The classical crossover singers about their upcoming tour and album, cheese and onion pies made in Altrincham and a new version of Walking in The Air
'With this album, there are times when you don’t know whether it’s Russ or me singing as our voices blend so beautifully together'
This month Aled Jones and Russell Watson release their third album together and start their nationwide tour by opening at the Manchester Opera House. The mutual affection and respect between Russell who lives in Cheshire and Aled, who grew up in the small Welsh-speaking community of Llandegfan on Anglesey, is clear to see as I hope you’ll ascertain from our chat and their banter.
How did your collaboration come about?
Russell: Well, we’ve been friends for nearly 20 years and one day Aled suggested we should do something together. I said that I would be well up for it. And so it began.
Aled: You know, we didn’t even know if our voices would blend well together but we had signed the deal and luckily our voices do work well together.
You know each other's voices extremely well – even when one of you is dressed as a traffic cone
Russell: Absolutely. I phoned Aled and said: ‘You didn’t tell me that you were doing the Masked Singer.' Al, replied: ‘I don’t know what you mean. I have it on very good authority that it’s Alfie Boe.’ But I knew straight away it was Al.
Aled: And what did you do? You outed me on television, on Lorraine.
Russell: Lorraine (Kelly) asked who I thought the traffic cone was and I told her.
Aled: Actually, you don’t know this Russ but Lorraine (Kelly) was texting me every week and asking if was me.
You’re touring together this month tell us what it’s going to be like?
Russell: Whenever we are on stage it’s always an extravaganza, with some incredible musicians such as Mike Moran on piano; he wrote Barcelona for Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé.
Aled: Russell and I are on the stage together the whole time.
Russell: Yes it’s not like one of us goes on and sings a couple of songs, then the other goes on, then we do some together, We are both on stage performing songs that have been specially arranged for us to create some beautiful harmonies. It works very well.
Tell us about the difference between this album, Christmas With Aled and Russell, and your previous two recordings
Aled: It’s quite a unique album where we’ve got people from all over the world working with us. For example, we have an arranger from New Zealand. With this album, there are times when you don’t know whether it’s Russ or me singing as our voices blend so beautifully together. We’ve each done Christmas albums before and this has got some festive classics, such as In The Bleak Midwinter, but also more contemporary tracks such as A Spaceman Came Travelling and Mistletoe And Wine.
Where are your favourite places in Cheshire?
Russell: That's easy for me because I live here.I have a farm here around Congleton and I love it. Before that, I lived in Hale, then Wilmslow. The wife and I love walking in places such as Styal or the Edge at Alderley.
Aled: For me, it’s North Wales and Chester. I've performed in beautiful venues in the area, including Chester Cathedral.
Russell, I’ve been to your sister's deli, Off The Wheaten Track, in Altrincham. The Bakewell slice is amazing
Russell: I love the cheese and onion pie. Yeah, it’s a great shop as all the food they serve is gluten-free and great for coeliacs.
Aled: When you next go in Armand, tell them Russell sent you and you’ll get 10 per cent off.
Russell: If you tell them I sent you, you’ll get charged 10 per cent more.
Aled, you’ve been in the public eye for a long time. How did you get discovered and what was it like growing up in the public eye?
Aled: I was discovered singing in Bangor Cathedral and a lady in the congregation wrote to a Welsh record label and said they should record with me before my voice broke. So I recorded an album, which was picked up in a Cardiff record shop by a BBC producer who asked me to do three television shows from Israel for the BBC.
The producer called my dad and said: ‘We’ve pressed 4,000 copies of an album. We don’t expect it to sell, but it will be a nice memento. The same producer phoned back a few days later and said it had sold 275,000 copies in the previous five days on pre-orders alone and was number two in the charts, behind Bruce Springsteen's Born In the USA. It led to four mad years, but it was good and everyone was nice to me. Things only changed when my voice broke at 16.
Walking In The Air, from The Snowman was such a huge hit for you. After all these years how do you manage to keep an affection for it?
Aled: Well, every year in January I get a cheque through the post and everything in the world is all right. But at college, I used to hate it because I was ribbed about it all the time. Now I’m a lot older I can appreciate it. In fact, I’ve re-recorded it as a duet with Russ on the new album, so it’s taken on a new life.
Russell, tell us about your big break
Russell: It was back in 1999. I was doing lots of big sporting events such as the Championship Cup Final with Montserrat Caballé. That led me to things like four nights in Hyde Park with Cliff Richard performing to more than 100,000 people. When I signed with my first label, I think everyone thought we may sell around 50,000 copies of my first album, The Voice, which is typical for the classical genre but we sold over a million in the UK alone and it stayed at number one in the Classical Charts for 52 weeks.
Russell, you had a very challenging time with your health when you had two brain tumours. How did you get through that?
Russell: Yes, it was a difficult time but I didn’t have a choice. I wanted to survive. It was a time when I had to get back on track. I had a second operation to tackle the tumour that nearly ended my life but with two ops, 25 treatments of radiotherapy and a lot of determination, I got through. I wanted to get back to singing and being me.
Aled: And of course, you had your family Russ
Russell: Yes I had support from my family. It was difficult in many respects as my children were so young at the time, I think Hannah was four and Rebecca was eight or nine. It was hard for them as they saw me go from a big, 6ft 1ind hulk of a man to a crumbled wreck. That changed the way they viewed me and they became very protective, which was quite sweet actually.
How do you look after yourselves, especially as you have a gruelling tour ahead?
Russell: I have a gym at home and I like to work out. I also swim.
Aled: Like a lot of people I spent lockdown immersed in sauvignon blanc. I realised I had to get myself fit so I play a racquet game called padel, which is great.
What about looking after your voices?
Aled: It usually starts when I prepare to do a tour. I have a regime where I’ll work on my voice every day for two or three weeks at least, getting the music in my soul. It’s like being an athlete because it’s a muscle at the end of the day, so you need to work it.
Russell: I tend to vocalise most days, going through some basic scales. Once I’ve warmed up to my high b flat or what I call the high-line tenor notes, that’s when I stop.
Is there an artist, dead or alive you would have loved to duet with?
Aled: Freddie Mercury. One of the greatest singers and entertainers ever.
Russell: Whitney Houston. An amazing voice… she hit some incredible notes.
It’s Strictly season. Aled you did the second series, in 2004. What are your thoughts on this series and memories from your experience?
Aled: I was lucky in the season I did as, let’s be frank, the men were useless. But I watch the later seasons and the celebrities are great. When I was there I literally had no idea to do any of these dances… and then it’s announced that your first dance is a cha-cha-cha to She Bangs by Ricky Martin and you just think the whole world is over. I know Helen Skelton, who’s competing this year… I think she’ll be brilliant.
Russell, are you tempted by the sequins, spray tan and glitter ball trophy?
Russell: Erm, no. We watch it and the amount of flexibility and talent you need is amazing. Louise, my wife, would love it but no, not for me.
What advice would you give to your younger selves?
Russell: Be aware of the pitfalls in the industry and if you can do it yourself, do it.
Aled: Don’t let your voice break.
Christmas with Aled and Russell is out on November 11. Their UK tour starts on Sunday, November 13 at Manchester Opera House and includes Saturday, November 19 at Llandudno Venue Cymru Theatre.
To pre-order the album and book tour tickets see aledandrussell.com
