We are like Bert and Ernie. We are always teasing each other
COULD ALED JONES RUSSELL BE CLASSICAL WATSON AND MUSIC’S FIRST STAND-UP DOUBLE ACT? MARION McMULLEN FINDS OUT WHAT FRIENDSHIP MEANS TO THE SINGING STARS
You two are going to be touring the country following the success of In Harmony, your debut album together. How would you describe your relationship?
ALED: We joke it’s like Morecambe and Wise or Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street and the Muppets. There’s humour there and it comes across massively. We are always teasing each other.
RUSSELL: (Laughs). Yeah, I think we’re like Eric and Ernie. All we’ve got to do now is learn the songs for the tour... or we could do a bit of stand-up. We could tell some jokes.
Aled is very easy to wind up, especially around Christmas when The Snowman is out.
Every time my wife and I go shopping at Christmas there is always something relating to The Snowman. In the supermarket there was a mug, so I had a picture taken with it and sent it to him saying, ‘Hey up, here’s your mate on a mug’. Then we went to Harrods and they had a massive display, so I had a picture with all this stuff and sent it saying ‘here’s a whole section of memorabilia of your mate’.
Of, course Aled tries to wind me up, but I’m a northern lad from Salford... and I only have to wait for Christmas.
Can you remember when you first met?
ALED: It was years ago backstage at the Albert Hall in London with lots of other classical singers. It might have been an awards ceremony. I went over to say hello and we hit it off as if it was the most natural thing in the world. We’re both down to earth and we don’t take ourselves too seriously.
RUSSELL: It was right at the start of my career, 19 or 20 years ago. It will be 30 years next year if you also count my time in the working men’s club. (Laughs) Of course, I did start singing when I was one.
How did the album and tour come about?
ALED: It was all about timing. I don’t know if the planets were aligned or something, but we texted each other a couple of times and that was it really. The record went well and we got to explore great music. I’m really proud of it. RUSSELL: I had been named in the UK Classic FM Charts for two best-selling albums and Aled texted me saying: ‘Congratulations on your success you so and so’.
I wrote ‘Jealousy gets you nowhere. How’s it going?’. We started texting back and forth and said we should get together and do something – two months later we were recording the album.
How did you decide on what songs to include on the album? ALED: We both did our lists and You Raise Me Up was on both, so that was a song we definitely wanted to do. There were no egos. We just got on with it. I did all my vocals in about two days and Russell did the same. It was just a very easy project.
RUSSELL: (Laughs) The record company put together suggestions and so did Aled. I put a few suggestions in (too) and we ended up doing what Aled wanted.
You’ve both had amazing careers. What have been some of the highlights?
ALED: The most surreal performance was for the Prince and Princess of Wales in their living room. It was when I was a kid and my dad got a call saying Prince Charles would love to hear me sing.
I remember Princess Diana was also there and had wet hair because she had been swimming and we all talked afterwards. I’ve sung for the Queen quite a few times since, and the Pope, and I also fit in the TV and radio presenting.
One of my heroes, Terry Wogan once told me ‘Spread yourself as thinly as possible – it’s more difficult for people to get rid of you’.
RUSSELL: There have been so many great moments. I’ve sung for the royal family, former US presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush and the Emperor Of Japan. I was invited to have dinner with him later in the Imperial Palace and we ended up talking about champagne and football.
One of my highlights was singing at the opening of the Commonwealth Games in 2002 in Manchester.
I was waiting to go on and feeling pretty good and one of the stewards said ‘Oi, Russell, not nervous are you?’. I said ‘no, no,’ and he said ‘but there’s 40,000 people out there in the stadium’, ‘no, not nervous,’ then he said ‘and all those nations... and a billion people are going to be watching it live on TV’.
(Laughs) At that point I was just thinking ‘thanks for that. Just shut up now.’ But it was an incredible experience walking up to this high podium, surrounded by a 1,000-strong choir and all those flags waving.
All you could see was the flashing lights of all the cameras. ■ Aled Jones & Russell Watson can be seen on tour from September 17.
■ Go to aledandrussell.com for ticket and venue details.