Aled Richards (born in 1969) is a Welsh drummer and was a member of the Welsh rock band

Catatonia Catatonia is a complex neuropsychiatric behavioral syndrome that is characterized by abnormal movements, immobility, abnormal behaviors, and withdrawal. The onset of catatonia can be acute or subtle and symptoms can wax, wane, or change during ...

Early life

Richards started to play drums when he was young, born and living in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Richards joined the band Catatonia in 1996, who were on the verge of signing a deal with the major record label,

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

Catatonia

Richards joined Catatonia when they were signing a deal with

Richards played with the band in all of their shows ranging from

Glastonbury Festival Glastonbury Festival (formally Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts and known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place in Pilton, Somerset, England. In addition to contempo ...

to playing in Wembley in support of

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and TV performances such as '' Later... with Jools Holland'', and ''

Top Of The Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most o ...

''. After their rise to fame with their second album '' International Velvet'', and subsequent success with third release '' Equally Cursed and Blessed'', they returned in 2001 with their fourth studio album, '' Paper Scissors Stone''. During promotional appearances for this album it became clear that Matthews was not coping well with the increased pressure, suffering from anxiety and nervous exhaustion, which resulted in the cancellation of several tour dates, and a deterioration in the relationships between the band members. On 21 September 2001, the band officially split and Richards took a break from the music industry to spend time with his children.

After Catatonia

Although Richards is still involved in bands such as Killing For Company and working with other artists, he spent his time after the band with his young family. He then went into teaching and is a music technology lecturer at Coleg Sir Gar in

Llanelli Llanelli ("St Elli's llan (placename element), Parish"; ) is a market town and the largest community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is located on the Loughor estuary north-west of ...

, Wales. He is currently a freelance musician.

References

External links

Aled Richards (BBC)

Aled Richards (Drummer)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Aled 1969 births Living people Welsh rock drummers Place of birth missing (living people)