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Aled Jones (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
 singer and television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
/radio
Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
 personality and broadcaster who first came to fame as a boy soprano
Boy soprano

A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged Human voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily be choristers who sing in a boys' ch...
. He is the only child
Only child

An only child is a child with no siblings, either biological or adoption. Although first-born children may be considered temporary only children, and have a similar early family environment, the term only child is generally applied only to those individuals who never have siblings....
 of Nest and Derek Jones, was raised in the small Welsh-speaking community of Llandegfan
Llandegfan

Llandegfan is a village on the south of Anglesey, North Wales.The original village Hen Llandegfan was on the ancient way from the crossing of the Menai Strait at Porthaethwy via Pentraeth to Beaumaris....
, in Anglesey
Anglesey

Anglesey is an island and principal areas of Wales off the northwest coast of Wales, with a predominantly Welsh language-speaking population. It is connected to the mainland by two bridges spanning the Menai Strait: the original Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford in 1826; and the newer reconstructed Britannia Bridge ; which...
 and attended Ysgol David Hughes
Ysgol David Hughes

Ysgol David Hughes is the largest Secondary School in Anglesey, Wales. It was founded in 1603, originally as a free Grammar School in Beaumaris....
. He is now notable for presenting Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise

Songs of Praise is a BBC television programme based around traditional Christianity hymns. With an average of nearly 3 million viewers weekly it is believed to be the most-watched and one of the longest-running religious television programmes in the world....
 on BBC 1, BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio radio station and the List of most-listened-to radio programs in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult contemporary music or Album-orientated rock, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres....
's Good Morning Sunday and The Choir on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on European classical music, but jazz, world music, drama and the arts also feature....
.

s was born in St. Davids Hospital in Bangor
Bangor, Wales

Bangor is a city status in the United Kingdom in Gwynedd, Wales, and one of the smallest cities in the United Kingdom in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the United Kingdom Census 2001, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University....
, Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
, the son of Nest (Rowlands), a teacher, and Derek John Jones, a draughtsman for a shipbuilder.






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Aled Jones (born 29 December 1970) is a Welsh
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
 singer and television
Television

Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
/radio
Radio

Radio is the transmission of signals, by modulation of electromagnetic radiation with frequency below those of visible light.Electromagnetic radiation radio propagation by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space....
 personality and broadcaster who first came to fame as a boy soprano
Boy soprano

A boy soprano is a young male singer with an unchanged Human voice in the soprano range. Although a treble, or choirboy, may also be considered to be a boy soprano, the more colloquial term boy soprano is generally only used for boys who sing, perform, or record as soloists, and who may not necessarily be choristers who sing in a boys' ch...
. He is the only child
Only child

An only child is a child with no siblings, either biological or adoption. Although first-born children may be considered temporary only children, and have a similar early family environment, the term only child is generally applied only to those individuals who never have siblings....
 of Nest and Derek Jones, was raised in the small Welsh-speaking community of Llandegfan
Llandegfan

Llandegfan is a village on the south of Anglesey, North Wales.The original village Hen Llandegfan was on the ancient way from the crossing of the Menai Strait at Porthaethwy via Pentraeth to Beaumaris....
, in Anglesey
Anglesey

Anglesey is an island and principal areas of Wales off the northwest coast of Wales, with a predominantly Welsh language-speaking population. It is connected to the mainland by two bridges spanning the Menai Strait: the original Menai Suspension Bridge , designed by Thomas Telford in 1826; and the newer reconstructed Britannia Bridge ; which...
 and attended Ysgol David Hughes
Ysgol David Hughes

Ysgol David Hughes is the largest Secondary School in Anglesey, Wales. It was founded in 1603, originally as a free Grammar School in Beaumaris....
. He is now notable for presenting Songs of Praise
Songs of Praise

Songs of Praise is a BBC television programme based around traditional Christianity hymns. With an average of nearly 3 million viewers weekly it is believed to be the most-watched and one of the longest-running religious television programmes in the world....
 on BBC 1, BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio radio station and the List of most-listened-to radio programs in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult contemporary music or Album-orientated rock, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres....
's Good Morning Sunday and The Choir on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on European classical music, but jazz, world music, drama and the arts also feature....
.

Biography

Jones was born in St. Davids Hospital in Bangor
Bangor, Wales

Bangor is a city status in the United Kingdom in Gwynedd, Wales, and one of the smallest cities in the United Kingdom in Britain. It is a university city with a population of 13,725 at the United Kingdom Census 2001, not including around 10,000 students at Bangor University....
, Wales
Wales

native_name = Cymru|conventional_long_name = Wales|common_name = Wales|image_flag = Flag of Wales 2.svg|national_motto = ...
, the son of Nest (Rowlands), a teacher, and Derek John Jones, a draughtsman for a shipbuilder. Jones joined the choir of Bangor Cathedral
Bangor Cathedral

Bangor Cathedral is an ancient place of Christian worship situated in Bangor, Wales, Gwynedd, North Wales Wales. It is dedicated to its founder, Deiniol....
 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
Cerdd dant

Cerdd Dant or Canu Penillion is the art of vocal improvisation over a given melody in Wales musical tradition. It is an important competition in eisteddfodau. The singer or choir sing a counter melody over a harp melody....
 solo competitions for competitors under 12 at the Urdd Eisteddfod
Eisteddfod

An eisteddfod is a Wales festival of literature, music and performance. The tradition of such a meeting of Welsh artists dates back to at least the 12th century, when a festival of poetry and music was held by Rhys ap Gruffydd of Deheubarth at his court in Cardiganshire in 1176 but, with the decline of the bardic tradition, it fell into abey...
.

He is best known for his cover version
Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
 of "Walking in the Air
Walking in the Air

"Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs' 1976 children's book The Snowman. In the film the song was performed by St....
", the song from Channel 4
Channel 4

Channel 4 is a UK Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom television broadcaster which began transmissions on 2 November 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the #Channel Four Television...
's 1982 animated film The Snowman
The Snowman

The Snowman is a children's book by England author Raymond Briggs, published in 1978. In 1982, this book was turned into a 26-minute animated movie by Dianne Jackson for the fledgling Channel 4....
, based on the book by Raymond Briggs
Raymond Briggs

Raymond Redvers Briggs is an England illustrator, cartoonist, graphic novelist, and author who has achieved critical and popular success among adults and children....
. 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
Peter Auty

Peter Auty is a former choirboy who sang with the St Paul's Cathedral and an opera singer.Auty is best known for being the original voice behind "Walking in the Air", the theme song to the 1982 cartoon film The Snowman; and not, as most people thought, by Aled Jones who only released the song as a single in 1985....
, a St. Paul's Cathedral choirboy.

His recording career was temporarily halted when his voice broke at sixteen. By this time he had sold more than six million albums and sung for Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
, the Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom

Elizabeth II is the queen regnant of sixteen independent states known as the Commonwealth realms: Monarchy of the United Kingdom, Monarchy of Canada, Monarchy of Australia, Monarchy of New Zealand, Monarchy of Jamaica, Monarchy of Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Monarchy of the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Sain...
, and the Prince
Charles, Prince of Wales

The Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the eldest child of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, making him heir apparent, equally and separately, to the thrones of Commonwealth realm....
 and Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales

Diana, Princess of Wales, was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. Their sons, Princes Prince William of Wales and Prince Henry of Wales , are second and third Line of succession to the British throne of the British monarchy and fifteen other Commonwealth Realms....
 in a private recital, 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.

He went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music
Royal Academy of Music

The Royal Academy of Music in London, England, is a college or university school of music, Britian's oldest degree-granting music school and a constituent college of the University of London since 1999....
 and the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School

The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, opened by Laurence Olivier in 1946, is an affiliate of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, an organisation securing the highest standards of training in the performing arts, and is an associate school of the Faculty of Creative Arts of the University of the West of England....
, before beginning his adult recording career, with a largely religious/inspirational repertoire. In 1995 he took the leading role in the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is the second British musical theatre show written by the team of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice....
.

He also worked with Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield

Mike Oldfield is an England multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk music, ethnic or world music, European classical music, electronic music, New Age music and more recently dance music....
 ("Pictures in the Dark
Pictures in the Dark

"Pictures in the Dark" is a song by Mike Oldfield released as a single mainly in Europe in 1985 . Singers on this single includes his girlfriend at the time, Anita Hegerland, Barry Palmer and well-known Wales choirboy Aled Jones....
") and Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein was a multi-Emmy-winning and Academy Award for Original Music Score nominated American Conductor , composer, author, music lecturer and Piano....
 ("Chichester Psalms
Chichester Psalms

Chichester Psalms is a choral work by Leonard Bernstein for boy soprano or countertenor, solo quartet, choir and orchestra . A reduction written by the composer pared down the orchestral performance forces to organ, two harps and percussion....
"). In 1986 he sang the oratorio Athalia
Athalia (oratorio)

Athalia is an oratorio by George Frideric Handel, his third in this genre. The structural and rhetorical achievements in Athalia project a dramatic concept that may be unique in Handel's output....
 with Emma Kirkby
Emma Kirkby

Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby is a soprano singer and one of the world's most renowned early music specialists. She was a classics student at Somerville College, Oxford, and an English language teacher before developing a career as a soloist....
.

He has recorded twenty-four albums to date, many of which reached gold or platinum status in the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
. He performs as a lyric baritone
Baritone

Baritone is a type of European classical music male voice type that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice....
, though he has expressed a desire to move into the traditional register of the tenor
Tenor

The tenor is a type of male voice type and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between the C one octave below middle C to the A above in choral music, and up to high C in solo work....
.

He was a presenter on Classic FM
Classic FM (UK)

Classic FM is one of the United Kingdom's three Independent National Radio stations, broadcasting European classical music in a popular and accessible style....
 as well as on Welsh radio (BBC Radio Wales
BBC Radio Wales

BBC Radio Wales is the BBC's national radio station broadcasting to Wales in the English language. Operated by BBC Wales, it began broadcasting on 12 November 1978 following the demise of the old "Radio 4 Wales" when BBC Radio 4 became a national network and moved from medium wave to long wave....
 and Radio Cymru) and television (S4C
S4C

S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Wales television channel. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh language audience, it is the fourth oldest United Kingdom terrestrial television channel ....
). In 2006 he joined the BBC, taking over from Don Maclean
Don Maclean

Don Maclean is an England actor and comedian, who hosted the BBC television series Crackerjack with Michael Aspel, Peter Glaze, and Jan Hunt in the 1970s....
 on Good Morning Sunday on BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2 is one of the BBC's national radio radio station and the List of most-listened-to radio programs in the United Kingdom. Much of its daytime playlist-based programming is best described as Adult contemporary music or Album-orientated rock, although the station is also noted for its specialist broadcasting of other musical genres....
 and The Choir on BBC Radio 3
BBC Radio 3

BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on European classical music, but jazz, world music, drama and the arts also feature....
.

In 2005 he launched his eponymous autobiography, written in collaboration with Darren Henley.

Private life

While touring through Blackpool
Blackpool

Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Lying along the coast of the Irish Sea, it has a population of 142,900, making it the North West England#Important cities and towns settlement in North West England behind Manchester, Liverpool and Warrington....
 in 1995, Aled met his future wife, Claire Fossett. The couple married in 2001 and now live in London with their two children, Emilia and Lucas.

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
    DVD

    DVD, also known as "Digital Versatile Disc" or "Digital Video Disc,"is a popular optical disc data storage device media format. Its main uses are video and data storage....
  • 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
    Julian Lloyd Webber

    Julian Lloyd Webber is one of the world's most renowned solo cellists....
  • 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
    Memory (song)

    "Memory" is a show tune from the 1981 Andrew Lloyd Webber musical theatre Cats sung by the character Grizabella, a one-time glamour cat who is now a shell of her former self....
    " (1985)
  • "Too Young to Know" (1985)
  • "Walking in the Air
    Walking in the Air

    "Walking in the Air" is a song written by Howard Blake for the 1982 animated film of Raymond Briggs' 1976 children's book The Snowman. In the film the song was performed by St....
    " (1985) UK #5
  • "Pictures in the Dark
    Pictures in the Dark

    "Pictures in the Dark" is a song by Mike Oldfield released as a single mainly in Europe in 1985 . Singers on this single includes his girlfriend at the time, Anita Hegerland, Barry Palmer and well-known Wales choirboy Aled Jones....
    " (with Mike Oldfield
    Mike Oldfield

    Mike Oldfield is an England multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk music, ethnic or world music, European classical music, electronic music, New Age music and more recently dance music....
    ) (1985)
  • "Morning Has Broken
    Morning Has Broken

    "Morning Has Broken" is a favorite and well-known Christianity hymn, especially popular in children's services. Pop music and folk music Cat Stevens included an acoustic version on his 1971 album Teaser and the Firecat....
    " (1986)
  • "A Winter Story" (1986)
  • "I'm in This Over My Head" (1998)
  • "Some Kind of Wonderful
    Some Kind of Wonderful

    Some Kind of Wonderful is a 1987 in film film starring Eric Stoltz, Lea Thompson, and Mary Stuart Masterson. It was one of the many successful teen dramas written by John Hughes in the 1980s, although this one was directed by Howard Deutch....
    " (duet with Cerys Matthews
    Cerys Matthews

    'Cerys Matthews' is a Welsh people Singing and songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the Welsh Musical ensemble#Rock and pop bands Catatonia , for her 1999 Christmas duet with Tom Jones and her 2007 appearance on I'm a Celebrity......
    ) (10 October 2007)
  • "Little Drummer Boy
    Little Drummer Boy

    "The Little Drummer Boy" is a popular Christmas song, with words and music by Katherine K. Davis. Henry Onorati and Harry Simeone have been credited with writing the song, even though they were only the arrangers for their recordings of it....
    " (with Terry Wogan
    Terry Wogan

    Sir Michael Terence Wogan, Order of the British Empire Deputy Lieutenant more commonly known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish people radio and television broadcaster, who has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career....
    ) (2008) #3


Talking books

  • The Story of Classical Music (2004)
  • Famous Composers (2005)
  • The Story of Jesus (2006)


External links

  • A full album discography with track listings