Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Dundee tenor Paul is singing with himself
THERE have been many famous Christmas duets over the years – but a Dundee tenor could be about to eclipse them all by singing alongside his teenage self.
Paul Hastie, 47, is collaborating with himself to raise money for charity and help locals get into the Christmas spirit during a “challenging year for all”.
The former Whitfield High School pupil is reworking his Carols For Christmas cassette for his new CD, Christmas Memories Past and Present.
His original was released in the run-up to the festive period in the late 1980s and led to the youngster being dubbed the city’s own answer to boy soprano, Aled Jones – the Welsh singer who rose to fame with his rendition of Walking In The Air from the iconic cartoon, The Snowman.
Paul, who works as a support worker for people with disabilities, is now looking to raise money for the Capability Scotland care centre at the City Quay having been inspired by the singer he was compared to all those years ago.
He said: “I only started thinking about this at the tail end of November and had a bit of a lightbulb moment.
“Fundraising for all charities this year has been a total nightmare with Covid-19.
“My gran had kept a copy of the paper from the time.
“Reading about the cassette that was produced then brought back fond memories of that time.
“I know Aled Jones duetted with the younger version of himself and I thought I could do the same and raise some money for the centre.
“In the 1980s we recorded the tracks at St Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral where I was part of the choir – I’m still there every Sunday singing.
“Graham Brown from Planet Studio got the master reel of the original cassette and transferred it to CD.
“The first time I sang the tracks again as an adult and heard my younger voice I did get very emotional. It was weird hearing it back.”
Speaking to the Tele on December 16 1987, Whitfield High rector Peter Murphy said most people who had listened thought it was Aled Jones singing on the cassette, but added: “It’s not the Welsh boy, but our own singer.”
Tracks including, We Wish You A Merry Christmas and Oh Come All Ye Faithful will be featured on the CD which will be available for £5.
Paul is hopeful the CD will be available from the weekend in Coffeeology at the Seagate, Daily Grind and the Birchwood Food Emporium.