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

Catatonia Catatonia is a complex syndrome most commonly seen in people with underlying mood disorders, such as major depressive disorder, or psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia. People with catatonia exhibit abnormal movement and behaviors, wh ...

Early life

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

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

. 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. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

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 The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

to playing in Wembley in support of

NetAid NetAid was an anti-poverty initiative. It started as a joint venture between the United Nations Development Programme and Cisco Systems. It became an independent nonprofit organization in 2001. In 2007, NetAid became a part of Mercy Corps. Launc ...

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

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

''. After their rise to fame with their second album '' International Velvet'', and subsequent success with third release ''

Equally Cursed and Blessed ''Equally Cursed and Blessed'' is the third studio album by Welsh band Catatonia, released in April 1999 via Blanco y Negro Records. It reached number one on the UK Albums Chart, and three singles were released from it: " Dead from the Waist Do ...

'', 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 ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

, 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)