Iconic Brit with 40 albums that sold over 10m who you can book for weddings and funerals

Child stardom can be, for many, a burden instead of a blessing. Once the cherubic looks and cute charm fade, so too can the abundant work opportunities.

Not so for Welsh singer Aled Jones. Some 40 years after the boy with the “angelic” voice delighted the world with his spine-tingling rendition of Walking in the Air, he remains as busy as ever.

Now a 54-year-old happily married father-of-two, Aled has enjoyed an extraordinary and varied career over the past four decades, singing for both the Pope and the Royal Family. From recording artist, TV and radio presenter to author and recent certified Celebrant, more of which to follow, is there no end to this Welsh warbler’s wizardry?

“It was my radio dad Terry Wogan who told me the secret of enduring success was to spread yourself thinly,” he chuckles. “That way it is harder for people to get rid of you.”

We’re talking as Aled takes a break from rehearsals for the West End Christmas favourite Elf: The Musical in which he plays Walter Hobbs, Buddy’s father. He is learning to tap dance, adding another string to his already full bow of talents.“The dancing is really hard,” he admits. “I’m 54 now – but I’ve got another couple of weeks or so before we open!”

He’s clearly delighted to be back on stage. His last West End show was five years ago. “That was White Christmas and I had about 13 or 14 songs to sing so it’s great not to be the lead and have all that pressure of carrying the show,” he smiles.“I am enjoying being back in the theatre immensely but if I had to choose my favourite thing in my career, it would definitely be the singing, unquestionably. Music has always been my greatest pleasure.”

Aled has released over 40 albums with over 10 million sales; to date he has more than 40 Silver, Gold and Platinum Discs to his name.

And it was his recorded rendition of You Raise Me Up, a song covered by artists including Irish boyband Westlife and American singer Josh Grobin, that led to his latest calling as a celebrant – which he calls “one of the most fulfilling and nerve-racking roles of my life”.

“It all began when someone in the funeral business told me that my version of the song was the most requested song in UK crematoriums,” he explains. “That revelation moved me deeply.

“I only trained last year and I haven’t done any funerals yet, just a handful of weddings in pubs or posh hotels but, yes, you can hire Aled Jones for your wedding or funeral!”

Many fans, of course, still know him best as the main presenter on the BBC’s Songs of Praise. He also has the most listened to radio show on Classic FM on Sunday mornings. And now, he’s diversifying his strengths once again by releasing a new book, Aled’s Book of Blessings for 2026.

“Blessings play an essential role in our lives, offering peace, protection and positivity, whether spiritual, religious or simply well-wishes from others,” he explains. “Despite all our technological advancements, blessings remain as important today as ever. In a fast-paced world filled with uncertainty and stress, they provide emotional strength, moral guidance, and a sense of spiritual connection.”

The book contains a blessing for each day of the year – all researched by and collected by Aled himself – organised in monthly chapters.

Each month begins with an introduction to a piece of music and its composer, which has some personal significance in Aled’s own life, so there are plenty of biographical details and anecdotes in there for his fans. It begins with the well known child prodigy Mozart before moving on to Handel.

“Even though many people believe that Walking in the Air started everything for me it was, in fact, Handel’s oratorio,” he says. “I was 12 years old and had been booked to sing the small part of the Angel in the production, which was being performed at St David’s Hall in Cardiff. I lived at the time in North Wales and had never been to Cardiff.

“I was to share the stage with some very prominent classical singers, and we were all to be accompanied by the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra and conducted by the legendary Sir Neville Marriner.“The concert was also being broadcast live on BBC Radio 3. So, no pressure! To be fair, I had the easiest part!”

The book moves on Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 which has topped the Classic FM Hall of Fame chart for three consecutive years. “The book is for people of all faiths or no faiths,” he says. “It is about being thankful and acknowledging there is something in the world bigger than us, be it God, nature or science, depending on your own beliefs.”Bach, Fauré, Elgar, Ireland, Bernstein, Dvorak, Vaughan Williams, Mathias and Wesley are the other composers to feature in the book.

In the Bach chapter Aled writes: “I was fortunate, unlike Bach, (who had 20 children) to have very supportive parents.“My mum, it’s fair to say, spoilt me rotten and I’m so thankful that I had a strong family foundation that allowed me to go and do my thing; just knowing that I had their unending support and love helped me navigate what could have been a very tricky period.

"My parents gave up so much of their free time due to my heavy workload.”

Having said that Aled admits that when he was younger he was “desperate to get to the bright lights of London”. Now, he relishes his return visits to north Wales to visit his parents and its “slow and gentle pace of life”.

Indeed, it’s Aled’s strong family foundation and Christian faith which have left him “counting my own blessings even more as I get older”.

He’s even incorporated some of them into the speeches he writes as a celebrant.

Looking back on his career, he describes himself as “lucky” but also an “extremely hard worker”. Born in St. David’s Hospital in Bangor, Caernarfonshire, the only child of Nest Rowlands, a teacher, and Derek John Jones, a draughtsman for a shipbuilder, he was raised in the small Welsh-speaking community of Llandegfan on Anglesey.

He joined the choir of Bangor Cathedral aged nine and was lead soloist within two years, although he was never head chorister. A record company signed him after a member of the congregation wrote to them alerting them to his unique and beautiful singing voice.

His rendition of Walking in the Air reached number five in the UK singles chart in 1985 when Aled was 15 but he said the fame never went to his head.

“From Monday to Friday I was just a normal boy with a dodgy haircut at a comprehensive school,” he laughs. “Then at the weekend I was off singing all over the world. I had very supportive parents and I was just really grateful for the opportunities. The only pressure I ever felt was when people kept saying, ‘what happens when his voice breaks?’ but that is just a normal thing that happens to everyone. Without the singing, none of the other opportunities like presenting and writing and acting would have come my way so I will always be grateful for that.”

Today, he lives with wife of almost 25 years Claire Fossett in London with whom he has two grown up children, Emilia and Lucas, both in their 20s.

They and the music are the pillars of his life. “Music has always been a guiding force for me,” he says, “and I hope these insights inspire people to explore these timeless works for themselves”. We are suitably grateful for it.

• Aled’s Book of Blessings 2026 (Hodder & Stoughton, £16.00) is out now; Elf: The Musical is at the Aldwych Theatre from October 28 to January 3, 2026. For tickets visit elflondon.com; Aled is supporting Classic FM’s charity, Global’s Make Some Noise for a Walking in the Air campaign with Penguin. For more information, visit classicfm.com