Celebrity
Singer and presenter Aled Jones on revisiting the past, his career highlights and hitting the road again
Come December his voice rings throughout homes across the country, the nostalgia transporting us back to hearing him sing Walking in the Air for the first time in 1985. But it’s not just at the ‘most wonderful time of year’ that Aled Jones comes alive. Now, after 40 years in the business, the singer is taking on a new challenge.
Ahead of his tour, which features never-before-heard music, tales from the decades and, for the first time, his story told in his own words, Aled explains why it was time to come full circle.
‘It’s like nothing I’ve done before,’ the 53-year-old admits. ‘Usually I’m just singing the songs with a little bit of chat in between, and that’s about it. Whereas this is totally the opposite, it’s a lot of chatting with a few songs.’ Aled explains, ‘I’ve decided to make it more intimate, so it’s just me on stage with a grand piano, singing about five songs. Then there will be a big screen behind me showing old footage. Expect many embarrassing photos from the 80s and videos that people haven’t seen before.
‘I’ll be telling stories that I’ve never told before, like singing for royalty, at Paula Yates and Bob Geldof’s wedding, and performing with Leonard Bernstein, all that kind of stuff.’ So, is Aled nervous about his new venture?
‘Not really,’ he says. ‘Normally at my concerts I do talk in between the songs. In fact, a lot of people leave going, “I didn’t realise you were a stand-up as well!” But I never plan what I’m going to say, I just go along with it, whereas this time I’ve worked out the shape of what I’m going to do.
‘The first half is very much in the past, which isn’t something I do often. The second half is all the things I’ve done as an adult.’ Aled continues, ‘It’s different, and I’m definitely feeling apprehensive about it, but mainly I’m looking forward to it as well.’
How did it come about? ‘I’ve been in the industry for 40 years now, released more than 40 albums, and there comes a point where you want to tell your own story,’
Aled says. ‘It just seemed like a nice thing to do that I haven’t done before – it was an opportunity to try something new and I’m always up for a challenge. That’s why I did things like Strictly and, more recently, The Masked Singer [he was Traffic Cone], it’s so much fun.’
Can we expect to see Aled on any other reality shows?
‘I never say never, so we’ll have to see – but I don’t think I’m brave enough to go on the ice!
‘The response f
