Raymond Briggs: singer Aled Jones pays tribute to legendary illustrator

Raymond Briggs, author of classic children’s books The Snowman, Father Christmas and The Man, died yesterday (August 9) at the age of 88.

Aled, who rose to fame in 1985 with his cover version of ‘Walking in the Air’, which was written for the animated version of The Snowman three years before, said he owes the popular illustrator a ‘debt of gratitude’.

Speaking on his Classic FM radio show, he said: "What a legacy he leaves behind. His books have touched millions of people all around the world, and what a debt of gratitude I owe to his greatest creation of all. Thank you, Raymond."

Aled’s musical success with ‘Walking in the Air’ paved the way for a life onstage. In 1995 he took the leading role in the long-running production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the Winter Gardens Opera House.

During this time, he met his future wife Claire Fossett, who was a performer at Blackpool Tower Circus. The pair married in 2001 and had two children, including Emilia Jones, who recently starred in the Academy Award-winning 2021 film CODA.

The TV adaptation of The Snowman received an Oscar nomination for best animated short film, while the picture book it is based on, first published in 1978, has sold more than 5.5m copies worldwide.

Raymond Briggs’ other works include Fungus the Bogeyman, When the Wind Blows, and Ethel and Ernest: A True Story, which tells the tale of Raymond’s own parents from their first meeting in 1928 until their deaths in 1971.

Other British children’s authors paid tribute to the Wimbledon-born illustrator.

Former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen said he was ‘fantastic’, while Cressida Cowell, author of How to Train Your Dragon, said: “Deeply sad to hear of the death of Raymond Briggs. What a magnificent legacy he leaves, from his iconic Father Christmas and the Snowman to the terrifying Where the Wind Blows. His books brought so much joy and inspired so many, touching, hilarious and heartbreaking work R.I.P.”