Mark Gregory is in his last year at St Andrews, studying German and Russian. Originally from Addingham, this Yorkshire lad puts new meaning into the word ‘determined’.
I began the interview by asking him why he chose to come to St Andrews, to which he replied “The University website says something about St Andrews being the place of Oxford/Cambridge rejects and I fall into that category”. However, you should not feel bad for Mark as just after submitting his application he realised that St Andrews was the place for him, and on the day he was rejected from Oxbridge he was accepted by St Andrews, demonstrating that every cloud clearly does have a silver lining.
His favourite bar is The Whey Pat (purely for their nachos), his favourite coffee shop is unquestionably Northpoint, and his favourite date spot would be the Sands Grill on the Old Course (but only if his girlfriend was visiting and it was a very special occasion and someone else was paying!).
Perhaps his biggest commitment and the foundation of his ‘celebrity’ status is Mark’s involvement in The Other Guys, St Andrews’ male a cappella group. Mark joined in second year, took a year out when studying abroad, and now plays a vital role as the group business manager. “It’s the best thing I’ve done in St Andrews” he continues, “I like how the group changes every year with members coming and going, it creates a totally different character.” If you would like to hear the boys in action they will be performing at The Ambassadors’ Ball on Saturday 19th October, at the Fairmont Christmas Fayre in the first weekend of November and at the A Cappella Christmas Concert in the last weekend of November. Mark talked excitedly about this last performance and intriguingly mentioned he could not tell me what they were doing yet, just that it was going to be very special. In January, The Other Guys are hoping to travel to America for two weeks’ worth of performances, with four days spent in New York. I can sense his excitement at being in the home of Broadway owing to his love of being on the stage. The group debuted their new single ‘St Andrean Skies’ in front of Hillary Clinton at the 600th Anniversary dinner, a song written by Oscar Foxley which will feature on their new album.
On top of his singing commitments Mark has recently become involved in a new play, Title of Show for which he is currently hard at work rehearsing most days of the week. “It’s a small production with a four-man cast so we will all be on stage most of the time.” As if that was not enough to be occupying his time Mark is also the news editor for STAR radio and has his own show on the station (STAR Music Quiz – Wednesdays at five o’clock). With every other free minute he has, and there are not many by the sound of things, he studies.
Clearly the ambitious kind, Mark had an answer ready when I asked him what he would like to do after St Andrews: “I want to be a TV presenter, like Ryan Seacrest, only less camp and less annoying! I will start with radio and work my way up from that.” Whilst most typical students would use the summer to unwind and catch up with friends, Mark instead broadcasted his own radio show on his local radio station, spent a few days working in the news team at a commercial radio station in Scarborough and, ever the over-achiever, also worked for a small local paper covering festivals and events, even having the chance to interview the legendary soprano singer Lesley Garrett.
I closed the interview by quizzing Mark for his most memorable moment in St Andrews, the only question that saw him struggle for an answer. The issue was one of being spoilt for choice and he went on to tell me “literally not even a day goes by when I have not done something I enjoy”. His closing remark was that the best moment may still be to come; with his upcoming and most vocally challenging show to date as well as the possibility of being in New York with The Other Guys, “there is just so much to look forward to”.