Aled Jones
Contents |
Shows
Cardiff Singer of the World (host)
Popmaster (stand-in host)
Strictly Come Dancing (participant)
What Are You Like? (team captain)
Biography
Former boy treble who shot to fame in 1985 when "Voices in the Holy Land", an album of hymns recorded with the BBC Welsh Chorus, became a surprise hit. This was followed by further hit albums (one, "All Through the Night", made it to number 2, behind Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA"), a whirl of TV appearances and even a gala performance in front of the Queen (at which he infamously forgot the words to "Memory"), before he capped his annus mirabilis with the Christmas hit with which he would be associated forevermore, a cover of "Walking In The Air" from "The Snowman".
After his voice broke he returned as a baritone, also becoming a regular TV and radio presenter, particularly of religious programmes.
Trivia
It's not Jones who sings on the famous The Snowman cartoon. That was St. Paul's Cathedral choirboy Peter Auty, who also sang the "this is the age of the train" jingle on the Jimmy Savile-fronted ads for British Rail. Jones' cover version came about because Toys "R" Us wanted to do an altered version for their TV ads, and Auty's voice had broken by then (or rather, the people making the ad assumed it had and seemingly didn't check - Auty says he could still have done it in 1985 but was never asked). Songwriter Howard Blake was asked to suggest someone else to do it and Aled (whom Blake had never met) got the gig.
Books / Tapes
Contact
Capel & Land, 29 Wardour Street, London W1D 6PS
Web links
Official site (requires Flash)
