Aled Richards

Early life

Richards started to play drums when he was young, born and living in Wales. Richards was a travel agent until he lost his job at West Wales travel bookings firm and joined Cerys Matthews Cardiff based band, who were on the verge off signing a huge deal with major record label Warner Brothers.

With Catatonia

Richards joined Catatonia when he was in his 20's, when they were signing a deal with the Warner Brothers, a major record label and deal. Richards was the main drummer for the Welsh band who played in all of the concerts from Glastonbury and Later With Jools Holland to playing in Wembley and on Top Of The Pops. 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.[citation needed] 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 split with his young family. He then went into teaching and is a music technology lecturer at Coleg Sir Gar in Llanelli, Wales.