Collabro are an English boy band who won the eighth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2014.
Specialising in musical theatre, the group consists of Michael Auger, Richard Hadfield,
Jamie Lambert, Matthew Pagan and Thomas J Redgrave.
The band have an enthusiastic following who they refer to as their "Collaborators" and
famous fans include Jade Thirlwall from Little Mix.
Their debut album Stars was released on 18 August 2014 and debuted at number one in the
UK.
Career Formation and Britain's Got Talent
Collabro formed in January 2014.
Pagan and Lambert knew one another already, and used social media to find three additional
singers to complete the band's line-up.
Pagan and Lambert held auditions where they found Auger and Redgrave.
They found Hadfield on YouTube singing "Bring Him Home".
They sung together for the first time at the Miller pub in London Bridge.
It was not long after this that they decided to audition for Britain's Got Talent, as they
had 'nothing to lose'.
In February 2014, only a month after forming, Collabro auditioned in London for the eighth
series of Britain's Got Talent.
They received a standing ovation from both the audience and judges Simon Cowell, Amanda
Holden, Alesha Dixon and David Walliams for their rendition of the song "Stars" from the
musical Les Misérables.
The judges were initially seen to have low expectations due to their styling and the
fact that they had only been together for a month at the time.
Cowell claimed that "Britain really has got talent" and they received a unanimous "yes"
verdict from the judging panel, with Cowell also describing their performance as a "hit
record", while Holden was reduced to tears.
On 25 May, it was announced that the band had been chosen by the judges to progress
to the live semi-finals.
They competed in the first semi-final on 26 May, performing the song "Bring Him Home"
from Les Misérables.
The performance was praised by all four judges, again receiving a standing ovation, and they
received the highest number of votes from the public, ensuring their automatic progression
to the final.
During the live final on 7 June, Collabro performed a different arrangement of their
audition song "Stars" for which they received 26.5% of the vote, winning the competition
by a wide margin.
Debut album It was confirmed on 12 June that Collabro
had signed a record deal with Cowell's record label Syco Music and would be releasing their
debut album on 28 July.
On 17 June, they announced that they would be going on their first ever tour, along with
runner-up Lucy Kay, in 2015.
The album Stars was released on 18 August.
Other public appearances On 25 April 2014, the group appeared on the
ITV television programme This Morning to discuss their appearance on Britain's Got Talent and
they performed the song Let it Go on the show on 11 July.
On 18 May 2014, Collabro appeared at the Soccer Six charity football tournament at The Valley,
home ground of Charlton Athletic F.C..
They made appearances on QVC and Weekend to further promote the album.
Members Michael Auger
Michael Auger lives in Petersfield.
At the time of Collabro's BGT audition, he was working at a petrol station.
He attended Churcher's College in Hampshire before moving to Alton College where he studied
A Levels in Maths, Further Maths, Chemistry, Biology and Geography.
He later attended the University of Bath to study Accounting and Finance.
Richard Hadfield Richard Hadfield lives in Portslade.
At the time of Collabro's BGT audition, he was working as a labourer.
Hadfield attended Hurstpierpoint College in West Sussex, busking during the school holidays
to earn money to pay the school's fees.
Jamie Lambert Jamie Lambert, was raised in Washington, Tyne
and Wear.
At the time of Collabro's BGT audition, he was working part-time in the finance department
of Barts Health NHS Trust in London.
He previously worked at the South Tyneside NHS Foundation Trust of which his mother,
Lorraine Lambert, is the chief executive.
He also has a sister called Caytee.
Lambert has performed solo at a number of events including mayoral charity events, the
South Tyneside Summer Festival, and Cancer Connections in South Shields.
He has also won regional talent competitions Open Zone Idol and Talent on the Tyne.
He came out in the press as gay.
Matt Pagan Matthew "Matt" Pagan was raised in Carlisle,
Cumbria.
At the time of Collabro's BGT audition, he was working as a kitchen salesman.
Thomas J Redgrave Thomas J Redgrave is from Saltfleetby.
He chose his stage surname from a theatre poster.
He studied at Monks' Dyke Tennyson College.
He performed in St James' Choir for seven years and was also part of the Louth Playgoers
Group.
At the time of Collabro's BGT audition, he was working in a Japanese restaurant.
Discography Albums