Aled Jones and Russell Watson promise ‘a lot of melancholy and a lot of memories’ at upcoming Cambridge concert

Performing together again following a three-year hiatus, two of the world’s greatest classical voices, Aled Jones and Russell Watson, are set to appear at the Cambridge Corn Exchange later this week.

The gig – and indeed the tour – comes on the back of a new seasonal album, released on November 4, titled Christmas with Aled and Russell.

The album features new recordings of much-loved Christmas songs, including traditional carols such as O Holy Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem and In the Bleak Midwinter, alongside festive favourites such as White Christmas, It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, Little Drummer Boy, and Mistletoe and Wine.

The album also boasts a special rendition of Walking in the Air – released, of course, by the then boy soprano Aled in 1985 – but more on that later.

“We started work on the album at the beginning of the year and recorded it in the hottest week of the year, which was a very bizarre experience – singing In the Bleak Midwinter when it was so hot outside,” says Aled, speaking to the

Cambridge Independent, along with Russell, via Zoom.

Christmas with Aled and Russell follows the successful duo’s first two albums, 2018’s In Harmony and 2019’s Back in Harmony, both of which went straight to number one on the UK classical album chart and the top 10 of the UK official album charts upon release.

Understandably, the pair missed working with each other during the pandemic. “We missed a lot of things,” notes Russell, 55, “I mean Aled and I stayed in touch through the pandemic, and on top of that we did plan getting back together again to do a Christmas album as well.

“But for me the first eight or nine months [of the pandemic] were a bit of a novelty because Aled and I are constantly on the road touring solo projects and then joint projects – and then all of a sudden there’s this enforced period where you’re not working.

“But I remember once we’d got past the end of the first year and the dark nights had started to come in and the cold weather came back, and the onset of the beginning of that year, it really did feel like there was no light at the end of the proverbial tunnel; it really did feel quite bleak actually.

“And then the messages kept changing as well, and that was what I think made it so difficult for everybody that was involved in the entertainment industry. There was just no clarity on when we might be able to get the opportunity to get back on stage again.

“And I know there were many people in similar situations, not just the entertainment industry obviously, but the entertainment industry was definitely badly hit by it, and so when we got the opportunity to get back on stage again, it almost felt like we were being given the gift back again, and it was a wonderful feeling being able to get back on there. Obviously, we’re approaching this new tour and new album with a great deal of enthusiasm.”

The first gig the pair did together after the pandemic was at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales earlier this year. “It was a gig that we were meant to do on the back of the last tour,” says Aled, 51, “so it was quite weird really going back and relearning all the old repertoire.

“But once we were on stage together, it was like no time had passed and we get into our swing very easily – and it’s so lovely having somebody to share the stage with. We’re both used to doing our own things so when we’re on there together we’ve got somebody else to bounce off and it’s such a great experience.”

Aled notes that the new Christmas album includes “repertoire that we may not normally do”, adding: “We do the traditional stuff, and there are a couple of traditional songs on the album as well, but there’s all kinds of rep on this one: lots of middle-of-the-road songs and pop songs as well.”

Russell, who was once described by The New York Times as a performer “who sings like Pavarotti and entertains the audience like Frank Sinatra”, observes: “The thing is as well, Aled is Christmas. He’s synonymous with Christmas, so he’s very much been a part of that Christmas fabric for years and years and years, whereas all this is new to me – I’ve never actually released a Christmas album.

“I’ve released albums at Christmas but the subject has never been ‘Christmas’, so I’m really excited about this. And I think it will give people a nice, warm feeling; the melancholy and the memories that Christmas brings back.

“Also the music that we associate with Christmas I think is a wonderful thing, and I think that’s what people will get when they come to watch us perform. There’ll be a lot of melancholy and a lot of memories flooding back, I’m sure.”

“Absolutely,” agrees Aled, a TV and radio presenter who became one of the world’s most successful boy sopranos at the age of 12, going on to release more than 40 albums and becoming a favourite with the royal family. He was thrilled to be told by the Queen that her husband’s favourite radio programme was his show on Classic FM.

“To get to duet with Russell on Walking in the Air as well – I’ve never sung that with anyone else before, so it seemed to make sense to do it with Russ and it’s come out really well.”

Whose idea was it to include Walking in the Air, so memorably featured in perennial seasonal favourite The Snowman, although Aled’s version wasn’t the one used in the film?

“Aled,” replies Russell, “because it’s his baby, isn’t it? He’s synonymous with that piece of music so it would have to be Aled’s suggestion. I wouldn’t dream of saying, ‘Let’s do The Snowman’ and insist on that.

“It was something that I think Aled’s taken a great deal of thought about, because as he’s mentioned before, he’s never, I don’t think, considered doing it before – and has been approached before about doing it with other people and never actually done it. So I feel really good about the fact that he’s agreed to do it with me.”

If you’re wondering whether it will pop up in the set at the Corn Exchange, wonder no more. “We’ll do it on tour as well,” confirms Aled, whose most recent solo album is Blessings, a multi-faith album featuring songs from a range of different religions.

In a previous Cambridge Independent interview, Aled, who appeared on ITV’s The Masked Singer as ‘Traffic Cone’ earlier this year, mentioned that never a day goes by without someone mentioning the song to him. He says that is still very much the case.

“Although now people will tend to mention traffic cones more...” he notes. “Not a day goes by when Russell doesn’t mention Walking in the Air as well – he’s always taking photos with snowmen and sending them to me, much to my amusement.”

“Not always!” laughs Russell, whose debut album The Voice saw him hold the top spot in the UK charts for an unprecedented 52 weeks in 2001, while also topping the charts in the US, making him the first British male artist to attain a simultaneous transatlantic number one.

It’s clear the pair have great affection for each other. “We’re good mates, we trust one another, we always have fun in each other’s company,” says Aled. “What’s not to love?”

Russell adds: “Absolutely, we get on really well, that’s the main thing and we have done for a long, long time. Similar senses of humour, similar values as well. We’re both family men, we’re not big into those red carpet events. We’re both quite private, I think, and I think that’s why we’ve connected so well.”

[Read more: Walking in the Air singer Aled Jones to perform in Cambridge with Russell Watson, Aled Jones interview: ‘Performing on stage is as natural as breathing to me’]

Throughout their careers, both men met and sang for the late Queen Elizabeth II. “It was always an honour, always nerve-wracking,” recalls Aled. “You always wanted to do a really good job, but she was always gracious and lovely and kind, and fun, so we’re both very lucky to have performed for her.”

Russell recalls: “She was just the most incredible human being. When you think the service that she gave to our nation, I don’t think we’ll ever see the like of her again. And right up to her passing she was still doing public appearances, the day prior when she met with Liz Truss, and still had that smile on the face, still had the twinkle in the eyes, even though she didn’t look very well.

“She appeared to have lost a considerable amount of weight but still had that aura about her. Just an incredible lady and she’ll be deeply missed by the nation.”

Aled Jones and Russell Watson will be appearing at the Cambridge Corn Exchange this Saturday (December 3). Tickets are £35.50-£58 and are available at cornex.co.uk. For more on Aled and Russell, go to aledandrussell.com.