Rewind: 60 Years of Welsh Pop: Christmas Special


10:40 pm - 11:10 pm, Today on BBC One Wales (1)

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About this Broadcast

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Christmas Special

A trawl through the archive finds some Welsh musical Christmas crackers. Among the festive favourites are performances from child stars Aled Jones and Charlotte Church, Tom Jones on a horse-drawn sleigh, the Flying Picketts dressed as snowmen, a perennial hit from Shakin' Stevens and, helping to keep the Christmas spirit flowing, Neath's own starlet Katherine Jenkins with a Christmas classic first made famous by Eartha Kitt


HD subtitles repeat 16x9
Documentary Music/Ballet/Dance News/Current Affairs Pop

Cast & Crew

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Tom Jones (Performer)
Aled Jones (Performer)
Charlotte Church (Performer)
Shakin' Stevens (Performer)
Ryan Saunders (Producer)
Ryan Minchin (Executive producer)

More Information

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Did You Know..

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Tom Jones (Performer)
Born: June 07, 1940 in Trefforest, Pontypridd, South Wales
Best Known For: Thumping renditions of classic songs.
Early-life: Born Thomas John Woodward on June 7, 1940, in Treforest, Pontypridd, south Wales, the son of a housewife and a coal miner. He enjoyed singing, and performed with the Treforest Secondary Modern School choir. He left school, married his girlfriend Melinda (better known now as Linda) Trenchard and had a son - all by the age of 17. To make ends meet, Jones worked as a labourer, glove cutter, paper miller and vacuum cleaner salesman, singing at night with local bands.
Career: In 1963, Jones joined forces with songwriter Gordon Mills, who was beginning a career in management. A year later, his single, It's Not Unusual, written by Mills, topped the chart. Other early hits include She's a Lady, Help Yourself, Delilah, What's New Pussycat? and Without Love. His record sales waned during the 1970s, but he made a successful comeback in 1987, scoring a top 10 hit with The Boy from Nowhere. These days he's as popular as ever and his 1999 best-selling album, Reload, featured duets with some of the world's biggest contemporary acts, including Robbie Williams and Stereophonics. He continues to be one of the most successful recording artists in the world. He was knighted in 2006, and has been a judge on The Voice since 2012.
Quote: "The fire is still in me. Not to be an oldie, but a goodie. I want to be a contender."
Trivia: While filming an alien invasion during Mars Attacks! he burnt part of his scalp. He stopped dying his hair in 2009.
Aled Jones (Performer)
Born: December 29, 1970 in Bangor
Best Known For: Singing Walking in the Air.
Early-life: Aled was born in Bangor on December 29, 1970. He joined the Bangor Cathedral Choir aged nine, and won many national singing competitions at the Urdd Eisteddfod. After being talent-spotted by a congregation member, BBC Wales asked him to sing with the BBC Welsh Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. A documentary followed, and he recorded some tracks, including Walking in the Air from animated short film, The Snowman. It was a global smash.
Career: After disappearing from the public eye in his teens, Jones became a county level tennis player, and studied at the Royal Academy of Music. He went on to gain entry at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where he trained as an actor. It led to appearances in productions of Twelfth Night and Joseph and His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. He has become a regular presenter/performer on Songs of Praise and presents his own shows on BBC Radio 2, Radio 3 and Radio Wales. Jones has also returned to recording music, and touring, to great acclaim. In 2004, he was a contestant on Strictly Come Dancing. On the 4 May 2012, it was announced that Jones would become the new co-presenter of the ITV breakfast programme Daybreak, alongside Lorraine Kelly. He left Daybreak in April 2014 to host a new breakfast show for ITV called Weekend. His recent TV work has included reporting for Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two and co-presenting daily magazine show Too Much TV, both for BBC2.
Quote: "I stopped singing on my 16th birthday. The joy had gone out of it. I was sick of being asked why my voice hadn't yet broken. Was I a freak?"
Trivia: Jones was awarded an MBE in 2013.
Charlotte Church (Performer)
Born: February 21, 1986 in Llandaff, Cardiff
Best Known For: Her voice and boozy nights out.
Early-life: Born Charlotte Maria Reed on February 21, 1986, in Llandaff, Cardiff. She was raised by her mother Maria and stepfather James Church. Her first public performance was at the age of three, when she sang the Ghostbusters theme with her cousin at a holiday camp. Her big break came when she was 10 when she performed Ave Maria over the phone on ITV daytime magazine This Morning. She subsequently was invited into the studio to sing again. She later appeared on Jonathan Ross's The Big, Big Talent show, and wowed the audience.
Career: Church's first album, Voice of an Angel, was released in November 1998 and went on to sell 600,000 copies. It made Church the youngest ever artist to top the classical chart. She also performed live for various VIPs such as Bill Clinton, the Pope and Nelson Mandela. In 2000, following the release of her second album, entitled Charlotte Church, she sacked manager Jonathan Shalit and replaced him with her mother. She then decided to change direction and moved into more mainstream music. Her first pop album, Tissues and Issues, was released in 2005. She's also branched out into acting with movie I'll Be There and enjoyed success as a TV host on Channel 4's Charlotte Church Show. She released her sixth studio album, Back to Scratch, in 2010.
Quote: "I just love food and hate the gym, and that seems to be a pretty curvy combination."
Trivia: Church performed at the University of Wolverhampton freshers fair in September 2013.
Shakin' Stevens (Performer)
Katherine Jenkins (Performer)
The Flying Picketts (Performer)
Ryan Saunders (Producer)
Ryan Minchin (Executive producer)