Aled Jones
Aled Jones |
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Aled Jones (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh singer and television/radio personality and broadcaster who first came to fame as a boy soprano. He was raised in the small Welsh-speaking community of Llandegfan, in Anglesey and attended Ysgol David Hughes.
Biography
Jones was born in St. Davids Hospital in Bangor, Wales, the son of Nest (Rowlands), a teacher, and Derek John Jones, a draughtsman for a shipbuilder.[1] Jones joined the choir of Bangor Cathedral at age nine and was Lead Soloist within two years, although he never made Head Chorister. The remarkable clarity of his treble voice was appreciated by a member of the congregation, Hefina Orwig Evans, who wrote a letter to local record company Sain, and he was duly signed. In 1982 he won the Cerdd Dant solo competitions for competitors under 12 at the Urdd Eisteddfod.
He is best known for his cover version of "Walking in the Air", the song from Channel 4's 1982 animated film The Snowman, based on the book by Raymond Briggs. The song reached No. 5 in the UK charts in 1985. Contrary to popular belief, the version in the film was not performed by Jones, but by Peter Auty, a St. Paul's Cathedral choirboy.
His recording career was temporarily halted when his voice broke at sixteen, but he had already sold more than six million albums and sung for the Pope and the Queen, Charles and Diana in a private recital, at the wedding of celebrities Bob Geldof and Paula Yates, as well as presenting numerous children's television programmes. He also had the distinction of being the first artist to have two classical albums listed simultaneously in the popular music charts.
Following the breaking of his voice, he studied at the Royal Academy of Music and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. In 1995 he secured the leading role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and met his future wife, Claire Fossett, while touring in Blackpool. The couple married in 2001 and have two young children, a six-year old daughter Emilia and a two-year old son Lucas.
He also worked with Mike Oldfield ("Pictures in the Dark") and Leonard Bernstein ("Chichester Psalms"). In 1986 he sang the oratorio Athalia with Emma Kirkby.
Aled has since resumed his recording career, with a largely religious/inspirational repertoire. He has recorded twenty-four albums to date, many of which reached gold or platinum status in the UK and Australia. He is a lyric baritone, though he has expressed a desire to move into the traditional register of the tenor.
In 2003 he visited Australia twice; a promotional tour in May to launch his first baritone album "Aled" and then in December that year for his first concert tour, following the release of his second baritone album with Universal Classics and Jazz, "Higher".
He has been a presenter on Classic FM and regularly presents Songs of Praise, as well as various programmes on Welsh radio (BBC Radio Wales and Radio Cymru) and television (S4C). In Autumn 2004 he participated in the BBC One pro-celebrity ballroom dancing game show Strictly Come Dancing, partnering Lilia Kopylova. Aled preferred the Latin dancing to the ballroom, as he found the latter confusing and hard to follow. The pair came fourth, but Aled was said to have enjoyed the experience enormously, and credited the physically strenuous competition with his recent, significant weight loss.
Just prior to Christmas 2004, Aled released "The Christmas Album", a collection of his favourite classic traditional Christmas carols.
His next album, titled New Horizons was released in October 2005 and reached #21 in the UK.
Aled launched his autobiography in 2005, entitled Aled, The Autobiography, a fascinating insight into his life to date, which he wrote in collaboration with Darren Henley.
During Christmas 2005, Aled was one of the performers who took part in the BBC show Celebrate Oliver!. He was the guest presenter, and also a performer in the second show of the BBC four-part series The Sound of Musicals in January 2006. On Christmas Day 2005 he presented a Christmas special on Welsh-language TV channel S4C (Nadolig Aled), and was earlier in the year featured on a special edition of Welsh church music program Dechrau Canu, Dechrau Canmol talking about his faith and the impact of church music in his life.
Aled left Classic FM at the beginning of 2006 and joined the BBC, taking over from Don Maclean on Good Morning Sunday from 7-9am on Sunday Mornings on BBC Radio 2 and The Choir on BBC Radio 3 on Sunday evenings from 6.30-8pm.
August 2006 saw Aled on tour in Australia once again on his "New Horizons" tour...a brilliant eight-concert tour of five major cities. Australia is credited as being the only country (so far) that Aled has toured in concert outside the UK, something his enthusiastic fans in Australia sincerely appreciate.
Aled has since released a greatest hits compilation album: You Raise Me Up-The Best of Aled Jones in November 2006, featuring a reprise of his song "Walking in the Air", which has now become a duet between young and present Aled.
In December 2006, Aled sustained an unfortunate accident in the final dress-rehearsal as the lead actor in London pantomime, "Jack and the Beanstalk" snapping his Achilles Tendon, counting him out of the entire season of the show. The plaster-cast on his leg then caused a DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) which took him several months to recover from.
In an episode of the BBC television programme Play it Again, broadcast in April 2007, Aled learned to play the drums. He progressed well enough to be able to perform the drumming accompaniment to the song Raging Storm live on stage with Chris de Burgh in Germany.
In October 2007 Aled released his new album, his sixth with UCJ, "Reason to Believe", which includes three duets, one with the talent of Cerys Matthews of the group, "Catatonia", in a cruisey version of Some Kind of Wonderful. Many favourites on the album also include Hallelujah, Angel, Father and Son, The Rose, Reason to Believe, and favourite hymn Be Still My Soul , as well as a very upbeat rendition of All My Trials Lord.
"Reason To Believe" commendably entered the UK charts at #15.
Aled was heard covering for Ken Bruce on BBC Radio 2 Wednesday 2nd - Friday 4th January 2008 9.30am - Midday. Aled usually covers shows on BBC Radio 2 including Dawn Patrol when Sarah Kennedy is on holiday and is covering for Ken Bruce between 11th and 15th February.
Discography
Albums
- Diolch â Chân (1983)
- Ave Maria (1984)
- Voices from the Holy Land (1985), also on VHS
- All Through The Night (1985), UK #2
- Carols for Christmas (Christmas Album) (1985), also on DVD
- Aled Jones With The BBC Welsh Chorus (1985) UK #11
- Aled - Music from the TV Series (1986)
- Where E'er You Walk (1986) UK #36
- Pie Jesu (1986) UK #25
- An Album Of Hymns (1986) UK #18
- Handel: Athalia (1986)
- Sailing (1987)
- Faure: Requiem Bernstein: Chichester Psalms (1986)
- The Best of Aled Jones BBC Records(1985)
- The Best of Aled Jones 10 Records (1987)
- The Very Best of Aled Jones (1988)
- From the Heart (2000), as baritone
- Aled (2002) UK #27
- Hear My Prayer (2003), as boy soprano
- Higher (2003) UK #21 This includes a guest track with Julian Lloyd Webber
- The Christmas Album (2004) UK #28
- A Journey With Aled Jones (2005)
- Aled (Re-issue) (2005) UK #33
- New Horizons (2005) UK #21
- You Raise Me Up – The Best of Aled Jones (2006)
- Reason To Believe (2007)
Singles
- "Ave Maria" (1985)
- "Memory" (1985)
- "Too Young to Know" (1985)
- "Walking in the Air" (1985) UK #5
- "Pictures in the Dark" (with Mike Oldfield) (1985)
- "Morning Has Broken" (1986)
- "A Winter Story" (1986)
- "I'm in This Over My Head" (1998)
- "Some Kind of Wonderful" (duet with Cerys Matthews) (10 October 2007)