Forty years later, Aled’s still got it

Aled Jones has treated an audience to a falsetto reprise of Walking in the Air, celebrating four decades since the 1985 release of the iconic Christmas favourite hit the UK charts.

To mark their Big Christmas Chorus, a nationwide singalong event celebrating 40 years of the Christmas classic, Classic FM shared a video to their Facebook page of Aled attempting to sing in the same falsetto as his 14-year-old self.

They wrote: “Aled has been celebrating four decades since his hit 1985 recording of The Snowman song with The Big Christmas Chorus – a national moment of song to raise funds to tackle isolation together with our official charity Make Some Noise.”

The video, originally captured at Classic FM’s ‘Carols by Candlelight with Viking’ in December 2023, sees Aled manage a few lines, before promptly telling the audience “that’s all you’re getting.”

‘Walking in the Air’ was originally composed for The Snowman, a Channel 4 film based on a picture book by Raymond Briggs show on Boxing Day 1982.

An immediate success the Snowman, directed by Dianne Jackson, was nominated for Best Animated Short Film at the 55th Academy Awards and won a BAFTA TV Award.

The orchestra score was written by Howard Blake and performed by the Sinfonia of London, with the standout song Walking in the Air sung in the film not by Aled jones, as many mistakenly think, but by then-uncredited chorister Peter Auty.

Aled released his cover in 1985, which went to number five on the UK singles chart, while Auty was later credited in the 20th anniversary version of the film in 2002.

Although Aled might not be able to manage the iconic falsetto for the song’s duration, viewers can get the best of both worlds as, thanks to modern technology, he has performed a duet with his younger self.

Classic FM and their official charity, Global’s Make Some Noise, are creating a national moment of song with the Big Christmas Chorus.

School, choirs, and individuals across the country will come together in singalongs during December to raise funds, with sheet music and backing tracks provided by Classic FM.

To find out more, visit Classic FM’s site here.