Snowman singer finds voice at last

Aled Jones' version topped the UK singles chart

The original voice behind Christmas animation film The Snowman has finally been recognised - after choirboy Aled Jones claimed the credit for 20 years.

Viewers had thought Aled - now a familiar presenter of Songs of Praise - was the vocal talent behind the Walking In The Air song, which has delighted families annually since 1982.

But the youthful Welsh singer was chosen by composer Howard Blake to release a re-recorded version of the song - a huge hit that catapulted Aled to fame.

Chorister Peter Auty, who sang the version used in the animation for just £300 and was left out from the closing credits in the rush to finish the film, was reinstated by producers Monday.

Snow joke

The animation of Raymond Briggs' picture book tells the heart-warming tale of the relationship between a young boy and his friend, the Snowman, who takes him on a magical journey across the North Pole skies.

Commissioned from Snowman Enterprises by embryonic Channel 4 in 1982, it was entirely reliant on music scored by Blake, including haunting Walking In The Air.

The Snowman delighted families annually

Aled Jones was asked to record the song as a Christmas single in 1985, appearing on Top Of The Pops, and shot to an overnight fame as a child prodigy.

Mr Auty re-emerged as an tenor with a series of opera companies including Glyndebourne.

But he was never credited for The Snowman.

Producers have now created a new introduction to the film to mark its 20th anniversary, and have finally written the wrong.

'Quite miffed'

"It's great to have my name on the film after all these years. I'm really pleased people will now recognise it was me," Mr Auty said.

"At the time it, didn't really bother me that everyone thought it was Aled.

"I was quite happy to be anonymous, but I think my mum and dad were quite miffed on my behalf."

A spokeswoman for Mr Jones said: "Aled sang it later on and it got confused in people's minds. They assumed Aled sang it in the film too."

Both singers will feature in a documentary about the film, Snow Business, airing on Channel 4 over Christmas.

Producer John Coates said: "We thought it was about time to set the record straight."