A CHANCE conversation with Aled Jones's parents led to the discovery of unreleased folk songs he recorded as a boy.

“We were sitting around the kitchen table, when my mum suddenly mentioned an album of mine that had never been released. When she asked my dad where it was, he said the tape of recordings was in the airing cupboard - someone had told them to put it there, to keep dry. There it was, sandwiched between my old pants and socks!" says Aled. "At the time my voice had broken, so the record company decided not to release it. I didn't even remember recording the album, but when I listened to it at my parents’ house I felt like a proud uncle."

From that came the idea to release an album of duets, One Voice, featuring Aled's voice as a boy and adult. The album includes work by Handel, Britten and Vaughan Williams, and Irish and Welsh folk music. Aled has also recorded three new solo tracks.

Now the Welsh singer is performing the duets on a cathedral tour, ending in Bangor where his career started more than 30 years ago.

"Making the album was the nicest singing experience I've had," says Aled. "As a child I didn't listen to my recordings, I just got on with life, but listening to them now, I look back with pride. I put so much emotion into them. It's the album I'm most proud of doing as a boy, because I'm probably singing the best I ever did."

He adds: "It doesn't really feel like me anymore, but on the album I get to sing in harmony and unison with me as a boy. To my knowledge, the concept for One Voice - the same person with two different voices - has never been done before."

How does it work on stage? "There's footage of me as a boy projected onto a wall. It's quite poignant," says Aled. "The cathedral settings are a fantastic backdrop. I'm never more at home than when performing in cathedrals, and I've been fortunate to sing in so many of these beautiful buildings over the years through my work on Songs of Praise."

Now 45, Aled became one of the world’s most successful boy sopranos after making his professional debut aged 12 performing the Angel in Handel's Oratorio Jeptha on TV. He's probably best known for recording Walking in the Air, the song from The Snowman, (although he didn't sing on the film), but had already released several albums by the time the film came out in 1985.

His first album, Diolch â Chân, was in 1983 and Aled went on to release 30 albums, selling eight million records to date.

As well as singing, he has carved a career in TV, broadcasting and musical theatre, starring in shows such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. He competed on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing, presented ITV's Daybreak and has radio shows on BBC Wales and Classic fm.

It all started for Aled when, aged nine, he auditioned for the choir at Bangor Cathedral. He soon became a household name, a dimple-cheeked soprano in surplice and ruffs. He performed for the Queen, on Top of the Pops, at the Hollywood Bowl and at the pop royalty wedding of Bob Geldof and Paula Yates.

"I didn't really feel the pressure as a kid, I'd make a record then go home and play football with my mates. Now I'm old enough to stand back and say I'm proud of of what I did," he says. "Back then, there was only me, Julian Lloyd Webber and Pavarotti doing that kind of classical crossover. Now it's a huge market and record shops have big classical departments. When I was a kid people listened to either pop or classical, but my kids listen to a range of music on their MP3s."

When Aled's voice broke he stepped out of the spotlight, attending the Royal Academy of Music and Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

An appearance on Songs of Praise was a hit with viewers, leading him to resume his singing career. His self-titled album went to Number 1 in 2002 and he became established as an adult singer, finally able to shake off the choirboy image.

Now enough time has passed for him to sing with his former self.

"In many ways it feels like coming full circle. I can put the early part of my life to bed," says Aled. "I first walked into Bangor Cathedral aged nine and haven't sung there since I was 12. I thought it was the biggest place in the world."

* Aled Jones is at Bradford Cathedral on June 9. For tickets call 0844 844 0444.