Read grew up in a very musical family; his father Keith was in The Wild Angels, a rock 'n' roll band. His mother, Pam, played piano and drums as well as being a singer/songwriter. Read began playing piano at the age of 2 and eventually joined the family band on keyboards at the age of 11, where he would regularly perform in pubs, clubs and hotels across the country.
He attended Auriol Junior School and then went on to Epsom and Ewell High School.
At the age of 15, Read joined the Songtime Theatre Arts group, where he received training and gained experience in acting. He subsequently took lead roles in several of their productions, including Guys and Dolls and Aladdin.
Between the ages of 15 and 18, Read – along with his parents' band – performed onboard several P&O and Princess cruise ships. These concerts led took him all around the world, including aboard the liner Canberra as part of the D-Day 50th Anniversary Fleet in 1994.
