Aled Jones, the Welsh singer who shot to fame as a teenage chorister, has reflected on the singular moment he felt “trendy” during his school years – being parodied on the satirical puppet show, Spitting Image.
Jones’s recording of “Walking in the Air” became a Christmas chart hit in 1985, propelling him into the spotlight.
He told the Press Association: “I was very lucky as a kid to have these mad four years where I released 16 albums, travelled the world, sang everywhere from the Hollywood Bowl to the Vatican.”
Recalling the Spitting Image experience, he added: “I was only ever trendy at school once, and that’s when I was on Spitting Image, the satire show on a Sunday night, and they had a little doll made up of me who unfortunately had curly hair and a South Walian accent, but we don’t go into that.”
open image in galleryHe noted the parody depicted him “recording 32 albums in 10 minutes,” a scenario he admitted was “a bit like that when I was a child.”
Now a familiar voice and face across British television and radio, Jones is set to take over Classic FM’s flagship weekday programme, airing Monday to Friday from 10 am to 1 pm. He replaces Alexander Armstrong, who has hosted the show for six years and will now present a new Friday evening slot. Broadcaster Dawn O’Porter is also joining the station with her own Saturday show.
Expressing his enthusiasm for the new role, Jones said: “Being able to share my passion with the listeners every day of the week is going to be fantastic. I’m always somebody who tries to present classical music in a popular way.”
He recounted signing his first record deal with Virgin Records, where Richard Branson advised selling his classical albums “like we do a Boy George or a Genesis album.” Jones explained his approach: “When I was a child, there was no difference for me between listening to Handel or Rachmaninoff and Queen or Spandau Ballet, a kid of the 80s. So it’s all great music.”
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Jones believes classical music is far more accessible today than during his youth. He contrasted the past, where the classical department in record stores was often “on the third floor, behind glass, as if it was some dangerous animal,” with the present.
He observed that his own children’s playlists feature “everything on their MP players, from the classical big hits like Beethoven and Tchaikovsky, but also rap and stuff like that as well. I think these days people like good music, that’s it.”
open image in galleryHe also paid tribute to his “radio dad,” the late Terry Wogan, describing him as a “dear friend” and a significant mentor. Jones revealed he was the most frequent guest on Wogan’s show as a child, appearing seven times in three years.
He shared that his biggest-selling single is not “Walking In The Air”, but “Little Drummer Boy” with Terry Wogan. Jones hailed Wogan as “the greatest broadcaster that’s ever lived,” adding that he “learned such a lot from him.”
The new Classic FM summer schedule, featuring Jones’s new programme, is scheduled to launch on 1 June.