Only Men Aloud is a male voice

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

from

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 ...

. The choir came to national prominence in the UK when they won the ''

Last Choir Standing ''Last Choir Standing'' is a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom. Broadcast on BBC One in July and August 2008, the series saw amateur choirs competing each week to be the 'last choir standing'. The ...

'' competition run by

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

television during 2008.

Overview

The choir was formed by

Tim Rhys-Evans Timothy Rhys-Evans MBE FRWCMD (born c. 1972) is a Welsh conductor and best known as the founder and musical director of the choir Only Men Aloud! and Only Boys Aloud. He also formed the children's choir Only Kids Aloud in 2012. Rhys-Evans, fr ...

, a classically trained singer and former musical director of Welsh National Youth Opera. It originally had 15 members and is based in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. Following ''Last Choir Standing'', the choir signed a five-record deal with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

and released their first album. They performed with

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, wi ...

The Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...

in 2008. The choir embarked on their first UK tour in April/May 2009 with singer and soap star

Amy Nuttall Amy Abigail Nuttall (born 7 June 1982) is an English actress and singer known for playing Chloe Atkinson in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 2000 until 2005, and housemaid Ethel Parks in ITV period drama ''Downton Abbey''. Early life Nutt ...

joining them as a special guest. The performance at the Cardiff International Arena featured a one-off performance with

Bonnie Tyler Gaynor Sullivan (née Hopkins; born 8 June 1951), known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer who is known for her distinctive husky voice. Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album '' The World Starts Tonight'' a ...

. In October 2009, the choir held auditions at the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

, Cardiff to find two new members to join them. Later that month the choir's second album, ''Band of Brothers'', went straight to number one in the UK Classical Charts, where it remained for three weeks
TV choir top of classical chart
The album went on to win the NS&I Album of the Year 2010 at the Classical Brit awards. The choir embarked on their second UK tour in December 2009. Their special guest was Welsh soprano Gwawr Edwards. In 2010, the choir was given its own Welsh-language television series, ''Only Men Aloud'', on S4C. In May 2010 Tim Rhys Evans embarked on a new project, to revive the male voice choir tradition, by forming

Only Boys Aloud Only Boys Aloud is a Wales-based boys' choir founded by choral director Tim Rhys-Evans. Only Boys Aloud finished third in the ''Britain's Got Talent'' competition in May 2012 and released their debut album in November 2012. History Only Boys A ...

The boys made their first public appearance at the Ebbw Vale Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale and received three standing ovations for their renditions of Calon Lan, Sosban Fach and Don't Stop Believing. Only Men Aloud! completed a 16-date UK Christmas Tour in December 2010. Their special guest was West End singer, Katy Treharne. The show at the CIA in Cardiff also featured Only Boys Aloud who sang "Don't Stop Believing" and "You Raise me Up" with Only Men Aloud! Only Men Aloud! were also the musical guests on the Christmas Day 2010 edition of BBC One's ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

''. They sang a specially-arranged version of "Silent Night" and "I'll Be Home For Christmas". In 2011, Only Men Aloud released their third album called ''In Festive Mood'', made a 15-date UK Christmas Tour and released ''Only Men Aloud - The Book''. ''In Festive Mood'' entered the UK Classical Charts at Number 8. A BBC Wales series, ''Only Boys Aloud: the Academy'', was devoted to

! On 27 July 2012, Only Men Aloud performed at the opening ceremony of the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. They performed on

Caliban's Dream "Caliban's Dream" is a track written by Rick Smith of electronic group Underworld for the ''Isles of Wonder'' opening ceremony of the 2012 summer Olympics in London, and the 14th and final track of the first disc of the official soundtrack. ...

, as the

Olympic cauldron The Olympic flame is a symbol used in the Olympic movement. It is also a symbol of continuity between ancient and modern games. Several months before the Olympic Games, the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia, Greece. This ceremony starts the Olympic ...

was lit. The track is featured on the soundtrack of the ceremony, '' Isles of Wonder''. It was digitally released as a downloadable track on iTunes at midnight on 27 July after the ceremony. It was the highest placed track from the soundtrack on iTunes in the UK, reaching no. 5 when the charts were announced on 29 July. On 5 August, it entered the main charts at number 12.

was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in June 2013. He was awarded the honour for services to music and for charitable services. In May 2013, It was announced that Only Men Aloud would go through a radical restructure later in the year to become an eight piece group. The decision was made for logistical reasons as they looked to expand their global appeal. At the end of September 2013, the new look line up was announced and the new eight piece group performed two shows in the Elgar Rooms,

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

. In 2014 they made a 12-date spring tour of Wales, a summer tour of the Midwest of the US, and a 12-date UK Christmas Tour. Another two-part TV series for S4C was shown in December. In February 2015, Only Men Aloud cycled from Cardiff to Paris for charity, arriving in time to sing the Welsh National Anthem on the pitch before the France vs Wales RBS Six Nations game.

Line-up

Wyn Davies, David Fortey, Tom Hier, David Mahoney, Steffan Hughes Niall Allen, Craig Yates, Huw Euron, Stephen Hamnett. Previous members include

David Thaxton David Thaxton (born 12 May 1982) is a Welsh singer, actor and musical theatre and opera performer. He starred in the Donmar Warehouse's '' Passion'', for which he won the 2011 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Music ...

(''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'', '' Passion''), Alan Winner (''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Win ...

''),

Noel Sullivan Noel Sullivan (born 28 July 1980 as Noel John Hayes) is a Welsh singer and actor. He was a member of the British pop group Hear'Say. Like the other members of the group, he won his part through the talent show '' Popstars''. Early life Sulli ...

(

Hear'Say Hear'Say were a British pop group. They were created through the ITV (TV network), ITV reality TV show ''Popstars (British TV series), Popstars'' in February 2001, the first UK series of the international ''Popstars'' Media franchise, franchi ...

)!, and

Jon Robyns Jon Robyns (born 8 December 1982) is a British stage actor, who is best known for playing the roles of Princeton and Rod in Avenue Q the musical and Jean Valjean in Les Misérables in London's West End. Early life Robyns was born in Manchester ...

(''

Avenue Q ''Avenue Q'' is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody of PBS' ...

'', ''

'').

Discography

Albums

Singles

As featured artist

Awards

Classic Brit Awards The Classic BRIT Awards (previously Classical BRIT Awards) are an annual awards ceremony held in the United Kingdom covering aspects of classical and crossover music, and are the equivalent of popular music's Brit Awards. The awards are organi ...

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

References

External links

WebsiteOfficial Record Label WebsiteBBC profile
{{Authority control Boys' and men's choirs Musical groups established in 2000 Welsh choirs