''Live in Germany'', featuring live recordings of the acoustic set he performed in Germany while supporting Robin Gibb. This included "Bring it On", "You and Me (Tonight)", "In Your Smile" and "I Have Lived" with a cover of "I Can't Make You Love Me". The limited edition CD was only made available for a short time at his concerts. At his Christmas concert in December 2006, he released another independently recorded, three track solo CD, ''Finding

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

'', consisting of one co-written song, "Let Love Speak Its Name", a cover of "Hallelujah" which he regularly sings live, and an acoustic cover of "Love Will Tear Us Apart". Brand new versions of four of the songs which were originally recorded with his former band Albion, but never released, are included on his most recent solo CD ''Alistair Griffin'' (May 2008), again produced independently and only available to buy at live concerts during the

tour. These are "Blown Away", "I Have Lived", "Silent Suicide" and "Is It Me". Unreleased demos of his own compositions are regularly previewed on his official Myspace. Griffin's third single "

Just Drive "Just Drive" is a song recorded by British singer/songwriter Alistair Griffin. It is his first official single since " You and Me (Tonight)" in 2004. It was released as a single in November 2010. The song was used by the BBC at the end of their ...

" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 38, after being played in full over the BBC's

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

montage at the end of the

2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

. The track was produced with David Watts at the Oakwood Studios, York. "Just Drive" is the title song for

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

' F1 coverage. In July 2012, he released his second solo album '' Albion Sky'', on the label Dramatico Entertainment. Griffin's song "Always, No.1" was played in full over the BBC's F1 montage at the end of the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix and in 2014 was played in a tribute to the F1 driver

Jules Bianchi Jules Lucien André Bianchi (; 3 August 1989 – 17 July 2015) was a French motor racing driver who drove for the Marussia F1 Team in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Bianchi had previously raced in Formula Renault 3.5, GP2 and Form ...

who had an accident months before, in the channel of a Spanish YouTuber called Efeuno (Formula One in English). Griffin wrote "The Road", the official song of the

2014 Tour de France The 2014 Tour de France was the 101st edition of the race, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race included 21 stages, starting in Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, on 5 July and finishing on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 27 July. The race ...

which he recorded with

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...

Kimberley Walsh Kimberley Jane Scott (née Walsh; born 20 November 1981) is an English singer, fashion designer, model, variety performer, television presenter, actress and dancer. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality series '' Po ...

. ;Recording "Hallelujah Mark Viduka" In February 2007, Griffin sang at a charity event at the

Riverside Stadium The Riverside Stadium is a football stadium in Middlesbrough, England, which has been the home of Middlesbrough since it opened in 1995. Its current capacity is 34,742, all seated, although there is provisional planning permission in place t ...

, home of Middlesbrough Football Club. After his performance of

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian singer-songwriter, poet and novelist. His work explored religion, politics, isolation, depression, sexuality, loss, death, and romantic relationships. He was inducted in ...

’s "Hallelujah", he asked the audience if they would like to hear an alternative version, based on Cohen's song, but with new words dedicated to the Boro hero at that time, Australian striker

Mark Viduka Mark Antony Viduka ( ; born 9 October 1975) is an Australian retired football player who played as a centre forward. He captained the Australia national team to the Round of 16 at the 2006 FIFA World Cup which remains their best ever performance ...

. Keeping faithfully to Cohen's melody, Griffin's vocals are sung to a simple acoustic backing, forming a contrast to the altered lyrics which reference the particular skills of Viduka and several other popular players in the team, as well as some of their opponents. After hearing the song, Middlesbrough manager

Gareth Southgate Gareth Southgate (born 3 September 1970) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a defender and midfielder. He has been the manager of the England national team since 2016. Southgate won the League Cup ...

was so taken with it, he asked Griffin to make a special recording to play at the following day's match. It was played to the crowd at half-time and to the players in the dressing room after the game. The ''BBC Sports Review'' described the song as the "football anthem of the week, year, decade and possibly all time", and the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' called it "a bit on the excellent side". TV and radio coverage followed. A film of Griffin performing the song with other young Middlesbrough supporters appeared on ''

Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British paid television sports news channel run by Sky, a division of Comcast. History Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and later this was expanded into a ...

'', and he also appeared on the BBC's and ITV's regional news programmes. In addition to interviews on local radio stations, Griffin was also interviewed on

BBC Radio Five Live BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that broadcasts mainly news, sport, discussion, interviews and phone-ins. It is the principal BBC radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcas ...

. The song was also broadcast on several channels in Australia and on the BBC World Service. Southgate embraced the tune as a way of raising money for his chosen charity, Macmillan Cancer Support. Leonard Cohen was approached and gave permission for the song to be released as a charity download.

Songwriting

Griffin's songs cover a wide range of genres, from light pop and romantic

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

s to anthemic rock. After recording several demos, he obtained a publishing deal with Trevor Horn's Perfect Songs. He has also co-written songs with a number of other artists, including James Hearn, Michael Harwood, Nick Keynes and Jon O'Mahony of

, Robin Gibb, singer-songwriter Richard Chance,

Liverpudlian Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

songwriting duo Chris and Tony Griffiths (of ex-

band

The Real People The Real People are an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1988. The band currently consists of Anthony "Tony" Griffiths (bass guitar, vocals), Chris Griffiths (guitar, vocals), Martin Lappin (guitar) and Tony McGuigan (drums). Formed i ...

), and Paul Banks (ex Shed Seven). In 2002, "Fade Away", one of several songs co-written with Stuart Hanna, was shortlisted for the Song for Europe competition. That year Griffin also co-wrote the football anthem "England Crazy" which was recorded by Rider and

Terry Venables Terence Frederick Venables (born 6 January 1943), often referred to as El Tel, is an English former football player and manager, and an author. During the 1960s and '70s, he played for various clubs including Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Queen ...

. He also recorded his own version of the Boro anthem "Stand Up", which was included in the compilation album ''Boro Songs – The Sound of the Riverside''. Several covers of his earlier songs have achieved notable chart success in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. "You and Me" appears on the No. 1 album ''Impressed'', released in 2003 by

Jim Bakkum Jimmy Johannes Bakkum (born 10 August 1987) is a Dutch singer, actor, stage actor and television personality. Rising to nationwide fame after becoming runner-up in the first season of Dutch singing competition series '' Idols'', he has released ...

, runner-up in the Dutch series of ''Pop Idol''; Do’s ballad "

Angel By My Side "Angel by My Side" is the third single of Dutch singer Do off her debut album, '' Do''. The song was co-written by English songwriters Alistair Griffin and James and Tom Martin James David Martin and Thomas Richard Martin (identical twins ...

" (co-written with James and Tom Martin) reached the Dutch Top 10 in 2004 and "Hungry For Love" (co-written with Greg Fitzgerald and Tom Nichols) was covered by rock band

Di-rect Di-rect is a rock band from The Hague, the Netherlands, which was formed in 1999. The current line-up consists of Jamie Westland (drums), Frans "Spike" van Zoest (guitar), Bas van Wageningen (bass), Paul Jan Bakker (guitar) and Marcel Veenenda ...

, getting to number 3 early in 2005. Griffin's debut album, ''Bring It On'' consisted mainly of songs that he wrote or co-wrote before being signed. During his time in ''Fame Academy'', he also co-wrote several new songs with the students and the songwriters on the show. "Painkiller", (co-written with Greg Fitzgerald and Tom Nichols) along with "A Heart Can't Lie", co-written with fellow student Louise Griffiths, both appeared on his debut album. He has also written and co-written songs for albums by Phixx (2004),

(2006),

Bel's Boys Bel's Boys refers to a pop/rock band based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and also to a children's television program which the band feature in. The band The three members of the band are Graham McKee (lead vocals/bass guitar) as Vince, Luke ...

(2007), and

Cascada Cascada (, Spanish for "Waterfall", stylized as CASCADA, CASC''A''DA and cascada) is a German dance music act founded in 2004 by singer Natalie Horler and DJs/producers DJ Manian and DJ Yanou. They are best known for their hit singles " Every ...

(2009). In 2005, he resumed his writing partnership with James and Tom Martin. He has since recorded new versions of several of these songs with Albion, which were made available as free downloads on Myspace in 2007. In 2012, he wrote "

I Wish for You the World "I Wish For You the World" is a 2012 song by Games Maker Choir featuring Alistair Griffin. It was composed on the occasion of 2012 Summer Olympics by Griffin and songwriter/composer Richard Chance, who writes music for television and film. The si ...

" for the Games Maker Choir during the 2012 Summer Olympics.The single was released officially on 16 December 2012 as a UK Christmas single on Decca Records. The proceeds from the single went to the British Olympic Foundation and the

British Paralympic Association The British Paralympic Association (BPA) is the National Paralympic Committee for ''Great Britain'' (GBR), and is responsible for the United Kingdom's participation in the Paralympic Games. The BPA select, prepare, enter, fund and manage the G ...

. The song was promoted with videos and messages of support from the mayor of London

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

and many Olympic athletes, notably rowers

Katherine Grainger Dame Katherine Jane Grainger (born 12 November 1975) is a British former rower and current Chair of UK Sport. She is a 2012 Summer Olympics gold medallist, four-time Olympic silver medallist and six-time World Champion. She served as Chancell ...

Andrew Triggs Hodge Andrew Triggs Hodge (born 3 March 1979) is a British former rower - a three time Olympic champion and four time world champion. In the British coxless four in 2012 he set a world's best time which still stood as of 2021. Education Born in Hal ...

and Great Britain Rowers team and by tenor Alfie Boe. Mayor Johnson said about the song: "This song is a great tribute to the feelings of pride, inspiration and goodwill that spread throughout the country during the 2012 Games. I wish everyone involved the best of luck in their efforts in keeping the Olympic spirit alive." In 2014 Griffin released his 3rd album ''From Nowhere''. He teamed up with Pledge Music allowing people to pre-order his album along with other bits of merchandise. The album featured 2014 Tour de France single "The Road" along with his soon to be released single "Freefall". People who pre-ordered the album known as "Pledgers" received a digital downloadable version of the album in July before general release in September 2014.

Personal life

Griffin was brought up in Castleton, a small moorland village roughly halfway between

and

Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a maritime, mineral and tourist heritage. Its East Clif ...

in North Yorkshire. He has two older sisters. He has retained strong links with his family and his local community and often performs at local events to raise money for good causes. In 2003, without his knowledge, his mother, Barbara Griffin, offered a date with him as a prize in a charity

raffle A raffle is a gambling competition in which people obtain numbered tickets, each of which has the chance of winning a prize. At a set time, the winners are drawn at random from a container holding a copy of each number. The drawn tickets are che ...

for the Whitby

Christmas Lights Christmas lights (also known as fairy lights, festive lights or string lights) are lights often used for decoration in celebration of Christmas, often on display throughout the Christmas season including Advent and Christmastide. The custom g ...

Appeal. Enough money was raised to light the town for the next three years. A former junior

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

champion, he played tennis and also performed with Riccardi in Sir

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

's pro/celebrity Tennis Tournament in December 2004. In March 2017, Alistair's private residence was partially demolished after the driver of a stolen Audi A4 careered off the road, following a brief chase by police. Although Griffin himself was not in residence, his child and ex-girlfriend were sleeping upstairs at the time of the incident, though all parties remained unharmed.

Discography

Albums

* Apart from his three albums, he has also brought out the EP ''Mogganaut'', containing four tracks.

Singles

;Featured in

References

External links

Reviews

Middlesbrough Evening Gazette 19.10.04
Gig Review

Media

Last Dance, unreleased demo,c2000
(QuickTime)
Kiss and Tell, unreleased demo, c2000
(QuickTime)
Radio Interview

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...

January 2004 (RealPlayer)
Aligriffin.com
– comprehensive multimedia archive of live performances, 2004–2007, recorded by fans.

Middlesbrough Gazette.
Alistair Griffin produces tribute song for Middlesbrough star
Broadband TV channel (video podcast), 1 March 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Alistair People from Middlesbrough 1977 births Living people English male singer-songwriters English buskers Alumni of York St John University Music in Yorkshire 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers Musicians from Yorkshire