Biography

A true son of Wales, Aled Jones was born on December 29, 1970, in Llandegfan, Anglesey. An only child he was bilingual in English and Welsh. He remembers first singing aged about two while standing on his grandmother''s table to her piano accompaniment.

At school he was entered for eisteddfodau, local and national singing competitions, which he invariably won.  A lady in the congregation at Bangor Cathedral was so taken she took the initiative to write to a local record company about his talent. There followed two albums, one of which found it''s way into the hands of a BBC producer who invited Aled to sing live on TV and radio with the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Neville Mariner.  There then followed three BBC television programmes watched by over 18 million viewers and a series of accompanying albums which all achieved gold status.

Aled''s astounding career had begun. There were highs like performing with Leonard Bernstein, composer of West Side Story, who on their first meeting put Aled in a headlock and said, "And you little man, you''ve got a fantastic voice.” Bernstein treated Aled like a son.
He sang Walking in the Air, a Top Ten hit, on Top of the Pops. He released 16 albums all of which went platinum or gold, and sold six million albums worldwide.

He performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra in front of 27,000 people at the Hollywood Bowl where the Johnny Carson Show offered to devote a show to him. Aled turned it down, he was 15 and wanted to get back to his girlfriend and football.

The eighties were a more easy going period for a child star in a less intensely marketed music business. Aled was the original classical crossover artist. But exploitation wasn''t in his vocabulary. Aled''s parents allowed him to lead a normal life, that''s why he is so balanced today.

Now established as one of the nation’s favourite broadcasters on both radio and television, Aled is a regular presenter of Songs of Praise, where he frequently performs songs.  For him it has been like ‘coming home’.  He is recognised in the street, his hand shaken by strangers.  "Songs of Praise has been the beginning of everything again. It has an audience of eight million. People had been writing in sackloads to the BBC wanting me to sing more," says Aled. "I love doing the programme. I feel happier doing this sort of music. It''s what I''ve always done."

Having recently got to the semi-finals of the hugely successful TV programme Strictly Come Dancing, Aled’s popularity has never been higher. And in 2006, we’ll see him presenting Strictly Musicals for BBC 1.
Aled was recently awarded the accolade of Religious Broadcaster of the Year by the Andrew Cross Awards.  In their citation the judges described Aled’s “unique qualities that made him stand out head and shoulders above everyone else: inspiring, warm and intelligent.”
Aled’s concert career goes from strength to strength, a reflection of his ever-growing popularity.  In 2002 he performed no more than 20 concerts.  In 2003 that rose to 35 and 2004 saw him perform 70: now in 2005 his touring between October and December will include 50 concerts.

Aled’s record sales speak for themselves – in 2003 Higher went gold within weeks, and Aled, released in 2002, achieved platinum sales status.  In November 2004  released his Christmas Album, and Aled is now back with his best album yet, New Horizons. He has written an original (the title track), and there is a duet with Bryn Terfel on the record, whose Faenol festival he performed at this August.

To add to his already long list of commitments, Aled has taken on co-management of new choral trio The Choirboys, which will ensure that he stays as busy as ever-and he wouldn’t have it any other way.