Growing up in the South Wales valleys, Tim Rhys-Evans’s childhood was filled with the music. So it seemed entirely natural that one day his passion became a career through the creation of Only Men Aloud
"I suppose you could call it destiny," he laughs. "I’ve played the piano since I was five and I’ve always sung in chapel. Plus there was singing on every car journey and every party."
Fast forward a few years and Tim, with two music degrees later, having already scaled the heights of choral music, working with many of the biggest names in the business But there is one lesser-known name at the top of his list of influences – his mother. "My mum’s been an enormous influence on me musically and without her I would not be doing what I do today," he says.
"All the songs on this album are songs she taught me. Every Saturday morning throughout my childhood, she would play her favourite records – The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Burt Bacharach, Barry Manilow, Barbra Streisand, and of course Tom Jones and Shirley Bassey - louder than most teenagers listen to heavy rock!"
Prior to forming Only Men Aloud!, Tim had spent five years as an opera singer with Welsh National Opera before trying his hand at choral conducting. "At that point I realised for the first time that I preferred being in front of the choir," he says. "It was the moment that really changed my life."
Since then Tim, now 36, has been music director of Welsh National Youth Opera, associate conductor of the National Youth Choirs of Wales and Great Britain, and national chorus master of Welsh National Opera.
Highlights of his glittering career include being chorus master on Universal’s rugby World Cup album Land Of My Fathers, as well as Bryn Terfel’s album We’ll Keep A Welcome and Karl Jenkins’s Requiem, and operas including Carmen, Madam Butterfly, La Cenerentola and Eugene Onegin with Welsh National Opera.
The latest phase of his professional life began in 2000 with the formation of Only Men Aloud! In the hugely competitive world of Welsh choirs, they immediately stood out from the crowd, not least for their size – just 20 members – and their comparative youth, with members aged 19 to 42.
"In all the mixed choirs I had worked with, I noticed a real disparity between boys and girls singing," he explains. "Usually, the girls outnumbered boys by a ratio of five to one. And I wanted to do something about that.
"One of the soundtracks of my childhood was all the local male choirs. And we would not be doing what we are doing today if it were not for those centuries of tradition."
Tim set out to choose music that would appeal to young men, and began to introduce choreography to their performances. "I wanted to find a way of getting young men interested in singing in choirs," he explains. "I think young men tend to relax in each other’s company and something quite magical happens."
In their short career, Only Men Aloud! have already worked with big names including Aled Jones, Katherine Jenkins, Bryn Terfel, Michael Ball and Karl Jenkins, and were the first live act to perform in the Wales Millennium Centre, at a dinner for Shirley Bassey.
"I think Only Men Aloud! reflects my own eclectic musical tastes from early chant through to pop songs and musical theatre via opera, sacred music, folk songs and 20th century male choir repertoire," adds Tim.
Singers to have passed through the choir in its eight-year life include the current two leads in Les Miserables on the West End stage, several members of the Glyndebourne chorus, and Noel Sullivan from pop group Hear’Say.
The secret to their success? Keeping it fresh, while staying true to tradition. Tim is also a firm believer that less is more. While some choirs have more than a hundred members – "I used to conduct a choir in Swansea with 133 members," says Tim – Only Men Aloud! have 20.
Only Men Aloud! stepped into the national spotlight when they were selected from more than a thousand choirs around the UK to audition for the BBC show Last Choir Standing.
They cruised through the elimination rounds before coming head to head in the final with another Welsh choir, the 50-piece Ysgol Glanaethwy, led by one of Tim’s close friends, Cefin Roberts.
"It was strange being up against each other as we are such good friends," recalls Tim, "but we both wanted to win and at the end of the day there could only be one winner. And I’m glad it was us!"
As Tim puts it himself: "The TV show managed to capture the essence of Only Men Aloud! - the camaraderie between a bunch of fun-loving guys who get a massive kick out of coming together and singing."
Since their victory, the choir have been inundated with requests from wannabe choristers. "I’ve had literally hundreds of emails," says Tim, who was at the centre of a bidding war between four major record labels in the days after his victory.
Eventually he chose Universal Music, home to Girls Aloud, U2, The Rolling Stones and Elton John – as well as classical and crossover stars like Lesley Garrett, Katherine Jenkins, Bryn Terfel and Hayley Westenra.
ONLY MEN ALOUD - MEMBERS
1st TENORS – Wyn Davies, 23, pharmacist; Hugh Strathern, 33, business support administrator; Paul Rothwell, 19, music student; David Fortey, 26, call centre employee.
2nd TENORS – Nick Bristow, 32, school head of music; Nick Evans, 37, actor/musician; Dan Phillips, 19, trumpet student; Ross Leadbeater, 25, theatre school director.
BARITONES – Craig Yates, 27, vocal coach; Aled Williams, 23, music teacher; Tom Jones, 23, actor/singer; Peter Horton, 21, singing student; Dafydd Rhys Evans, 19, singing student.
BASS – Cian Brennan-Gavin, 21, singing student; Andy Mulligan, 35, teacher; Stephen Hamnett, 42, cathedral clerk; Tim Edwards, 36, Youth Eisteddfod employee; Tim Nelson, 21, science student.
ACCOMPANIST – Jeffrey Howard, 38, vocal coach/arranger.